1874 New Zealand census

National census of New Zealand in 1874

Seventh census of
the Colony of New Zealand

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| <- 1871 | 1 March 1874; 151 years ago (1874-03-01) | 1878 ->

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General information
Country| New Zealand
Results
Total population| 299,514 [1] (16.82%)
Most populous provincial district| Auckland (67,451)
Least populous provincial district| Taranaki (5,465)

The 1874 New Zealand census was a population count taken in 1874. The population of New Zealand was 299,514, not including Māori.[2] Census papers were delivered to households during February 1874, to be completed for the night of 1 March 1874.[3] The census asked questions about people's age, sex, marital status, religion, place of birth, health and education. Additional questions were asked about land use and ownership and about farm animals and equipment.[4]

A separate census of Māori was held around the same time, and the Māori population was estimated to be around 46,000, of whom 43,538 lived in the North Island.[5][6] This included part-Māori people living as Māori.

The number of Chinese living in New Zealand was shown to have almost doubled from the previous census in 1871, from 2640 to 4816. Over 4000 of these worked on the gold fields as miners, sluicers or water-race cutters. Only two Chinese women were said to be living in the country: one in Otago and one in the Chatham Islands.[7]

## Population by province

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Province | Population | Population change since 1871  | Biggest town in province  | Population

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|
|
|

Auckland | 67,451 | +8.21%  | Auckland  | 12,775
Taranaki | 5,465 | +21.99%  | New Plymouth  | 2,044
Hawke's Bay | 9,228 | +52.30%  | Napier  | 3,514
Wellington | 29,790 | +24.12%  | Wellington  | 10,547
Nelson | 22,558 | +0.25%  | Nelson  | 5,662
Marlborough | 6,145 | +17.38%  | Blenheim  | 935
Canterbury | 58,775 | +25.58%  | Christchurch  | 10,294
Westland | 14,860 | -3.24%  | Hokitika  | 3,352
Otago | 85,113 | +22.48%  | Dunedin  | 18,499

## Birthplaces

[edit]

The Registrar-General stated that 95% of the non-Māori population had British "allegiance". This was calculated by counting those with a British birthplace, British subjects born in foreign countries, foreign people naturalised in New Zealand, people with British names who had been born at sea, and people with no stated birthplace but a British name. In all, residents of New Zealand in 1874 came from 75 countries including Persia, the Barbary Coast, Greenland and New Guinea.[8]

Birthplace[8] | Number  | Percent (%) of population

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|

New Zealand | 122,635  | 40.94
Australian Colonies  | 13,601  | 4.54
England  | 74,628  | 24.92
Wales  | 1,381  | 0.46
Scotland  | 38,431  | 12.83
Ireland  | 30,255  | 10.1
Other British Possessions | 3,058  | 1.02
France and French Colonies  | 569  | 0.19
Germany  | 2,819  | 0.94
Other European Countries  | 4,396  | 1.47
United States of America  | 575  | 0.19
China  | 4,828  | 1.61
Other Countries  | 893  | 0.3
At Sea  | 1445  | 0.49
Total  | 299,514 | 100

## Māori population

[edit]

The census of Māori people was conducted differently to the general census. Instead of delivering papers to each household and later collecting them, officers enquired about the population from reliable local Māori. The reasoning was that Māori had always been used to transmitting their history and pedigrees orally, so more accurate results would be obtained than by means of printed forms.[5]

In each district enumerated, the number of male and female Māori over and under 15 was listed by tribe, hapū and locality.[9] There were more males than females in every district except Raglan and Kawhia. The biggest difference was in Kaipara, where there were 20% more males than females. In some cases the enumerators had to estimate numbers, for example in Hawkes Bay south of the Tangio River, where the enumerator listed 71 hapū with a guess at the total population there. In the upper Wanganui River area, about 250 people were noted to be temporarily absent at Waikato and Waitara.[6] The total Māori population was estimated to be 46,016 people.

North Island districts[9] | Males  | Females  | Total

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|
|

Mangonui  | 1,129  | 942  | 2,071
Hokianga  | 1,548  | 1,248  | 2,796
Bay of Islands  | 1,548  | 1,291  | 2,839
Whangarei  | 294  | 217  | 511
Kaipara  | 789  | 524  | 1,313
Auckland  | 114  | 81  | 195
Waiuku  | 113  | 103  | 216
Wairoa and Waiheke  | 44  | 37  | 81
Lower Waikato  | 211  | 172  | 383
Upper Waikato (estimated population)  | 2407  | 1,987  | 4,394
Raglan and Kawhia  | 1,050  | 1,113  | 2,163
Hauraki  | 947  | 717  | 1,664
Tauranga  | 662  | 583  | 1,245
Maketu  | 1,546  | 1,399  | 2,945
Opotiki  | 1,042  | 906  | 1,948
Urewera  | 348  | 336  | 684
Waiapu  | 1,345  | 1,108  | 2,453
Turanga  | 788  | 602  | 1,390
Wairoa, Hawke's Bay  | 1,889  | 1,592  | 3,481
Hawke's Bay (south of Tangio River)  | 970  | 900  | 1,870
Taupo  | 442  | 408  | 850
Wairarapa  | 417  | 325  | 742
Taranaki  | 1,561  | 1,200  | 2,761
Wanganui  | 556  | 454  | 1,010
Upper Wanganui River  | 1,117  | 888  | 2,005
Rangitikei  | 312  | 272  | 584
Otaki and Porirua  | 360  | 293  | 653
Wellington  | 90  | 71  | 161
Total North Island inc half-castes  | 23,639 | 19,769 | 43,408
South Island districts[9] | Males  | Females  | Total

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Marlborough  | 252  | 200  | 452
Nelson  | 243  | 197  | 440
Westland  | 55  | 41  | 96
Canterbury  | 300  | 258  | 558
Otago, Stewart Island and Ruapuke Island | 567  | 495  | 1,062
Total South Island inc half-castes  | 1,417 | 1,191 | 2,608

## References

[edit]

1. ^ non-Māori
2. ^ 1874 census results
3. ^ "Government Census Papers". Daily Southern Cross. 10 February 1874. Retrieved 20 April 2021 - via Paperspast.
4. ^ "[untitled]". New Zealand Herald. 17 February 1874. Retrieved 20 April 2021 - via Paperspast.
5. ^ a b "New Zealand Official Yearbook, 1874: Appendix A: Maori population". Statistics New Zealand. 1 June 1875.
6. ^ a b "Approximate census of the Maori population". Appendices to the Journals of the House of Representatives. 1874 (Session 1, Section G7): 1–20\. 1 June 1874 - via Papers Past.1-20&rft.date=1874-06-01&rft_id=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/AJHR1874-I.2.2.3.16&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:1874+New+Zealand+census" class="Z3988">
7. ^ "The New Zealand Official Year-book 1874: Chapter 63: Occupations Of The Chinese". Statistics New Zealand. 1 June 1875.
8. ^ a b "The New Zealand Official Year-book, 1874 : Part IV. Birthplaces Of The People". Statistics New Zealand. 1 June 1875. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
9. ^ a b c "Appendix A.-Maori population in the North and South Islands". Statistics New Zealand. 1 June 1875.

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