Cultivation and Spread
Cultivation and Spread
In 1881 William H. Purvis started the forestation of macadamia in Hawaii. It was planted on the Island of Hawaii at Kapulena near the Waipi’o Valley where it thrived. The trees’ native Australia had been perfect for growing macadamia nuts but it turned out that Hawaii’s climate and soil conditions were just as good.
By 1921 an entrepreneurial Massachusetts man, Ernest van Tassel, saw a commercial potential in growing macadamias. He started the first Hawaiian macadamia plantation on government land near Honolulu. Unfortunately the seedlings couldn’t produce nuts of consistent quality. By the 1930’s a small amount were sold commercially, but large-scale commercial production was yet to come. The first commercial crop was then harvested in 1956.
Due to the tourism the nut was spread all over the world. It’s said, that one of the trees, which was brought to Hawaii, is still alive and bearing nuts.
