In the early 1860s Nelson and Wellington, both small port settlements, had similar populations. Wellington became the nation’s capital in 1865, and access to the rural hinterlands of Horowhenua and the Wairarapa also improved, resulting in strong population growth. Nelson meanwhile was not supported by a prosperous rural hinterland, and grew much more slowly.
Using this item
Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand
This item is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 New Zealand Licence
Source: Statistics New Zealand
Add new comment