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
New Zealand at the 1960 Summer Olympics New Zealand in 1960. One fencer represented New Zealand in 1960. By winning the Group A tie-breaker match, New Zealand advanced to the quarter-finals, while the Netherlands continued to the classification matches for 9th to 12th places. After losing its quarter-final, New Zealand moved into the classification matches for 5th to 8th places. New Zealand moved into the playoff for 5th and 6th places by defeating Germany. The match to decide 5th and 6th positions between Australia and New Zealand was declared null and void after Australia's previous match against Kenya was declared drawn on appeal. Australia subsequently defeated Kenya