suspicion. The table is described as 'an approximate estimate' and the figures vary from the precise (down to the last digit) to whole thousands. As the conditions which prevented an attempt at a census in 1864 and 1871 would also have obtained in 1867, and as the factors making for a decline were still potent in the late 1860s, the figure of 3,670 should be disregarded (Census of New Zealand, 1864; Statistics of New Zealand, 1867; Census of New Zealand, 1871).
2.13 An official report on the Coromandel district in 1870 gives a population of 28o (AJHR 1871 F4). This is probably the same district as Fenton's Coromandel, for the reporting official compares his total with Fenton's figure of 351. This points to a decline of around zo%, perhaps not unreasonable in the light of the events of the i86os—war, blockade, gold rushes, land purchasing and Pakeha settlement. If this percentage decline is applied to Fenton's (adjusted) Hauraki total of 2,500, it leads to a total for 1870 of around 2,000. This is no more than a guess, but one not out of keeping with later figures.
The 'tribal' censuses, 1874-1881
2.14 Three censuses, those of 1874, 1878 and 1881, present statistics on Maori population under tribal and sub-tribal headings, while at the same time relating this information to regions which are named but not defined. There is considerable variation in the tribal names used from one census to another; these inconsistencies suggest, first, that the enumerators were uncertain about tribal nomenclature, and second, that for the sake of statistical convenience they imposed a rather limited schema upon a much more intricate
social reality (AJHR 1874 G7, 1878 G2, 1881 G3).
2.15 These 'tribal' statistics will not be used to attempt any estimates of iwi and hapu numbers. However, because there are no other statistics for the period, and because upon a close examination they take on a regional rather than a tribal look, an effort will be made to use them to indicate a regional trend over the period. In each of the three censuses the places of residence of the specified tribal groups are given. These, insofar as they could be located, provide a broad picture of the region covered. Though there are variations from census to census, a recognisable 'Hauraki' does emerge from the process. The 'region' of 1874 includes the whole of the Coromandel Peninsula south to a line from Waihi beach to Te Aroha, as well as the southern shores of the Firth, going as far south as Te Hoe-a-Tainui and on its western side to Waiheke Island. The 'region' of 1878 appears to be less extensive—no place of residence on the western side of the Firth occurs, but it also goes south to include Te Hoe-a-Tainui. The 1881 'region', by contrast, closely resembles that of 1874, though it also goes further south. If allowance is made for the restricted 1878 boundaries, the censuses appear to deal with an area which may be reasonably identified with 'Hauraki'.
2.16 In 1874 the enumerator was E.W. Puckey, the Native Agent at Thames. He estimated a total of 1,814 for the region; this included 3o designated 'Waikato' and 150
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