Population
Trends
In 2001, 140,130 people lived in Northland. With 46,047 residents, Whāngārei was by far the largest centre. More typical of the north is a pattern of many small settlements. The largest towns, each with between 4,000 and 5,000 people, were Kaitāia, Dargaville, Kaikohe and Kerikeri. Paihia, Moerewa, Kawakawa and Taipā–Mangonui each had between 1,500 and 1,800 people.
Since the 1980s the permanent population has increased slowly but steadily, mainly on the east coast. But Northland is the most rural region in the country, with little more than half the population in urban areas.
While there are very few Pacific, Asian or other non-European residents, there is a very significant Māori population.
Māori
Much of the region’s special character comes from its Māori people. In 2006 they made up 31.7% of the total population (more than double the national average, and second only to the East Coast). Concentrated mainly in the Far North and Whāngārei districts, Māori dominate some towns such as Kaikohe. There is constant movement in and out of the region, mainly between Northland and Auckland. The people of Ngāpuhi form the region’s (and the country’s) largest iwi. Around 40% of them live in Auckland.
Lost in the city
Whina Cooper, a Māori leader from Northland, moved to Auckland in the 1950s. She was dismayed by the difficulties her people experienced when cut off from tribal support, and she appealed to the Catholic Bishop James Liston for an urban marae. As a result of her lobbying, Te Ūnga Waka marae opened in Auckland in 1966.
Māori language
30% of Northland Māori are able to have an everyday conversation in the Māori language. This rate of language retention is exceeded only by East Coast Māori. In the 1980s northern Māori began a concerted effort to preserve the language by establishing kōhanga reo – language nests for preschoolers. In the early 2000s there were over 900 children enrolled, and other Māori educational initiatives from primary to tertiary levels were under way.
Age distribution
Northland’s age structure differs from other regions. In 2006 23.4% of Northland’s population was under 15 years (a proportion second only to East Coast). This is partly a reflection of the proportion of Māori, who have higher birth rates than most other ethnic groups in New Zealand. There is also a higher than usual proportion aged 65 years and over – many of them retired people who have moved to the balmy north. A relatively small proportion of the population is aged between 20 and 30, as many young people go to other regions in search of work.
A mobile population
Northland has a substantial fluctuating population. Some Northlanders, referred to as ‘swallows’, regularly relocate overseas for six months or more. At weekends, city dwellers increase the resident population, mainly on the east coast, an estimated threefold. Summer numbers surge well beyond that. Visitors are attracted by the warmth, easy lifestyle, and variety of recreational options.
