History

2. History Who would have thought that when Jim Wattie and his friend Harold Carr got together to form their small operation called J. Wattie Canneries Ltd, that they’d be making business history. This timeline shows how Jim overcame adversity on many occasions, and moved from one success to another .It all started with some surplus fruit, Kiwi ingenuity and a dream The Wattie’s story began in Hawke’s Bay in 1934. Fresh New Zealand produce was being wasted because of the prohibitive cost of transporting fresh produce from Hastings to the cities of Auckland and Wellington. James (Jim) Wattie and friend Harold Carr formed J. Wattie Canneries Ltd in 1934 and in 1935 started supplying pulped fruit from gooseberries, plums and peaches to be made into jam, which led in turn to the canning of peaches and pears. Who would have thought that when Jim Wattie and his friend Harold Carr got together to form their small operation called J. Wattie Canneries Ltd, that they’d be making business history. This timeline shows how Jim overcame adversity on many occasions, and moved from one success to another .It all started with some surplus fruit, Kiwi ingenuity and a dream The Wattie’s story began in Hawke’s Bay in 1934. Fresh New Zealand produce was being wasted because of the prohibitive cost of transporting fresh produce from Hastings to the cities of Auckland and Wellington. James (Jim) Wattie and friend Harold Carr formed J. Wattie Canneries Ltd in 1934 and in 1935 started supplying pulped fruit from gooseberries, plums and peaches to be made into jam, which led in turn to the canning of peaches and pears.