Wednesday 15 April 2009

Pavs and Phar Laps

New Zealand prime minister John Key is telling Aussies to get your dirty paws off our pavlova and even Phar Lap.

"It's totally ridiculous for Australians to claim that they have pavlova or Phar Lap or any of those iconic New Zealand items,'' Key said. "Everybody knows that they're ours and for Australians to claim ownership of them is quite inappropriate.''

A story published last week, says evidence that the pavlova claim might be correct. A New Zealand recipe from 1929, predates the earliest Australian recipe by six years.

"The jury is still out on Phar Lap, the wonder horse that was born in New Zealand, raced in Australia and now has its body parts scattered in museums on both sides of the Tasman," the story says. "There’s no doubt that New Zealand can lay claim to the Finn brothers’ band, Crowded House. On a bad day we’ll lend you Russell Crowe.”

Key was asked if he shared the infamous view of former Kiwi prime minister Robert Muldoon that New Zealanders who emigrate to Australia raise the IQ of both countries.

"It would be most impolite of me to confirm or deny that proposition,'' John Key laughed off.

On News Central's news website, the listing under Australia is Main Continent and New Zealand!

2 comments:

Fosnez said...

Stuff it, we should just invade NZ and get it over with.

Nod Nedlaw said...

One needs to remember that most of New Zealand was actually deemed to be a part of Arthur Phillips commission as Governor of New South Wales in 1788. This continued through to the Maori Chiefs Declaration of Independence in 1835 and the subsequenrt Treaty of Waitangi (1840) and the establishment of a separate British colony in 1841.

So New Zealand was kinda Aussie for 47 years - so we can have some form of paternal/fraternal feelings to those across the Tasman.