Kiwi A Curious Case Of National Identity

Description

How did the word 'kiwi' migrate from the Maori name of a secretive bird to signify a New Zealander, a globally recognised fruit, and be used in all manner of national and international branding? In this highly illustrated study of a key aspect of New Zealand identity, cultural historian Richard Wolfe explores the evolution of 'kiwi' through to its multiplicity of uses today. With extensive colour illustrations and ephemera, and Wolfe's trademark eye for the curious, Kiwi is both entertaining and important.

Author description

Richard Wolfe is a cultural historian and curator who has written or co-authored some 40 books on themes from the moa to New Zealand art, including Footprints on the Land, Hellhole of the Pacific, and New Zealand's Lost Heritage. He was a display artist at the Auckland and Canterbury museums, and co-curated the first major exhibition of Kiwiana (a term he helped invent). Richard lives with his artist wife Pamela in Auckland.

Table of contents

Introduction 5 1 A land of birds: From Gondwana to Zealandia 10 2 The hidden bird of Ta ne 14 3 'A perfectly new genus': Discovered by science 26 4 Settlement from Europe: The kiwi under threat 44 5 Early symbols of identity: Kiwi in Fernland 54 6 'Rara Avis': A bird of the people 66 7 Kiwi at the Front: The patriotic Apteryx 80 8 Consolidation: The rise of kiwi symbolism in the 1920s and 1930s 92 9 Back to the Front: The kiwi during the Second World War 118 10 Aftermath: The post-Second World War kiwi 134 11 Mid-century: The 1950s kiwi 144 12 Cultural matters: Kiwi to the fore 160 13 The high-flying kiwi(fruit) 178 1 4 In survival mode: Conserving the kiwi 186 Notes 196 Bibliography 204 Index 206