New Zealand Gazette – 1898 – No. 9

Page 276

✨ Vital Statistics for 1897

276
THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE.
[No. 9

NUMBER of Deaths of Persons of Sixty-five Years and upwards registered in the Four Chief Towns of New Zealand during the Year 1897.

Boroughs.	Total Deaths of Persons over 65.	65 to 70.	70 to 75.	75 to 80.	80 to 85.	85 to 90.	90 and upwards.
		M.	F.	M.	F.	M.	F.
Auckland	116	16	13	19	17	8	11
Wellington	87	20	10	21	6	7	9
Christchurch	100	16	12	13	13	10	12
Dunedin	139	30	18	22	9	22	11
Totals	442	82	53	75	45	47	43

BIRTHS AND BIRTH-RATES.

The total number of births registered as occurring in the four chief centres and suburbs in 1897 was 4,408, as against 4,360 for the previous year.

The births in the four cities rose from 2,765 in 1896 to 2,847 in 1897; while the births in the suburban boroughs fell from 1,595 to 1,561. The birth-rates for last year were,--

Auckland City and five suburban boroughs	28·29
Wellington City and three suburban boroughs	27·71
Christchurch City and four suburban boroughs	21·88
Dunedin City and eight suburban boroughs	21·54

Thus, by the inclusion of the suburbs the rate is raised at Christchurch and Dunedin, but lowered at Auckland and Wellington. It will be observed that Wellington has the highest rate, Auckland the next highest, Christchurch and Dunedin following at long intervals. The difference between the Wellington rate (27·46) and the Dunedin rate (21·82) is very marked. The birth-rate for the whole colony for last year was 25·96 per thousand. Auckland and Wellington are thus well above the average, Christchurch and Dunedin considerably below it.

Taking the births in the four central boroughs without their suburbs, and comparing the numbers for 1897 and 1896, an increase is observed—at Auckland 14, at Wellington 62, and at Christchurch 6. At Dunedin the figures for both years are the same. The figures for the last five years are,--

Auckland (without suburbs)	1893.	1894.	1895.	1896.	1897.
Wellington	870	873	888	892	906
Christchurch	971	990	1,000	1,005	1,067
Dunedin	344	400	359	370	376
	484	527	475	498	498

The birth-rates recorded for the four central boroughs last year show a rise at Wellington, 27·71, as against 26·84 for 1896; and at Christchurch, from 21·81 in 1896 to 21·88 in 1897; but a fall at Auckland, from 28·39 to 28·29; and at Dunedin, from 21·83 to 21·54. The rates for the years 1893–97 are as follows :—

Auckland (without suburbs)	1893.	1894.	1895.	1896.	1897.
Wellington	27·79	27·80	28·04	28·39	28·29
Christchurch	28·23	28·25	28·30	26·84	27·71
Dunedin	20·10	22·81	20·36	21·81	21·88
	20·54	22·14	19·87	21·83	21·54

DEATHS AND DEATH-RATES.

The total number of deaths registered for the four centres in 1897 was 2,013—viz., 1,378 in the cities, and 635 in the suburbs. In 1896 the number was 1,918—1,302 in the cities, and 616 in the suburbs.

By including the suburbs the death-rate for last year is lowered at each of the four centres, the difference being most noticeable in Christchurch and Dunedin. The rates for the year are,--

Auckland City and five suburban boroughs	12·99
Wellington City and three suburban boroughs	12·03
Christchurch City and four suburban boroughs	18·15
Dunedin City and eight suburban boroughs	11·81

If the suburbs are included the death-rate is found to be highest in Auckland and lowest in Dunedin; Christchurch and Wellington taking second and third places respectively. The death-rate for the colony was 9·14 per 1,000 of mean population. The four centres, as might be expected, each show a higher average than this.

If the number of deaths of infants under 1 year be excluded, the mortality among the rest of the population would be in the following ratio to the 1,000 living :—

Auckland (including suburbs)	8·97
Wellington	8·79
Christchurch	9·17
Dunedin	9·28

The degree of infantile mortality is perhaps best shown in the proportion of deaths of children under 1 year of age to every 100 births. For 1897 the proportions at the chief centres are,--

Auckland (including suburbs)	12·54
Wellington	9·84
Christchurch	11·25
Dunedin	6·30

Thus the proportion at Dunedin is only about half that found at Auckland. Again, the percentage of deaths of children under 5 to the total number of deaths is—in Auckland, 34·13; in Wellington, 28·73; in Christchurch, 24·78; in Dunedin, only 14·29. The total of deaths under 5 is 541, or 26·88 per cent. of all deaths, as against 613 and 31·96 for 1896. The deaths of persons of 65 and upwards numbered 442 last year; in 1896 they were 363.

VUW Te Waharoa — NZ Gazette 1898, No 9

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✨ LLM interpretation of page content

🏥 Deaths of Persons Aged Sixty-five Years and Over in Four Chief Towns for 1897 (continued from previous page)

Domain🏥 Health & Social Welfare
KeywordsVital Statistics, Deaths, Elderly, Age Distribution, Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin, 1897

🏥 Births and Birth-rates in Four Chief Centres for 1897

Domain🏥 Health & Social Welfare
KeywordsVital Statistics, Births, Birth-rates, Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin, 1897

🏥 Deaths and Death-rates in Four Chief Centres for 1897

Domain🏥 Health & Social Welfare
KeywordsVital Statistics, Deaths, Death-rates, Infant Mortality, Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin, 1897

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