The downward trend in population associated with the decline of mining and timber felling was evident in the first post-war census of 1921 when 16,918 inhabitants (Maoris excluded) were recorded. Waihi borough, which possessed 6,436 inhabitants in 1911, had only 3,957. The general decline of population continued until the end of the twenties. Since that decade the region's population has increased slowly to reach a total of 21,565 in 1961 (Maoris included) and this increase has been associated with the development of the area's pastoral resources. Though on a national scale the numbers are insignificant, nevertheless, in the 30-year period 1921–22 to 1951–52, the number of cows in milk increased by 200 per cent and the number of sheep increased by 104 per cent. The effects of the earlier period are, however, still evident, especially in the decline of Waihi's population, which has hardly been halted by the policy of industrial decentralisation. In the last quinquennium its population increased by 89. The persistence of two large foundries in Thames, concerned mainly with overhauling locomotives, logging and sawmilling machinery, and earthmoving equipment, is a productive relic of the gold-mining days. In Coromandel village the predominance of colonial Victorian architecture indicates the limited development which has occurred since the turn of the century, and the presence of large numbers of retired people is suggestive of restricted economic opportunities.

In 1901 the total population of the area, excluding Maoris, numbered 23,199; 60 years later, with Maoris again excluded, it was 19,649. The sex ratio in 1901 was 78 women per 100 men, but in 1961 it was 98.

These figures are suggestive of the remarkable transition which the economy of the area has undergone. It is true that numerous regions of New Zealand have experienced a period of wildly exploitative activity followed by a period of consolidation when livestock farming created a more permanent basis to the regional economy. The fascination of Coromandel lies in the fact that this saga is crowded on to one small stage during a short period of time. Briefly, the timber resources of the region, especially kauri, attracted the attention of English merchant and naval interests in the early 1800s, and a cosmopolitan settlement of traders, land speculators, escapees, and deserters was established for trading purposes on an island in Coromandel Harbour. In 1852 the discovery of gold created a rush at Coromandel, but the difficulties of obtaining equipment adequate for the needs of lode mining destroyed the interest of the majority of the 2,000 diggers. In 1867, however, the rush to the Thames field induced a rapid increase in population so that 12,000 people were located in the vicinity, and a revival of interest in the Coromandel field occurred. By the 1880s the industry had once more slumped, but it revived again around Waihi with the new technologies introduced from Australia and North America by larger, better financed, and better organised companies. During the last three decades of the nineteenth century the forest resources of the peninsula were, as McCaskill (1949) puts it, “ruthlessly and energetically squandered”. The timber millers were followed by the kauri-gum diggers who burnt and destroyed large areas of seedlings and second growth. The flax industry, which had periodic bursts of intense activity, was conducted with the same ruthless disregard. At the turn of the century these exploitative industries had almost passed their peak. The population was concentrated around the Waihi, Thames, and Coromandel goldfields, the other communities being widely dispersed according to the location of their resources. Agriculture was sporadically distributed, its location often determined by the demand of the local market.

The Coromandel region is easily located by its backbone, the Coromandel Range, which projects out as a peninsula between the Hauraki Gulf and the Pacific Ocean. The region is some 70 miles long and 20 miles wide at its widest point. The northern extremity of the Tauranga Harbour roughly coincides with the region's southern limits, whilst the Hauraki Plains lie along the eastern boundary. Included within these limits are the counties Coromandel, Thames, and Ohinemuri, which together with their boroughs form the basic units for the collection of statistics. In 1961 the region registered a total population of 21,565 (0.89 per cent of the national total), 9.20 per cent of which were classified as Maoris.

Despite its relatively small size the peninsula is very rugged. The backbone range, composed largely of volcanic rocks, rises to altitudes of 2,926 ft at Moehau near Cape Colville, 2,740 ft at Kaitarakahi, east of Thames, and reaches its highest point of 3,126 ft in Mt. Te Aroha. Vigorous stream erosion has closely dissected the upland area so that areas of low or flat relief are restricted to a multitude of small alluvial fans and bay-head flood plains fringed with tidal mud flats. The most extensive area of low relief lies along the upper course of the Ohinemuri River, generally termed the Waihi Plain. The major settlements, Thames and Waihi, are on the periphery of the region. Over most of the peninsula small villages supply the needs of the farming population and cater for the tourist traffic. Of these, Coromandel with 713 (1961) and Whitianga with 610 (1961) inhabitants are the largest. Farming provides the region's main source of income; 38.33 per cent of the labour force is engaged in primary production. Much of the central part is unused for agriculture and on the hill country the production of store sheep and cattle prevails. Dairy farming is concentrated around Coromandel, Mercury Bay, the lower course of the Tairua, and the valley of the Ohinemuri, and principally on the fringes of the Hauraki Plains.

