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 the colonists some concern, and Hone Heke's Rebellion in the North (1843–46) and the threatened invasion of Auckland by discontented natives, in 1851, must have occasioned no little anxiety to the settlers. The most serious trouble with the natives occurred during the Maori Wars of the 'sixties, when the City was surrounded by hostile natives, and fears were entertained for its safety. Block houses were erected at various points of vantage, and the entire male population was conscripted. Fortunately the tide of war swept past the City without doing any damage to life or property and without seriously arresting the work of the pioneers, who during the first two or three decades laid the foundation of the prosperity which the City has since experienced.

In 1841 the population was estimated to be 1,500 persons, but by 1858 it had reached 6,283, and in 1864 the inhabitants numbered 12,423. This was rapid progress for so young a city, and was due in a measure to the discovery of gold at Coromandel in 1852, which brought many colonists to the City. The war, however, seriously affected the City's prosperity, and for the next ten years the population remained practically stationary, the census returns for 1874 showing the residents to number 12,775.

The following decade found the City making rapid strides, and by 1886 the population had increased to 33,161, due in part to direct immigration, but also to the