Submitted by admin on April 23, 2009 - 00:22
CENTRAL PLATEAU
The Central Plateau is an extensive area of high but level country whose underlying rocks and soils are of volcanic origin; hence it is sometimes referred to as the Volcanic Plateau. It lies in the central part of the North Island extending from Ruapehu and Lake Taupo in the south towards Tauranga and the Bay of Plenty in the north-east. The area corresponds roughly to the extent of five counties, Tauranga, Rotorua, Taupo, Whakatane, and Opotiki, which, together with their interior boroughs, constitute the principal basis for the collection of statistics. Rotorua (urban area population, 25,068, 1961) and Tauranga (urban area population, 24,659, 1961) are the main towns of the region, which, in 1961, had a total population of 129,840 (representing 5·37 per cent of the New Zealand population), 24·74 per cent of whom were Maoris.