STATISTICS OF NEW ZEALAND

FOR THE CROWN COLONY PERIOD

1840-1852

Department Of Economics Auckland University College

STATISTICS OF NEW ZEALAND FOR THE CROWN COLONY

PERIOD; 1840-1852.

T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S .

Foreword.

I. Sources.

I I . Tables.

A . Population Nationality, Religious Professions, Age Distribution, Occupations.

1. British Civil Population of Main Towns and Settlements; 1842-52.

2. British Civil Population of the Wellington Settlement; 1844, 1845, and 1847.

3. British Civil Population of the Canterbury Settlement;1st Marchs 1851.

4. Nationality of the Non-Maori Civil Population of New Ulster; November, 1851 -

5. Nationality of the Non-Maori Civil Population of. New Munster, August, 1848.

6. Religious Professions of the European Civil Population in Main Towns and Settlements; November, 1851.

7. Religious Professions of the European Civil Population of New Munster; 1848.

8. Religious Professions of the European Civil Population of Auckland; 184-8 and 1849.

9. Age Distribution of British Civil Population by Settlements; 1848.

10. Age Distribution of European Civil Population;November, 1851 •

11. Ago Distribution of the British Civil Population of Auckland Urban Area; 1843-45»

12. . Age Distribution of- the British Civil Population inAuckland Town and Suburbs; 1849.

13. Age Distribution of the British Civil Population of New Plymouth, Wellington, and Nelson; 1843*

14. Occupational Status of the British Civil Population of New Ulster; November, 18 51 •

1

2.

15» Occupational Status of the British Civil Population of New Munster; 1848.

16. Occupational Status of the British Civil Population of Auckland; 1843-45 and 1848.

17« Details of Occupation of the British Civil Population of Auckland; 1845*

18. Details of Occupations of the British Civil Population of Wellington; 1843»

19. Details of Occupations of the British Civil Population of Nelson; 1843.

B. Migration, Births, Deaths. Marriages.

20. Immigrants Brought Out by the New Zealand Company;1840-48.

21. Arrivals and Departures, Auckland; 1846-51.

22. Births, Deaths, and Marriages for the British Civil Population of Main Towns and Settlements; 1842-52.

23. Deaths for the British Civil Population of New Munster; 1851.

C . Buildings.

24. Buildings in Auckland; 1842-52.

25. Location, Construction, and Tenancy in Auckland; 1845.

26. Buildings in New Plymouth; 1843«

27. Buildings in New Munster: August, 184-8.

28. Buildings in Wellington; 1843 and 1845.

29. Buildings in Nelson; 1843»

30. Buildings in Otago; 1849 and 1850.

D. Farming.

3 1 . Acreages under Sown Grasses by Main Settlements; 1842-5 2 .

32. Acreages of Principal Field Crops in Main Settlements; 1842- 5 2 .

33. Land Use in New Ulster; December, 1850 .

34. Yields per Acre of Principal Field Crops in Main Settlements; 1842-52.

35. Land Use in Wellington; 1845 and 1847.

3 6 . Livestock in Main Settlements; 1843-52.

37. Livestock in Wellington District; December, 1847.

3.

E . Industry.

3 8 . Number of Industrial Establishments at Auckland, Wellington, and Nelson; 1842-52.

39. Output of Whaling Stations, Auckland; 1843-52.

40. Output and Exports of Whaling Stations in New Munster;1841-48.

41. Details of Shore Whaling Stations in Wellington District; for season ended 30th November, 1847.

42. Output of Shore Whaling Stations, South of Akaroa; 1829-43.

F. Trade»

43* Inward and Outward Overseas Shipping at Main Ports; 1841-52.

44« Exports by Destination and Imports by Origin at Main Ports; 1841-52,

G . Government Finance.

45. Expenditure by the Government of New South Wales on New Zealand; 1840-41.

46. Public Expenditures of the Government of New Zealand; 1840-52.

47. Public Revenues of the Government of New Zealand;1840-52.

48. Crown Land Sales in the Auckland District; 1841-52.

49. Government Payments to Maoris for Land Purchases; 1840-44.

H. Banking»

50. Liabilities and Assets of New Zealand Banks; 1841-42.

51. Discounts of the Auckland Branch of the New Zealand Banking Company; 1841-44-.

52. Deposits of the Wellington Savings Bank; 184-6-52.

53. Official Returns of the Colonial Bank of Issue; 1850- 5 2 .

54. Mortgage on Land, Wellington; 1845-48.

I . Prices and W a g e s .

55* Quarterly average wholesale Prices of SelectedCommodities in Wellington; April 1840 to January 1846.

5 6. Average Prices of Principal Field Crops in Main Settlements; 1842-52.

57» Average Prices of Livestock; 1841-45*

58. Average Prices of Livestock by Main Settlements:1847-52.

59. Average New Zealand Retail Prices; 1841-45.

60. Average Retail Prices of Selected Commodities by Main Settlements; 1847-52.

61. Average Retail Prices of Selected Commodities in Nelson; 1844-52.

62. Average Wage Rates; 1841-45.

6 3 . Average Wage Rates in Main Settlements'; 1847-52.

64» Average Wage Rates in Nelson; 1844-52.

