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Kiwiana are certain items and icons from New Zealand's heritage, especially from around the middle of the 20th century, that are seen as representing iconic New Zealand elements. These "quirky things that contribute to a sense of nationhood" [1] include both genuine cultural icons and kitsch.
Items of Kiwiana are generally either unique or particularly common to New Zealand, particularly from the early and mid-twentieth century. Although the term is sometimes used to describe any and all New Zealand icons, it is more commonly used to describe pop culture items such as toys or branded foods. A few more serious national icons have become Kiwiana through heavy use in advertising and the souvenir industry. These include the kiwi and the hei-tiki. Kiwiana is generally seen as a form of kitsch.
A number of companies with products deemed to be 'Kiwiana' have enthusiastically cashed in on this. For example, an advertising campaign has claimed that "you'll never be a Kiwi 'til you love your Wattie's sauce", even though the company is now American-owned. In the 1990s, a Sanitarium campaign claimed that "Kiwi kids are Weet-Bix kids". The advertisement was a dubbed version of an Australian advertisement that claimed that 'Aussie kids are Weet-bix kids' and the landscape in the background of the advertisement is recognisably Australian. Other companies have attempted to create their own Kiwiana. For example, McDonald's New Zealand has an off and on 'Kiwiburger' sold within their stores, which was an attempt to duplicate the traditional New Zealand style of burger with a slice of beetroot and a fried egg, and its advertisement was essentially a sung list of Kiwiana items. A series of L&P commercials, featuring Jemaine Clement of Flight of the Conchords, are based around Kiwiana-themed items, and were very popular with New Zealanders. A number of products widely regarded as Kiwiana, such as Wattie's tomato sauce, Marmite, and L&P, are now made by non-New Zealand companies. In some cases, this is because the original New Zealand company has been purchased by an overseas corporation, in others the product has always been made by an international firm.
In recent decades, Kiwiana has become a subject in itself, and several celebratory books have been published. A range of products using Kiwiana motifs has also been produced, including Christmas tree decorations, cards, T-shirts, garden ornaments and jewellery. There are Kiwiana sections in many New Zealand museums, and some are dedicated to showing Kiwiana only. In 1994, New Zealand Post released a set of stamps depicting kiwiana items including a pavlova, fish and chips, rugby boots and ball, and a black singlet and gumboots. [3]
Marmite ( MAR-myte) is a British savoury food spread based on yeast extract, invented by the German scientist Justus von Liebig. It is made from by-products of beer brewing (lees) and is produced by the British company Unilever. Marmite is a vegan source of B vitamins, including supplemental vitamin B12. A traditional method of use is to spread it very thinly on buttered toast.
In Australia, a milk bar is a suburban local general store which can include delicatessens or "delis" and corner shops or corner stores. Similar, but not identical, establishments include tuck shops. Milk bars are traditionally a place where people buy newspapers, and fast-food items such as fish and chips, hamburgers, milkshakes, and snacks. They are essentially a smaller-scale suburban form of the convenience store but are more likely to be "mum and dad" small businesses rather than larger franchised operations. The term is also found in New Zealand, alongside the more local term dairy.
Jaffas are an Australian–New Zealand registered trademark for a small round confectionery consisting of a solid, orange-flavoured chocolate centre with a hard covering of a red confectionery shell. The name derives from the Jaffa orange. Jaffas are part of both Australiana and Kiwiana.
The culture of New Zealand is a synthesis of indigenous Māori, colonial British, and other cultural influences. The country's earliest inhabitants brought with them customs and language from Polynesia, and during the centuries of isolation, developed their own Māori and Moriori cultures. British colonists in the 19th century brought Western culture and had a dramatic effect on the indigenous inhabitants, spreading Western religious traditions and the English language. Over time, a distinct Pākehā or New Zealand European culture emerged.
Chesdale is a New Zealand brand of processed cheese. It is well known for its animated television advertising, with a jingle sung by two cartoon characters, Ches and Dale, wearing gumboots and black singlets.
Weet-Bix is a whole-grain wheat breakfast cereal created and manufactured in Australia and New Zealand by the Sanitarium Health Food Company, and in South Africa by Bokomo.
"Kiwi" is a common self-reference used by New Zealanders, though it is also used internationally. It is generally viewed as a symbol of pride and affection for most people of New Zealand.
An ice cream sandwich is a frozen dessert consisting of ice cream between two biscuits, wafers, soft cookies, or other baked goods. The ingredients are different around the world, with Ireland using wafers and the United States commonly using cookies.
Lemon & Paeroa, often shortened to L&P, is a sweet, lemon-flavoured soft drink manufactured in New Zealand. It is considered Kiwiana, and was traditionally made by combining lemon juice with naturally carbonated mineral water from the town of Paeroa. Today, it is manufactured by multi-national Coca-Cola. The origin date of the drink is uncertain, but the brand estimates 1907.
The cuisine of New Zealand is largely driven by local ingredients and seasonal variations. As an island nation with a primarily agricultural economy, New Zealand yields produce from land and sea. Similar to the cuisine of Australia, the cuisine of New Zealand is a diverse British-based cuisine, with Mediterranean and Pacific Rim influences as the country has become more cosmopolitan.
Weetabix is a breakfast cereal produced by Weetabix Limited in the United Kingdom. It comes in the form of palm-sized wheat biscuits. Variants include organic and Weetabix Crispy Minis (bite-sized) versions. The UK cereal is manufactured in Burton Latimer, Northamptonshire, and exported to over 80 countries. Weetabix for Canada and the United States is manufactured in Cobourg, Ontario, in both organic and conventional versions.
Bluebird Foods Ltd is a New Zealand division of the U.S.-based PepsiCo corporation, that manufactures snack foods. All snacks are manufactured at the Bluebird Foods factory in Wiri, Auckland.
Pineapple lumps or pineapple chunks are a chocolate-covered confection with a soft, chewy pineapple-flavoured middle from New Zealand. They are often identified as Kiwiana.
Cookie Time Ltd is a New Zealand company based in Christchurch, New Zealand which has been manufacturing snack foods since 1983.
An Afghan is a traditional New Zealand biscuit made from flour, butter, cornflakes, sugar and cocoa powder, topped with chocolate icing and a half walnut. The recipe has a high proportion of butter, and relatively low sugar, and no leavening, giving it a soft, dense and rich texture, with crunchiness from the cornflakes, rather than from a high sugar content. The high butter content gives a soft melt-in-the-mouth texture, and the sweetness of the icing offsets the low sugar and the cocoa bitterness.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to chocolate:
Squiggles is a brand of chocolate biscuit manufactured by Griffin's Foods in New Zealand. In Australia, Squiggles, just like other Griffin's products, are sold as home brands and do not use the "Squiggles" name.
Jelly Tip is a New Zealand brand of ice cream made by Tip Top. It is an ice cream on a stick with a tip of jelly and coated with chocolate. Invented in 1951, it is estimated that over 150 million Jelly Tips have been sold until 2001. About four million Jelly Tips are made each year. The New Zealand Herald described it as Kiwiana.
