Kiwi: the People, the Bird, the Fruit

Kiwi has a triple meaning in New Zealand: There is the country’s most famous bird, the Kiwi; there is of course the world-famous fruit of the same name and last but not least, the people of New Zealand are affectionately called “kiwis”. The bird is the “original “owner” of the name, the latter two were added later on. It is a flightless bird, native to New Zealand, which has nostrils at the end of its beak and the females lay the largest egg, in proportion to its body size, of almost any bird in the world. They are about the same size as chickens, but their eggs are almost as big as those of an ostrich. The fruit is the brown furry fruit with a dark green flesh, it originates from China and is also called the Chinese Gooseberry. To help identify the fruit with New Zealand, the name "kiwifruit" was chosen. The name “Kiwis” for New Zealanders was established during the First World War, when New Zealand soldiers carved a kiwi on the chalk hill above Sling Camp in England; from then on the name was almost universally applied for any New Zealander residing overseas.