III. Appendices.

A. Notes on Population Statistics.

B. Notes on Building Statistics.

4.

5.

F O R E W O R D .

This work was planned, and largely carried out under my formal direction, by Mr. B. G. Hardie, M. A. as a junior (research) lecturer in the Department of Economics. During 1951 and 1952 he was assisted in this, and other research by Miss B. Brockway, M. A. on a part-time basis. I wish to acknowledge her conscientious work and also the generosity of the University of New Zealand Research Committee which provided a grant for her salary.

Mr. Hardie resigned in November 1952 and, unfortunately, before he had brought the material into a form for publication. The task of checking, completing, and final editing was, therefore, undertaken by three members of my staff, Messrs.R. Bergstrom; E . Lerdau, and J. W. Rowe. Acknowledgement is made of their painstaking and skilful work.

The purpose of the present publication is to make available in convenient form, for the period when New Zealand was a Crown Colony, the kind of data published from 1853 in the official Statistics of New Zealand. No one lacking similar experience can appreciate the labour and difficulty of such work, but it is hoped many economists and historians will appreciate its usefulness.

The University of New Zealand Research Committee has also been good enough to assist w ith the cost of publication.

3: 11: 54.

C. G. F. Simkin,

PROFESSOR OF ECONOMICS.

I. SOURCES.

The following is an enumeration of all sources used, and a brief discussion of some of the more important of them. When it is stated that documents used came from the Public Records Office (London), this does not necessarily mean that they are not available in New Zealand.

(A) OFFICIAL SOURCES.

1. Government Gazette. From 1841 to 1847 the New ZealandGovernment Gazette was a single

official publication. With the creation of the provinces, however, in 1848 it was replaced by two official publications, the New Ulster Government Gazette and the New Munster Government Gazette. General Assembly Library, Wellington.

2« Blue Books. Until 1847, statistical returns appeared inthe New Zealand Blue Books, but after that

were also given separately for the two provinces, in the New Ulster Blue Books and the New Munster Blue Books.The New Zealand and New Ulster Blue Books are in manu­script form and were consulted at the Turnbull Library, Wellington. Photostatic copies of extracts from the New Munster Blue Books were obtained from the Public Records Office (London)

3. Parliamentary Papers of Great Britain. These containstatistical data

in Appendices and the Public Records Office (London) also supplied photostatic copies of extracts from them.

4* Colonial Secretary 1 s Correspondence. The statisticalinformation supplied

to the Secretary of State for War and Colonies by the Colonial Secretary (to the Governor of New Zealand), is based on the same Police Census results which are the basis for the Blue Books.

3. General Census of 1851. Reports appeared in the AucklandProvincial Government Gazette in

1853 and 1854. /Auckland Public Library/ The Department of Census and Statistics (Wellington), supplied the data on age distribution.

6. Auckland Police Census B o o k . Complete manuscripts for thevarious police censuses taken,

could be found only for the Auckland Province, for the years1842-46. Auckland Public Library.

7 . Statistics of New Munster, 1841-48. General AssemblyLibrary, Wellington.

8. Statistics of Nelson, 1845-54. General Assembly Library,Wellington.

(b ) n e w s p a p e r s .

9. The New Zealand Journal. This was published in London inand after 1840. Auckland Public

Library.

10. The New Zealand Spectator and Cook's; Straits Guardian. (Wellington l844-65) General Assembly Library.

11. The New Zealand Gazette and Wellington Spectator. (Wellington 1841-44) General Assembly Library.

^2. The New Zealand Gazette and Britannia Spectator. (Wellington 1840-41)* General Assembly Library.

1 3 . The Port Nicholson Advertiser. Hocken Library, Dunedin.

14. The Southern Cross. (Auckland 1843-7 6 ) General AssemblyLibrary.

13. The New Zealander. (Auckland 1845-65) General AssemblyLibrary.

(0) OTHER SOURCES.

16. The Handbook of New Zealand. By E. Jerningham Wakefield(London, 1848).

17. The Southern Settlements of New Zealand. By S. E. Grimstone(London, 184-8).

18. The Story of New Zealand. By A . S. Thomson, M. D . (London*1859). Thomson’s statistics

form the basis of the table "Statistical Summary of the Colony of New Zealand for the Years 1840-52H , which is given in the early issues of the New Zealand Official Yearbook. Thomson states, in regard to his figures on population by settlements, that he had access to official information, but does not specify his sources. In the main, it will be seen, his figures agree with those given here, though the additional information now available, should make the latter more accurate. In a few instances, however, noted on the relevant tables, Thomson's figures were used when, (a) no other information was available, and (b) the order of magnitude appeared reasonable.

19. The Minute Book of the Auckland Directors of the New Zealand Banking Company.

20. Correspondence of the Secretary of the Canterbury Association. Christchurch Diocesan Office.

Wherever possible, figures were cross checked., with all available sources. When discrepancies were found, official sources were generally preferred, but if there were reasons for doubting the official information, or when two apparently equally trustworthy sources conflicted, both are usually given.In spite of all efforts to obtain the most accurate figures, they cannot, of course, be better than their primary sources, and in many instances these appear too crude to be very reliable.