Kiwi - A Curious Case of National Identity | Richard Wolfe

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.

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.