Thanks by way of a chocolate fish

Oh: why do we Kiwis award a chocolate fish as a thank you? Well, giving a small token of thanks - koha - for a job well done is a Kiwi cultural thing. And we have gotten into the habit of making that small token ...a chocolate fish. 

It is "given (literally or figuratively) as a reward for a job well done; as in 'Good on ya, mate. You deserve a chocolate fish' " (Auckland Doctors, 2013, p. 3). Hingston reports that this particular "fish is very special in New Zealand culture. It is about 10 cm (4 inches) long and made of pink marshmallow covered in chocolate [which] are often used as rewards for good ideas or forfeits for bets and all Kiwis understand the expressions ‘give him a chocolate fish’ or ‘you owe me a chocolate fish’" (2009, p. 37).

It isn't quite a literal chocolate fish - as Hingston (2009) notes, it is a chocolate covered marshmallow fish - pictured alongside made by Queen Anne. Once made by Cadbury's - with, to my mind, nastily squishy marshmallow and very sweet milk chocolate - the best ones are made by Queen Anne, the original Christchurch firm. Their chocolate fish come in many different flavours, dark, milk and white chocolate, and - providing you like a nice, firm marshmallow - they are delicious. Check out the website - here - to order some of their delicious range (the boysenberry and peppermint flavours are my faves!).

One organisation I work for makes the giving of a chocolate fish literal - they have a 'chocolate fish nomination' which the recipient can redeem at the organisation cafe (or swap out for something of equivalent value). In my online courses, I publicly award a metaphorical chocolate fish, announcing it to reward exemplary behaviour, or eagle-eyed error-spotting.

The earliest mention of 'chocolate fish' in the media, via a quick search at the National Library of New Zealand, appears to be in 1903, in the Auckland Star. Many things were made of chocolate were advertised for sale by H M S Smeaton Ltd of Queen Street, including a chocolate creel and fish. Amongst a number of other ads, I also found a sweet (ha) Christmas story about a "Little Prince" in the Lyttelton Times, where the authors related that "the chocolate fish tied up in silver paper had a flavour about them that no chocolates out of a bonbonniere could have — a subtle flavour" (Askew & Askew, 1914). I was also quite taken by the notice: "Fishing at the mouth of the Rangitata recently, a fine fish weighing 12lbs was landed. Later, many not quite so big were also bagged. Another party working north of the Saltwater Creek landed a fine line of chocolate fish, and other dainties, to be seen at 'The Regent' Confectionery Store and Stall near Grand Pictures" (Timaru Herald, 1924). With the newspaper being able to poke fun via chocolate fish, I think we can safely say that chocolate fish were already common in New Zealand by 1924.

While The Chocolate Fish Company (2024) suggest the fame of chocolate fish grew at the hands of Richard Hudson of Cadbury Schweppes Hudson (see here for more), if so, there is no record of it in the media. It seems that chocolate fish landed in Aotearoa earlier than Hudson's enterprise in the early 20th century, and were well schooled before the advent of the Cadburys joint venture.

But what about the chocolate fish use as koha? Well, an early report of "a chocolate fish for a reward for 'a job well done'" is reported by The Chocolate Fish Company, where "20 dancers [...] were rewarded with large chocolate fish" (The Chocolate Fish Company, 2024, citing the Evening Post, 26 September 1933). However, I found an earlier mention, where a fourteen year old boy before the courts for theft explained to the judge that the plaintiff - a shop owner - had "asked me to mind the shop, [and] gave me a chocolate fish for minding it" (Auckland Sun, 1927). It appears that giving chocolate fish as a thank you was already a thing by 1927, and needed no further explanation of either the chocolate fish, or the giving of it. It should also be noted that the defendant had also helped himself, in addition to the fish, to "two packets of chewing-gum and about 9s in cash" (Auckland Sun, 1927). Ouch. Perhaps a chocolate fish was simply a token of appreciation, even then.

But what I still need to find out is: why a chocolate fish?

Sam

References:

Auckland Star. (1903, April 7). Public Notices: The Latest Novelty. Auckland Star, 34(83), 2, column 3. 2https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/AS19030407.2.22.3

Auckland Sun. (1927, June 18). Idle Hands: Boys Turned Burglars. Auckland Sun, 1(74), p. 1. https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/SUNAK19270618.2.22

Askew, A., & Askew, C. (1914, December 30). The Little Prince. Lyttelton Times, 115(16746), p. 11

Auckland Doctors. (2013). Kiwi Words and Phrases. http://www.aucklanddoctors.co.nz/media/50118/kiwi_words_and_phrases.pdf

Hingston, J. (2009). Afghans, Barbecues & Chocolate Fish: The ABC of Kiwi food. Hachette New Zealand Ltd.

Queen Anne. (2025). Chocolate fish [image]. https://queenanne.co.nz/collections/chocolate-fish

The Chocolate Fish Company. (2024). Chocfishtory: The History of Chocolate Fish. https://chocfish.co.nz/pages/fishtory

Timaru Herald. (1924, March 17). Notice "Fishing at the mouth". Timaru Herald, 98(18084), p. 9. https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/THD19240317.2.51