Australians attempt to claim Maori name for their honey
In an extraordinary statement by Paul Kordic director of the self styled “Australian Manuka honey Association” he claims that the word Manuka has been used in Australia for 200 years.
Well it would be since Maori people have been crossing the Tasman Sea for much longer than that and the word Manuka is exclusively part of the Maori language for possibly 1000 years.
As Maori migrated to Australia for a range of reasons including work, trading and marriage, naturally they took their language with them and applied it to plants they saw that resembled plants found in their native New Zealand.
Quite simply, Manuka is a Maori word that belongs to New Zealand and the Australians should develop their own names for their plant species.
Has anyone in Australia thought to ask the Aboriginal people what they called these plants, surely they must have had a name for Leptospermum polygalifolium and my guess is that it wasn’t Jellybush
Australia produces good honey so why try to piggyback on New Zealand’s name for Manuka honey.
Genuine, certified UMF Manuka honey can be found on-line here: https://www.manukanatural.com/manuka-honey-umf/
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