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Story: Scots

Percentage of Scottish-born among all non-Māori people in New Zealand counties, 1878

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Percentage of Scottish-born among all non-Māori people in    New Zealand counties, 1878

In the 19th century, Otago and Southland had considerably more Scots as a proportion of their total populations than provinces further north. Canterbury was only slightly more Scottish than the North Island provinces, and Taranaki consistently had fewer Scots than anywhere else. The high proportion in Whangarei county was due to the Waipū settlers.

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Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

Source: New Zealand census, 1878

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How to cite this page

John Wilson, Scots – 1853–1870: a surge of Scots, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/map/216/percentage-of-scottish-born-among-all-non-maori-people-in-new-zealand-counties-1878 (accessed 11 June 2026).

Story by John Wilson, published 4 March 2009, updated 1 August 2024.