Kiwifruit industry in New Zealand and Growers, who were calling the berries "melonettes", because the local name for the fruit, "Chinese gooseberry", had political connotations due to the Cold War, and to further distinguish it from real gooseberries, which are prone to a fungus called anthracnose. An American importer, Norman Sondag of San Francisco, complained that "melonettes" was as bad as "Chinese gooseberry" because melons and berries were both subject to high import tariffs, and instead asked for a short Maori name that quickly connoted New Zealand. In June 1959, during a meeting of Turners and Growers management in Auckland, Jack Turner suggested the name
Team New Zealand USA was able to impose a penalty point on the eventual challenger for the 35th America's Cup. Therefore, Team New Zealand started the 35th America's Cup racing with minus one point and would need to win eight races in order to get the 7 points needed to win the America's Cup. After five days of racing, which included nine races, Team New Zealand beat Oracle Team USA by eight races to one, or by 7 points to 1, and thereby won the Cup. Team New Zealand Team New Zealand or TNZ is a sailing team based in Auckland, New Zealand