The large family typical of the Victorian period and the smaller one of the 1920s are shown here. At top are the Johnston family in 1880 – nine children, with parents Charles and Alice. Below are the Newlands in 1923, three children and parents Lillian and Edward. The Johnstons and the Newlands were typical of their times. Until the 1880s almost all women married, and had on average almost nine births. After that the number of women marrying dropped, and the birth rate slowed. The average number of births for all women (married and unmarried) dropped to 3.5 by 1900 and then fell further, reaching 2.1 by the mid-1930s.
Using this item
Reference: PAColl-5564-003 (top); PAColl-6075-18 (bottom)
Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.