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
Prior to 1800 in New Zealand legal rather than geographic sense before 1840 is complex and unclear. When the British colony of New South Wales was founded in 1788 it nominally included New Zealand as far as 43°39'S (approximately halfway down the South Island). In the years before 1800 there was little interest shown in New Zealand except for the events of 1793 (see below). "For world events and topics before 1800 not specifically related to New Zealand see specific years" Prior to 1800 in New Zealand The first humans are thought to have arrived in New Zealand from Polynesia some time between 800AD and 1385AD.