The figures for the 1901 census revealed that the North Island's population had exceeded the South Island's for the first time since the Central Otago Gold Rush of 1861 – the two islands (plus their associated minor offshore islands) had populations of 390,579 and 382,140 respectively. Only 40% of the country's population was based in urban centres, and only two of these centres, Auckland and Dunedin, had populations of over 25,000.
