Kiwifruit industry in New Zealand Kiwifruit industry in New Zealand Kiwifruit or kiwi is a major horticultural export earner for New Zealand. New Zealand developed the first commercially viable kiwifruit and developed export markets, creating the demand for the fruit that exists today. Today New Zealand is the third largest kiwifruit producing country, next to China and Italy, and holds approximately 30% of the market share. In the 2008-2009 season the value of New Zealand kiwifruit exports was NZ$1.45 billion. Cultivation of the fuzzy kiwifruit spread from China in the early 20th century, when seeds were introduced to New Zealand by Mary Isabel Fraser, the
Avondale, Auckland 1880, the rate of settlement increased further. Te Whau became Avondale District on 5 June 1882, although the old name survives in the Whau River, an estuarial arm of the Waitematā Harbour, which runs along the western edge of the suburb. A prominent community leader and Member of Parliament was John Bollard, who lived in Avondale from 1861 to 1915. Early industries included brickyards, tanneries, mills and pottery works. Avondale also had numerous market gardens, especially on the Rosebank Peninsula. It was here that the "Hayward" cultivar of the Chinese gooseberry, later known as the kiwifruit, was developed by Hayward