History of macadamia nut

The macadamia but tree (Macadamia integrifolia) originated in the rain forests of Queensland, Australia, and New South Wales.

Early British inhabitants learned about the macadamia tree for the native Australian aborigines. Aboriginal people are known to have held seasonal feats on macadamias which they called ‘boppal’ nuts near Gympie in Queensland, especially at Mt Bauple.

In 1828 Allan Cunningham was the first European to discover them. This species did not fit any previously established genera in that family, so in 1858 Ferdinand Von Muller established a new genus, Macadamia, naming it in honor of John Macadam, MD., secretary of the Philosophical Institute of Victoria.

The first macadamia plantation was established in northern New South Wales in the 1880s but difficulties encountered in cracking the tough shell thwarted development of the industry.

Macadamia trees were brought to Hawaii in 1882 for windbreak plantings and it was there in the 1930s at the University of Hawaii that the commercial potential of the nut was developed.

In 1910 the Hawaiian Agricultural Experiment Station began to encourage the growing of macadamia nuts. A large business grew up and began shipping the nuts to mainland America, but it wasn’t until after World War II that Hawaii exported large amounts of macadamia nuts.
History of macadamia nut

History of Vegemite

Introduced in 1922 by a fellow named Dr Cyril P Callister at Fred Walker Cheese Company, Vegemite was created in an attempt to figure out what to do with brewery waste.

The spread was made from brewer’s yeast and was contained in an amber jar. In 1923, a competition was run to name this delicious new spread. The prize for the name Vegemite was fifty pounds but the name of the winning contestant has since been lost.

Vegemite was not a very big hit in Australia until the Great Depression smacked into the world in 1929.

When the depression hit, parents were concerned about how to pack the most nutrition into the most people for the least amount of money. Vegemite provided a solution, being very high in B vitamins and very inexpensive.

In 1926, the company became known as the Kraft Walker Cheese Company, after the c0ompany merged with American food giant Kraft.

The Kraft Foods has achieved a history of success by doing nothing to the original product and only updating external factors such as packaging and the occasional consumer promotion.
History of Vegemite