This range lies 50 miles east of Auckland. In its northern part it is a peninsula that separates the Hauraki Gulf and the Firth of Thames from the Pacific Ocean. Its southernmost extension is usually defined by the Karangahake Gorge through which the Ohinemuri flows from Waihi to Paeroa. Except for the northern-most end, the range consists of volcanic flows of Late Tertiary age. As such, it could be extended 20 miles southwards where it would join the Kaimai Range at the Whakamarama Plateau. Thus defined, the range is roughly elliptical, 90 miles long and 20 miles wide at the centre. The highest peaks would be Te Aroha, 3,126 ft, an eroded volcano near the southern end, and Moehau, 2,926 ft, at its northern end. The western and possibly eastern margins are defined by great earth fractures, hence the very steep western slopes. Most drainage is north-eastwards, the Ohinemuri and Kauaeranga Rivers being the main exceptions.

Rich in minerals, the range has poor access. Old routes are overgrown, the bulk of the range being in virgin or second growth. Nevertheless, even some of the steepest slopes are being converted slowly to pastures. The road between Thames and Coromandel, and the east coast beaches such as Whitianga, Whangamata, and Waihi Beach, are popular scenic and holiday resorts.

The name comes from the naval vessel, Coromandel, which several times visited Hauraki Gulf, the Firth of Thames, and nearby places during the early 1800s for kauri spars and timber. A harbour, a township, a county, and a peninsula on which they are situated, also bear the same name.

by James Cecil Schofield, M.SC., New Zealand Geological Survey, Otahuhu.

Corals are marine animals of the group Coelenterata, most of which are formed in vast colonies. The tiny creatures secrete a flexible horny material producing an intricate branching framework in which they live. In New Zealand waters there are a number of small species of corals, but none of the reef-building species of the tropics. The fan coral (Flabellum rubrum) is a simple coral, that is, it is produced by a single organism, not by a colony of animals, as in the case of most reef corals. This coral is found attached to the under side of boulders at and below low tide. The animal is salmon to dull vermilion and the base is pure white. It grows to about 1½ inches in height.

by Arthur William Baden Powell, Assistant Director, Auckland Institute and Museum.

Copyright, which is governed by the Copyright Act of 1962, is the exclusive right to do certain acts in relation to an original literary, dramatic, musical, or artistic work. These acts include reproducing the work in any material form, adapting, broadcasting, and publishing it, and performing it in public. Photographs, cinematograph films, sound recordings, and sound and television broadcasts also enjoy copyright protection.

The former provisions in New Zealand for the optional registration of copyright have disappeared. Registration was never necessary to the acquisition of copyright which exists automatically once a work is completed. Merit is irrelevant. Business letters, timetables, and commercial jingles are as much the subject of copyright as is a Sargeson story, a poem by Fairburn, or a symphony by Lilburn.

The present law is generally similar to that of the United Kingdom, but differs in detail. The Dalglish Committee, on whose 1959 report the new legislation is largely based, pointed out that New Zealand is predominantly a user rather than a producer of copyright works and that merely to copy the United Kingdom law would not meet local needs and conditions. The 1962 Act set up a Copyright Tribunal whose principal functions are to determine disputes as to royalties payable and the terms of licences for the public performance and broadcasting of works, and to grant licences for these purposes if the copyright owner unreasonably refuses them.

The general term of copyright in published works is the author's life and 50 years after his death, which is the normal term internationally. Copyright in photographs, films, sound recordings, and broadcasts continues for 50 years from the making. Literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works unpublished at their author's death are protected until publication and for 50 years thereafter, or until 75 years from death, whichever period first expires. This is a radical change from the former law under which copyright in unpublished works was virtually perpetual.

Another change from the old law and the present English law is that industrial designs which constitute original artistic works will enjoy unqualified copyright protection. Formerly a design intended for industrial reproduction and registrable under the Designs Act was excluded from the benefits of the Copyright Act. The results could be far reaching, since failure to register under the Designs Act meant complete loss of protection and registration was for a maximum term of 15 years.

