The man of many apples - and the Queen

When Queen Elizabeth II bit into the red apple, it was immediately clear she liked it. She asked for more.
The apple was a variant of the most famous New Zealand apple ever and that moment with Her Majesty gave it its name. Royal Gala.
While it was missionary Samuel Marsden who bought and planted the first apple trees in the country, it was James Hutton Kidd who is directly responsible for the variety of apples we know and love today.
Born on September 12, 1877, in Northumberland, England to James and Harriet, the family emigrated to New Zealand when he was a child, starting out in Christchurch before heading to Whanganui.
Known as Hutton (rather than James) he trained in horticultural work before becoming interested in orcharding. He and his brother Wilfred set up small orchards.
In 1906 he moved to Greytown, initially buying a five-acre-block before expanding it into 20 acres and in 1916 married Ethel Laura (Lola) Gilbert. They had no children.
He began experimenting with new techniques in growing apples and advocated research into disease prevention - supporting the establishment of the then DSIR Plant Diseases Division.
But what was to make him iconic was the recognition of the need for new varieties of apple. Unsatisfied with the flavour of new varieties on the market - mainly from America, he began a breeding programme.
He kept diligent records and had success with a cross pollination of Delicious with Cox’s Orange Pippin. Called Delco, he sold the propagation rights to a nursery.
But the apple that would become synonymous with his name came after his death. Before he died he transferred seedings from his apple-breeding programme to the DSIR to be evaluated. By 1950 there were a couple of varieties viable but one stood out. It was sent for trials in Havelock North and was declared outstanding. The Gala.
It was released on to the market in the 1960’s and quickly became one of the world’s most popular apples.
Its red variant is the one we know as the Royal Gala today, given the name after its approval by Queen Elizabeth II.
Kidd died October 12, 1945 and is buried in Greytown Cemetery.
With great sadness for a great woman. RIP Your Majesty.