The Concentration and Dispersion of Manufacturing in New Zealand

T;-' nWO opposing tendencies, towards concentration and towards dispersion, are shown by the spatial arrangement of manufacturing in New Zealand. Though over 100,000 factory workers are employed in the five main centers of population the remaining 56,000 gain a livelihood in factories scattered throughout the length and breadth of the country.1 This paper introduces a map of manufacturing in the Dominion, and analyzes the pattern so revealed by examining in turn the factors affecting the distribution of material oriented, market oriented, and relatively footloose industries. One of the greatest problems involved in a geographical study of manufacturing in New Zealand is the lack of detailed statistical data. While employment figures are available for each town of 1000 or more population,2 the smallest areas for which statistics of gross and net production, cost of materials used, and amount of wages and salaries are published regularly are the 25 employment districts shown in Figure 1. In practice the analysis of the geography of manufacturing by these districts has proved reasonably satisfactory; each district contains only one main urban area and, in most cases, the activities of the area tend to be focused on this town. Given the availability of certain data, a further consideration is the most suitable way, or ways, of using this to describe cartographically the contemporary distribution of manufacturing. Single criterion maps have already been published3 showing the number I useful information about various aspects of manufacturing in New Zealand may be found in the following references: J. L. Hewland, Manufacturing in New Zealand, New Zealand Geogr., Vol. 2, No. 1. April 1946, pp. 1-16; J. K. Bewley, Changes in the Pattern of Industrial Productioni in New Zealand from 1938-1954, Proc. of First Geography Conference, Auckland, 1955, pp. 43-51; G. C. Billing, The Industrial Pattern and New Zealand's Future, Econ. Journ., Vol. 68, March 1957, pp. 65-73; N. E. Dalmer, Industry-Its Development and Importance in New Zealanid, and W. B. Sutch, Our Changing I industries: Reasons Why, both in New Zealand Inventory and Prospect, Wellingtoni Branch, New Zealand Geographical Society, 1.956; and G. J. R. Linge, The Location of Manufacturing in New Zealand, New Zealand Geogr., Vol. 13, No. 1, April 1.957, pp. 1-18. Among duplicated papers should be mentioned: W. B. Sutch, The Next Two Decades of Manufacturing in New Zealand, read to A.N.Z.A.A.S. Conference, Dunedin, 1957; idem, Recent Developments in New Zealand Maniufacturinig, read to Auckland Branch, New Zealand Geographical Society, 1958; and G. J. R. Linge, Some Measures of the Location of Manufacturing in New Zealand, read to the New Zealand Statistical Association, Wellington, 1957. All statistics in this paper are for 1956 (or production year 1955-1956) and were derived from the Report on Industrial Production, annual, Wellington; New Zealand Official YearBook, annual, Wellington; and from unpublished returns of the Department of Labour and Employment. 2 Analyzed by L. L. Pownall: The Functions of New Zealan-d Towns, Annals Assn. of Amer. Geogrs., Vol. 43, 1953, pp. 332-350. 3G. J. R. Linge: The Location of Manufacturing in New Zealand, New Zealand Geogr., Vol. 13, No. 1, April, 1957, pp. 8-10

Business · Dispersion (optics) · Economic geography · Geography · Optics · Physics · Environmental Science · New Zealand Economic and Social Studies

• The Geographical Variation in Wages Paid by Particular Industries

  Open Access•Anthony Hoare, Anthony G Hoare•Tijdschrift voor Economische en…•1988

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