Kiwifruit industry in New Zealand principal of Wanganui Girls' College who had been visiting mission schools in Yichang, China. The seeds were planted in 1906 by a Wanganui nurseryman, Alexander Allison, with the vines first fruiting in 1910. A New Zealand horticulturalist developed the well-known green kiwifruit in Avondale, New Zealand, around 1924. This well known green kiwifruit were later renamed “Hayward” as a tribute to its creator, Hayward Wright. The first commercial planting of Chinese gooseberries occurred in 1937 by the orchardist Jim MacLoughlin. He found that the vines were low maintenance and fruited well. By 1940, MacLoughlin purchased more property for Chinese gooseberry
Flax in New Zealand Flax in New Zealand New Zealand flax describes the common New Zealand perennial plants "Phormium tenax" and "Phormium colensoi", known by the Māori names "harakeke" and "wharariki" respectively. Although given the common name 'flax' they are quite distinct from the Northern Hemisphere plant known as flax ("Linum usitatissimum") "P. tenax" occurs naturally in New Zealand and Norfolk Island, while "P. colensoi" is endemic to New Zealand. They have played an important part in the cultural and economic history of New Zealand for both the Māori people and the later European settlers. Both species and their cultivars have now been widely