In the future of North Auckland the Maori population is a dynamic factor because, as a whole, that population is increasing at a much faster rate than that of the European. Because there is such a disparity between the social and economic levels of the two populations, the presence of a large Maori population will have a depressing effect upon economic expansion unless social and economic development accompanies and exceeds the rate of growth amongst the Maoris. While the need within the region for increased employment opportunities is an obvious necessity and has been recognised as such, the trend towards migration revealed by the 1961 census stresses the need for a programme of vocational preparation.

In 1961 in the region there was an excess of 659 Maori births over Maori deaths. In previous years the figure may have been higher. Accepting the 1961 figure as a rough annual average, the natural increase of Maoris would have been of the order of 6,600 in the period 1951–61. The Maori population in fact grew by only 462. Within the region the rural population declined by 1,115 persons and the urban population increased by 1,577 persons. In the last decade something like 6,000 young Maoris must have migrated from the region, principally to Auckland City. Roughly one in every four Maoris left the area. As a consequence of this migration, and taking into account European migration into the region, the proportion of Maoris to total population fell from 26 per cent in 1951 to 23 per cent in 1961. In future years this decade will be considered as one of the most important in the history of North Auckland and its Maoris, for obviously a profound but not widely appreciated social change is taking place.