The Goodnight Kiwi

This animated short about a character called the Goodnight Kiwi, and his companion called ‘The Cat,’ was used to signal the end of nightly broadcasts on Television New Zealand channels before 24-hour TV. It aired from 1980/81 until October 19, 1994, when TV2 began 24-hour broadcasting.

And now I’ll answer the questions you all have been dying to know, but too shy to ask. Yes, we are talking about the flightless bird, not the fruit. Yes, a flightless bird was actually in charge of shutting down Television New Zealand broadcasting each night. And no, the lumpy brown fruit couldn’t have done the job better.