Whale watching on Ponsonby Rd?
Moby, the world’s most vocal vegan, has spilled the beans on his favourite places to dine around the globe. His list of ethical eateries includes Ponsonby Road mainstay, Musical Knives. ” cute little…
News of New Zealanders via Global Media
Straight Outta Cambridge
The Datsuns made Rolling Stone‘s Critics Top Albums of 2003 list with their eponymous debut record: “This NZ four piece aped the Stooges and AC/DC and helped re-ignite the post-millennium garage, cock-rock flame.” The…
Off the Beaten Track
NZ is one of 30 “hot spots for switched on travellers” recommended by Lonely Planet for 2004. To avoid the inevitable horde of Rings fans, LP suggests taking the Pacific Coast Highway down the Coromandel Peninsula, stopping…
Would the real Middle Earth please stand up?
“Tolkien may have intended The Lord of the Rings as an epic myth for England, but even he would acknowledge … that the world of Middle-earth and the tiny nation of NZ had become…
Big read
Elizabeth Knox’s Daylight – a typically imaginative tale involving caving, mysterious deaths, and a Resistance heroine – makes the Australian‘s list of Big Reads for 2004.
Lord of PR
Pete Hodgson – AKA ‘Minister of the Rings’ – dubbed “the most intelligent politician I have ever met” by National Post journalist, Cleo Paskal, in her article on the government-supported LotR publicity machine. “It…
New Frontier
The NZ government’s multimillion dollar media campaign in the US aiming to lure wealthy Americans to “the new California” is the subject of a December Voice of America feature. Major selling points are the clean/green…
Uggly in pink
LA Times profiles that old Kiwi staple, the Ugg Boot, which thanks to appearances on Sex & the City and Oprah has been elevated from surfer’s necessity to fashion accessory. “They’re selling…
Now Wear This
Boston Globe profiles Nelson’s World of Wearable Art (WOW), which has grown “from a soggy one-night affair in a tent 16 years ago to become one of New Zealand’s iconic arts events,…
Play it Safe with Silver
According to research undertaken at Auckland University, silver cars are significantly less likely to be involved in a serious crash than vehicles of other colours. Sue Furness, who led the study, suggests that this “may be…
Lions and Witches in Kiwiland
18 December 2003 – Pre-production on The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe is officially underway in NZ, with Weta Workshop on board for the visual effects and Kiwi Andrew Adamson (Shrek) at the…
Eating on the edge
Public – helmed by NZ chefs Peter Gordon, Anna Hansen, and Brad Farmerie – has administered a welcome shock to the tastebuds of New York diners. According to New York Times food critic, William…
Kiwi Buddha
SunSpot profiled the Venerable Pong Re Sung Rap Tulku Rinpoche – AKA “Kiwi Buddha” – on his return to his native NZ. Three years ago, the ten-year-old was identified as the reincarnation of a…
Judith Mayhew Jonas: Alpha female
14 December 2003 – Dame Judith Mayhew Jonas – former financial advisor to the Mayor of London, current Provost of Kings College, Cambridge, and chairman of the Royal Opera House – was one of nine “alpha females”…
South Seas style in Costa Meca
Noel Turner’s epoynmous LA eatery continues to raise the flag for antipodean cuisine and produce along the US West Coast. “The climate produces some of the world’s cleanest foods, most notably from Noel Turner,…
How Much do I Love Thee? Let Me Count the Ways…
The Guardian asks LotR cast members to explain their widely publicised admiration for NZ. Billy Boyd (Pippin): “The land feels new; it feels like what Scotland might have been like a few million years…
Edge Envoy to Iraq
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan named New Zealander Ross Mountain as his interim envoy to Iraq. Veteran Mountain has had a long career with the UN and has worked as a relief co-ordinator in war zones in Africa,…
The Verdicts
The usually art-house sympathetic New York Film Critics Circle chose Return of the King as their Best Film of 2003, The American Film Institute named the film in its top-10 of the year….
