Macadamia nuts are indigenous to Australia, originally found in the rain forest all along the coast of north-eastern Australia. While the trees had long been known to the aborigines, who called the macadamia kindal-kindal, the first tree was propagated from seed by British colonist, Walter Hill, who was the director of the Botany Garden in Brisbane around 1857.

Hill named the tree after his Scottish friend, John Macadam, who died in a ship injury before he was able to taste the nuts. William Purvis took some nuts from Queensland Australia to Hawaii in the early 1880s. The development of efficient cracking machines in the 1940s signalled the start of commercial production in Hawaii.

Macadamia nuts were already established in the Durban Botanical Gardens in South Africa in 1915, the source of which is still unknown. Commercial production was established in the 1960s with production increasing so much over the years that South Africa has turned into Australia’s main competitor for the title of the world’s largest producer.

The South African Macadamia Growers’ Association, SAMAC estimates that there are over 700 producers in the country. The country also boosts the single largest commercial planting in the world.

On our farm, Beaumont (695) is the most widely planted macadamia nut cultivar favoured for its drought tolerance.

We also have 814 favoured for their precocity and subsequent high yields and 816 and A4 for its nut quality.

Most of the new cultivars and selections are imported from either Hawaii or Australia.

For lovely recipes: Macadamia Recipes