Actinidia deliciosa Cultivation spread from China in the early 20th century when seeds were introduced to New Zealand by Isabel Fraser, the principal of Wanganui Girls' College, who had been visiting mission schools in China. The seeds were planted in 1906 by a Wanganui nurseryman, Alexander Allison, with the vines first fruiting in 1910. People who tasted the fruit thought it had a gooseberry flavour, so began to call it the Chinese gooseberry, but being from the genus "Actinidia", it is not related to the gooseberry family, Grossulariaceae. The familiar cultivar "Actinidia deliciosa" 'Hayward' was developed by Hayward Wright in Avondale, New
Gooseberry Patch Gooseberry Patch Gooseberry Patch was founded in 1984 by Vickie Hutchins and Jo Ann Martin, who were neighbors. Before starting their catalog business Martin was a first-grade teacher, and Hutchins was a flight attendant. Gooseberry Patch encourages customers to submit recipes, some of which are selected for inclusion in Gooseberry Patch recipe books. Since 1992, over 200 cookbooks have been published with nearly 9.0 million sold. Crowd sourcing or peer production, both relatively new terms, have been an integral part of the cookbook production since 1992. January 1, 2010 new financial partners, who are committed to the brand's growth, joined