New Zealand Apples 1934 Tapestry

Apples were first introduced into New Zealand in 1819 by the Rev. Samuel Marsden, who planted trees, brought from New South Wales, on the Church Missionary Society's station established earlier that year at Kerikeri, Bay of Islands. In 1899 the first trial shipment of apples back to the United Kingdom, carried in cool storage by the S.S. Papanui from Lyttelton, had earned a fair price, and were well received. With prospects of an export market, and good local demand, apple orchards expanded rapidly from 1910 to 1916 and for several years after WWI. New Zealand's apple varietals had a unique taste and crispness that became a favorite back home in the UK. In the 1930s, a push to position them as premium produce was put into place.