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Warning

This information was published in 1966 in An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, edited by A. H. McLintock. It has not been corrected and will not be updated.

Up-to-date information can be found elsewhere in Te Ara.

Statistics of the Western Uplands – King Country Region

Urban Population
Town 1911 1936 1951 1961 1961 Maoris
Te Kuiti 1,266 2,499 3,304 4,492 896
Taumarunui 1,128 2,640 3,220 4,961 685
Otorohanga 323 712 1,569 2,002 221
Total 2,717 5,851 8,093 11,455 1,802
County Population
County 1911 1936 1951 1961 1961 Maoris
Otorohanga .. 5,440 6,183 8,196 1,993
Waitomo 4,752 9,847 9,537 8,789 3,049
Taumarunui 5,376 10,273 10,371 10,476 3,430
Clifton 2,198 2,876 2,612 2,600 313
Total county 12,326 28,436 28,703 30,061 8,785
Total region 15,043 34,287 36,796 41,516 10,587
Cows in Milk
County Cows in Milk Dairy Cows in Milk per 100 Sheep Shorn 1960
1921–22 1951–52 1959–60
Otorohanga 19,888* 56,120* 45,250 9.05
Waitomo 11,004 1.35
Taumarunui 9,199 9,046 5,434 0.78
Clifton 10,297 14,491 13,571 7.92
Total 39,384 79,657 75,259 ..

*Separate figures for each county not available.

Land Occupation
County Average Area of Holdings 1960 Area Occupied 1960
acres acres
Otorohanga 338 371,908
Waitomo 585 625,337
Taumarunui 826 657,713
Clifton 459 178,584
Sheep and Breeding Ewes
County 1921 1951 1961
Sheep Sheep Breeding Ewes Sheep Breeding Ewes
Otorohanga 287,405 977,042 621,252 489,181 359,538
Waitomo 972,897 657,878
Taumarunui 322,064 557,545 307,296 848,239 559,168
Clifton 80,143 147,712 93,725 170,789 123,679
Total 689,612 1,682,299 1,022,273 2,481,106 1,700,263

by Samuel Harvey Franklin, B.COM.GEOG., M.A.(BIRMINGHAM), Senior Lecturer, Geography Department, Victoria University of Wellington.

  • The Land Utilisation Survey of North-east Taranaki, Department of Lands and Survey (1962)
  • Livestock Farming in the North Island – a Study in Production Trends and Potentials, White, J. U. (1954)
  • New Zealand Geographer, Vol. 6, Oct 1950, “Te Kuiti and the Northern King Country – a Region of Agricultural Transition”, Fox, J. W.
Co-creator
Samuel Harvey Franklin, B.COM.GEOG., M.A.(BIRMINGHAM), Senior Lecturer, Geography Department, Victoria University of Wellington.