Pioneer growers: A Taranaki couple led the way in finding macadamia nut trees to suit New Zealand conditions

摘要

It's no exaggeration to describe Taranaki macadamia growers Christine and Bill Charteris as pioneers. Not only have they literally broken new ground in order to establish their orchard, they have lead the way in establishing new varieties and methodsof cultivation and forging ahead with developing processing equipment. Their zeal for macadamias took root in 1980. Both interested in horticulture, they were keen to convert part of the family dairy farm to crops. They selected macadamias because rewarewa, a member of the Proteaceae family to which macadamia also belongs, already grew well on the property.