Auckland airport sign causes fury among Australians everywhere

Australia and New Zealand often duke it out over ownership of certain things but it seems like this latest claim has taken it a step too far.

A simple airport sign has been declared a “declaration of war” as Aussies take offence over one country claiming an iconic dessert as their own.

Australia and New Zealand often duke it out over ownership of certain things – such as actor Russell Crowe – but it seems like this latest claim has taken it a step too far.

A picture, shared on Reddit, was snapped at Auckland Airport saying “home is where the pavlova was really created”, with the social media user saying it was a “declaration of war”.

The user wasn’t the only one, with Australians leaping to use their right to poke fun at the smaller country on the Tasman Sea.

Pavlova is an iconic dessert.

“NZ bringing that big little bro energy,” one social media user mocked.

Another said: “It’s nice of them to promote tourism to Australia.”

“We all know that NZ is really just another Australian state, so the pav was created in Australia,” one social media user asserted.

“We literally live rent free in their heads,” another said, using the slang about when someone constantly thinks about you but you don’t spare them a second thought.

One added: “I think we should mobilise the emus. They overstepped the line.”

“Oh sh*t. We need respond with full force. With propaganda about lamingtons,” one social media user commented.

One said: “When your country hasn’t produced anything of significance, I guess you have to cling on to whatever you can, right?”

But now New Zealand is claiming it. Picture: Reddit

The two countries have competing stories over the invention of the pavlova, named after a Russian ballerina, with Australia’s story stemming from the idea Herbert ‘Bert’ Sachse created it in Perth in 1935.

However, New Zealand claims a similar story of an unnamed chef creating the dessert. This story has not be proven but Helen Leach, a food anthropology at the University of Otago, claims she found three instances of desserts named pavlova prior to Australia’s asserted date, according to the BBC.

Originally published as Auckland airport sign causes fury among Australians everywhere