Discovery and documentation
The first kiwi specimen to be studied by Europeans was a kiwi skin brought to George Shaw by Captain Andrew Barclay aboard the ship Providence, who was reported to have been given it by a sealer in Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour) around 1811. George Shaw gave the kiwi its scientific name and drew sketches of the way he imagined a live bird to look which appeared as plates 1057 and 1058 in volume 24 of The Naturalist's Miscellany[Full citation needed] in 1813.
[edit] Etymology
Kiwi (kē'wē, pronounced [kiːwiː], "kee-wee"), is given as from the Māori language (1825–1835)[11] and as "of imitative origin" from the call.[12] The genus name Apteryx is Greek, meaning without wing: a-, without or not; pterux, wing.[13]
[edit] As a national symbol
The Kiwi as a symbol first appeared in the late 19th century in New Zealand regimental badges. It was later featured in the badges of the South Canterbury Battalion in 1886 and the Hastings Rifle Volunteers in 1887. Soon after, kiwis appeared in many military badges.
The Kiwi symbol began to gain international recognition in 1906 when Kiwi Shoe Polish was sold in Melbourne by a man with a NZ-born wife. The polish was widely sold in the UK and the USA during World War I and afterwards.
During the First World War, the giant kiwi was carved on the chalk hill above Sling Camp in England. During the war, the name "Kiwi" for New Zealand soldiers came into general use.
The Kiwi bird has since become the well-known national symbol for New Zealand. All New Zealanders overseas (and at home) are still called "Kiwis". The Kiwi is still closely associated with the Armed Forces of NZ. The New Zealand dollar is often referred to as the "Kiwi", and the kiwi fruit is known as a "Kiwi" in some countries. Kiwis are prominent in the coat of arms, crests and badges of many New Zealand cities, clubs an
