New Zealanders have obtained the nickname of "kiwi" Stories abound as to how this name came about.......perhaps we are named after the "kiwi fruit" (which also goes by the name of zespry) Originally the kiwi fruit was called chinese goosberry. Sorry.........we are not named after the fruit. Another belief is that we are named after our national bird the "Kiwi" however much as we would like this to be, it is not true. The nickname kiwi was associated with New Zealand soldiers during the first world war. Our soldiers were given boot nugget (polish) which had the kiwi brand. At the base camps soldiers from other countries could identify the new zealanders by the kiwi brand polish they were using on their boots. On the subject of names........pakeha was the name given to white people by the Maori people. There are several definitions as to what the work Pakeha means. I was told by a maori that Pakeha means foul smelling breeze. The first europeans that came to New Zealand (Aotearoa = land of the long white cloud) were whalers who had spent months at sea in search of whales. As their ships came over the horizon the sea breezes carried their smell to the shores of New Zealand. Local Maori went down to the beach to investigate. When the ships finally anchored off the coast the maori realised what caused the 'Pakeha" = foul smelling breeze..........believe it or not