THE MAORIS

Manawatu Herald, Volume L, Issue 3944, 18 May 1929, Page 4

THE MAORIS

STEADILY INCREASING. MAJORITY VERY YOUTHFUL. PURE MAORIS FEWER. The Maori population of New Zealand continues to increase steadily. In 1926, the year of the last census, there were 63,670 Maoris, of whom 11,306 were half-castes. In ,1901 there ware 45,550, of whom '5340 were half-castes. Probably almost one-half of the Maori comlmunity is no longer of pure Maori descent. The race will not rapidly become exitinet, as was forecasted by observers last century, but it is very doubtful whether it can survive the gradual infiltration of European strains. Such are the principal conclusions reached after a special study of the information gained by .the Census and office in the 1926 census, and issued now in a separate volume. ‘The statisticians also found that 96 per cent, of the Maoris live in the North .Islaud, and almost onefourth of them live in the North Auckland Peninsula. In three counties—Matakaoa, Waiapu and JEokianga.—and in the Chatham Islands there are more Maoris than whites. In three other counties —Taupo, Wjhangaroa and Ivawihia —the numbers of whites and of Maoris are approximately equal. There are only 914 female Maoris to over* 1000 males. The Alaoi’i population, compared with the Euroi>ean, is a very youthful one. Over 61 per cent, of the male and 63 per cent, of the females are under 25 year's of age. There is no exact (knowledge of the extent of miscegenation, but there is little doubt that it is greater than the census returns show. In 1919, of 814 men of the Maori Battalion 48 per cent, had European blood; and of 4500 native school children investigated in 1926 the percentage with white blood was 51.4.