Top Christmas Tipple
Villa Maria’s 2002 Private Bin Riesling is one of the Observer‘s top 36 wines for Christmas drinking. “Villa Maria is better known for its in-your-face Sauvignon Blancs than its other New Zealand whites, but this screwcapped Riesling…
Alternative Slopes
Scotsman feature urges snow bunnies further afield than the Alps and Rockies, recommending NZ alongside Iran, Alaska and Chile as a desirable alternative. “The Alps that run spine-like through the South Island are dotted with ski resorts. Mt…
Sleeping Outside the Square
The Hotel off the Square in Christchurch featured in the Guardian‘s ‘What’s Hot’ travel section. “The Hotel off the Square … proclaims itself a ‘hotel with attitude’ with 38 rooms decorated in a quirky style. The most quirky…
Knowledge Economist
Finance Minister and Deputy PM, Dr. Michael Cullen, articulates the edge phenomenon in a lengthy interview with the Economist. ” a very significant solid eclectic range of niche manufacturing and service industries which have developed in…
I See Red, I See Red, I See Red
According to leading wine magazine, Decanter, “red wines in NZ are undergoing a revolution that promises to be as dramatic as the discovery that Marlborough could produce world-class Sauvignon Blanc.” The December issue included 1 Kiwi…
Talking Turkey
Evolutionary biologists at Auckland University have made ivory tower headlines by providing compelling evidence of the origins of the Indo-European language family. Associate Professor Russell Gray and PhD student Quentin Atkinson applied a complex computer program modelled…
Karl’s Eye View
Australian Vogue’s December 2003 collector’s edition includes NZ designs hand-picked by guest editor/fashion icon, Karl Lagerfeld. Featured are Karen Walker’s baby-doll dresses and op-art minis, Zambesi’s cutting-edge sportswear and metallic accessories, and Kate…
Road-tripping in Style
Condé Nast writer takes a “wholly enchanting” tour of the North Island behind the wheel of a BMW 745Li – dubbed the All Black “in honour of New Zealand’s brutal and beloved national rugby team.” Highlights on…
Sauvignon Tsunami
CNN and the Arizona Republic lavish praise on NZ Sauvignon Blanc, recommending the 2003 Brancott Estate and 2003 Nobilo Icon Series respectively. “NZ is now a tsunami of Sauvignon Blancs, and diligently as I’ve tried, I…
Colour Me Bad
The outlines of stylist/illustrator Kate Ruth are adorning hip US magazines Nylon, Soma and Fader. Drawings by the Victoria University grad have also graced the clothes of such edgy popstresses as Shirley Manson and…
Street Cred
“Dressing icons of the now” on the streets and slopes are home-grown favourite Huffer. The street-wear label, created by Steve Dunstan and Dan Buckley in 1997, is now sold through 10 stores in Australia,…
Rings-led Revolution
“New Zealand has had a day like no other”. The world premiere of The Return of the King in Wellington outshone all expectations, with a 100,000+ crowd lining the route of the spectacular…
Kia Ora Fellows
For the international family of actors, surfing at Lyall Bay, brunching at Chocolate Fish Cafe, the Wellington premiere was thankgiving for the city and people who have embraced them as locals during the epic…
More Glowing PJ Praise
Sydney Morning Herald awestruck by the premiere, wonders how PJ managed to pull off “the trilogy of a lifetime” Operatic high praise from The New Yorker who credits the trilogy with reviving “the…
Chameleon Car Coolest of ’03
Alan Gibbs’ Aquada skims into Time magazine’s list of ‘Coolest Inventions of 2003.’ The Aquada also featured in Arthur Lubow’s article ‘Inspiration: Where Does It Come From?’ for the New York Times, alongside the Band-Aid, the…
Here’s to you, Ms. Caro
30 November 2003 – Whale Rider director, Niki Caro, was named one of Ms. Magazine‘s women of the year for 2003, alongside Salma Hayek, Eileen Fisher, and Loune Viaud. The US feminist publication recognised…
Praise the Lord
Peter Jackson: “‘He’s as cool as an elf, he has the heart of a hobbit, and he’s as mad as a wizard.’ That’s the awestruck opinion of Lord Of The Rings star…
Russ stands his ground
“I’d move to LA if Australia and NZ were swallowed up in a huge tidal wave.” December cover feature by UK Vanity Fair finds Russell Crowe firmly rooted Down Under despite being one of…
Blown Away
Scotsman takes a bracing tour of Wellington, “New Zealand’s Windy City.’ Highlights include Te Papa (“spacious and informative, an emporium of knowledge”), Old St Paul’s (a cosy bijou of splendour”), a 4WD circuit of the coastal seal…
Colonial bad girl
Claire Tomalin reminisces about the fascinating subject of her 1987 biography, Katherine Mansfield: A Secret Life. “Mansfield has often been seen as one of the bad girls of literature. And it’s true that she…
Armchair kayaking
Chris Duff won the history/biography section of Britain’s National Outdoor Book Awards with Southern Exposure: A Solo Sea Kayaking Journey Around New Zealand’s South Island.