Since 1928 New Zealand has adhered in its own right to the International Copyright Convention (the Berne Convention), the applicable text being the 1928 Rome Revision. It has not acceded to the later Brussels Revision. The effect of being a party to the Convention is that works created by New Zealand citizens or persons domiciled or resident in New Zealand, or first published in this country, are protected without formality in other member countries. These include almost all countries of the Commonwealth and Western Europe. In September 1964, New Zealand also acceded to the Universal Copyright Convention the principal effect of which has been to secure full copyright protection for New Zealand works in the United States.

by Bruce James Cameron, B.A., LL.M., Legal Adviser, Department of Justice, Wellington.

Coprosma is a genus containing about 90 species, half of them occurring in New Zealand. Of these, all are endemic except one which is also found in Australia and Tasmania.

The remaining species occur principally in Hawaii, with some in Australia and Tasmania, Borneo, Java, New Guinea, and islands of the Pacific.

The family to which Coprosma belongs, the Rubiaceae, is a large, almost cosmopolitan one with over 5,000 species. It contains the commercial coffee tree.

The New Zealand species range from small trees to dwarf matted plants. They have opposite leaves with marked stipules joining each pair. On the under-surfaces of the leaves are little pits, or domatia, between the midrib and main veins. The bark contains dyes. Male and female flowers which are small and arranged in fascicles, are mostly borne on separate plants. The fruit is round and succulent and contains two or four seeds. It is of many different colours, ranging from translucent white to black. Some species have more than one coloured fruit.

The largest growing species is C. arborea, mamangi, which is a small tree 15–25 ft high common in open, lowland forest from near the north to about the centre of the North Island. C. grandifolia grows to 20 ft high and is common in forest up to the lower montane level throughout the North Island and the northern part of the South Island. The commonest species of all are C. lucida, karamu, and C. robusta, also known as karamu. The latter occurs particularly on alluvial soils in open forest and in shrubland.

C. repens or taupata is a prostrate or upright shrub growing within the influence of salt spray around the shores of the North Island and the Kermadec and Three Kings Islands. It is a very common hedge plant and has been introduced into overseas countries for this purpose. C. pumila and C. petriei form prostrate matted plants in montane to alpine vegetation.

by Alec Lindsay Poole, M.SC., B.FOR.SC., F.R.S.N.Z., Director-General of Forests, Wellington.

The crustacean group of copepods are to the sea and to freshwater lakes and rivers what insects are to the land. They are small, abundant both individually and in species, and occupy almost every conceivable niche. Many are free-swimming planktonic forms complete with “oar-feet” (the English translation of their Greek name), long antennae, and rudderlike tail. Still others have lost some or all of their appendages and are completely parasitic on fish or other marine animals. The earliest and best known copepod, Calanus finmarchicus, was first discovered in Norwegian seas in 1767. In the present century, it has been found that it is the principal food of the English herring, and also of the sei whale in Antarctic waters. A very similar species, Calanus australis, occurs in New Zealand waters where it undoubtedly is an important fish food. Calanus, which is about an eighth of an inch long, is one of the larger copepods. In inshore and harbour waters, most species are relatively small and these include Acartia, Temora, and Paracalanus, which is just like a midget Calanus. Since they are so small it is usually necessary to have a microscope to study their intricate shape and colouring, often very bright and beautiful. One species, Sapphirina, often found in northern waters, can easily be seen by a diver or a swimmer with goggles, because its whole body is a brilliant iridescent blue which glints in the sunlight on a bright day.

by Richard Morrison Cassie, M.SC.(N.Z.), D.SC.(AUCK.), Senior Lecturer in Zoology, University of Auckland.

(Cookia sulcata).

This shell grows to 3 in. in height and is related to the circular saw. This fish is quite common, and lives under rocky ledges at low tide, in clean water along the coasts. In life the shell is dull and encrusted, but when the outer coating flakes off, a beautiful, pearly under-layer is revealed. The aperture is stoppered with a strong, shelly, oval operculum. Maori names for this shell are karaka, toitoi, and ngaruru. It was much used by oldtime Maoris for the manufacture of fish hooks.

by Arthur William Baden Powell, Assistant Director, Auckland Institute and Museum.