Auckland welcomes its 1.5 millionth citizen

The Mayor has welcomed the baby chosen as Auckland’s 1.5 millionth citizen this morning at Middlemore Hospital.

Ramonah Patience Toomalatai was born a healthy 9 pounds 9 ounces at 4.36am in Middlemore’s Maternity Ward to proud parents Sulia and Tutasi Toomalatai.

“Ramonah may have been four days overdue but she was right on time to reach this significant milestone for Auckland,” says Len Brown.

The Toomalatai family live in Panmure and Ramonah joins her sister to Janelia (6) and brother Patrick (4). Both her parents are Samoan born; her mother Sulia grew up in Tauranga and her father Tutasi moved to New Zealand eight years ago.

Statistics New Zealand determined that the 1.5 millionth Aucklander would arrive today and would most likely be a baby rather than a migrant due to existing growth patterns.

Population growth in Auckland has exceeded that of other New Zealand centres over the last 60 years and reached 1 million in the mid-1990s. Auckland is now home to 34 per cent of New Zealand’s population according to 2011 figures with estimates suggesting Auckland could reach 2 million before 2031.

“Our challenge is to ensure that by the time we reach the 2 million mark we can look back and know we made the right decisions, the tough decisions and built an Auckland that Ramonah will be proud of.”

The Middlemore Maternity Unit is the largest in the country with 6,900 children born each year.