No 8 Wired
Singapore’s Straits Times focuses on the entrepreneurial spirit driving NZ’s booming science industry. “Over time, the Number 8 wire came to epitomise a culture of adaptability and creativity, a ‘can-do spirit’ of which the Kiwis are…
Closer Thais
A move towards closer economic relations between NZ and Thailand was kick-started by Foreign Minister Phil Goff’s talks with his Thai counterpart, Surakiart Sathirathai, in late November. The NZ government has offered Thais aged 18-30 6 month…
‘Queen of the Green’ will be Missed
Millie Khan, one of NZ’s best-loved and most successful sportspeople, died unexpectedly of a heart attack in Rotorua aged 65. Khan took up lawn bowls at 38 and was representing NZ 9 years later. She won silver…
Wetawood
Two LA Times features look at the phenomenal success of Peter Jackson’s Miramar-based empire; Weta Digital, Weta Workshop, and the Film Unit. The challenge meeting Jackson’s business is keeping the world-class staff he amassed…
Nukes Not the Issue
State Department spokesman, Phillip Reeker, dismissed claims that NZ’s anti-nuclear policy was a barrier to a free-trade agreement with the US on his recent trip to Wellington. “If you want to re-examine that policy, that would be…
Edge eatery hits NoLIta
21 November 2003 – Celebrated ex-pat chefs Peter Gordon and Anna Hansen (the team behind London’s The Providores and Tapa) have opened a new restaurant in New York’s trendy NoLIta district – Public. In…
Southern Exposure
Guardian writer takes one of NZ’s iconic road trips: the State Highway 73 from Christchurch to Greymouth, across the Southern Alps. “The road begins to climb sharply, and in just a few miles, via a series of…
Winning ways continue for Whale Rider
International plaudits continue to come for Niki Caro’s 2002 hit, Whale Rider. Whale Rider beat Hollywood blockbusters 28 Days Later and The Wild Thornberry‘s to win the feature film category at the 2003 Environmental…
Xena and Her Sisters
17 November 2003 – Ex-Warrior Princess, Lucy Lawless, was the obvious choice to front a Discovery Channel documentary series on women fighters in history. Warrior Woman features Joan of Arc, China’s Wang…
The World Breaks left to Raglan
The final of the 2003 Oxbo World Longboard Championships was held near Raglan, November 6-16. The prestigious US$50,000 event saw top competitors from the US, Australia, Brazil, South Africa and Hawaii surf Manu Bay’s famed left-hand…
Black Day for ABs
After starting as promising co-favourites the All Blacks finished a disappointing third in the 2003 World Cup being knocked out in the semi-finals 22-10 by a more professional and committed Wallaby performance. England defeated Australia 20-17…
Metal, Opera, and All that Jaz
Jaz Coleman – the legendary “madman” behind British industrial rock band, Killing Joke, and a recently naturalised Kiwi (“It’s not safe to have a British or Australian passport, anyway, these days.”) – held court…
McCahon’s Edgy New-world Modernism
Peter Hill’s review of the Stedilijk Museum’s Colin McCahon exhibition – now showing in Sydney – perfectly encapsulates the New Zealand Edge. “Enough time has passed for a shift between the centre and the…
Edge of the World (Cup) Musing
The Rugby World Cup saw columnists muse on NZ’s evolving relationship with its (big) brotherly neighbour. SMH: “For those who’ve not noticed, New Zealand – a small nation off the east coast of…
Land of Milk and Honey
The NZ economy is currently on a high, with the lowest unemployment rates since 1987, 26,000 new jobs created in the last 3 months, and a $1.2 billion surplus in the first 3 months of the…
Trade Takes Off
The successful launch of the Emirates air service in NZ is expected to dramatically increase exports to and from the Middle East. NZ exporters are now able to fly perishable goods such as seafood and flowers…
Let there be more rock
As if they don’t have enough rock cred already, The Datsuns have hired Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones to produce their highly anticipated second album. Says singer, Dolf de Datsun, “It’s going really well…
