Blog Archives

Jumanji Star Rhys Darby’s Profile on Rise in US

Jumanji Star Rhys Darby’s Profile on Rise in US

In the Jumanji sequel, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, there’s also a cadre of non-playable characters the untested heroes must contend with, one of which is played by New…

Driving from the Tip to the Tail of New Zealand

Driving from the Tip to the Tail of New Zealand

“Witnessing the sun rise over the ocean – and knowing you’re one of the first people in the world to see its rays that day – gave me an otherworldly sensation,” Minneapolis Star Tribune…

Misfiled Piece of Brontë Brother’s Work Found in NZ

Misfiled Piece of Brontë Brother’s Work Found in NZ

The first Brontë manuscript identified in New Zealand has been restored to its place in literary history thanks to university researchers. The fragment of Branwell Brontë’s work was misfiled as a letter in the…

Emilia Wickstead’s Pre-Fall ‘18 Collection Reviewed

Emilia Wickstead’s Pre-Fall ‘18 Collection Reviewed

“One thing to say about Emilia Wickstead: She’s one of those London designers who’s become a modern ‘social success’ with her fit-and-flare midis, long sleeves, and talent for colour which chimes the…

Meet the Feebles Had No Taste at All

Meet the Feebles Had No Taste at All

New Zealand filmmaker Peter Jackson has gained the reputation of being a genuine class act, thanks to films like Heavenly Creatures, the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and his remake of King Kong. But…

Paving Hamilton’s Streets with Beer Bottle Sand

Paving Hamilton’s Streets with Beer Bottle Sand

Hamilton has launched a pilot programme that’s repaving roadways with old beer bottles. No, you can’t see a bunch of Budweiser labels when you come to a stop. Instead, the bottles are crushed into…

Jonathan Dower Gets a Kick Out of His Game

Jonathan Dower Gets a Kick Out of His Game

New Zealander Jonathan Dower, who is a game artist for Helsinki-based Supercell, didn’t just design how people play the real-time multiplayer game Clash Royale – he helped come up with how it looks, too,…

Nopesisters Abreast of Cancer With T-Message

Nopesisters Abreast of Cancer With T-Message

Inspirational Wellington designer siblings Johanna and Brittany Cosgrove, are sharing profits from their clothing range Nopesisters to help survivors of breast cancer and sexual assault. The trailblazers behind normalising the scars of breast cancer treatment…

Secrets of Real-Life Game of Thrones Revealed

Secrets of Real-Life Game of Thrones Revealed

A team of British scientists are set to make the trip to New Zealand this month, all in the hopes of unlocking the secrets hidden in the 600-year-old Canterbury Roll, the only genealogical scroll…

Amazing Race Host Phil Keoghan Amasses 30 Seasons

Amazing Race Host Phil Keoghan Amasses 30 Seasons

With the cold of the Northern Hemisphere winter settling in and outdoor activities coming to a standstill, there’s nothing better to get your heart pumping than reality TV favourite The Amazing Race, hosted by…

Kimbra is Pop Music Royalty

Kimbra is Pop Music Royalty

Humility and elegance only begin to describe the essence of what makes New Zealander Kimbra such an unstoppable pop music force, according to EDM blog Magnetic Magazine. Kimbra, 27, is pop music royalty. With queen-like…

Competition Winner Liana Roberts-Letiu Validated

Competition Winner Liana Roberts-Letiu Validated

As the overall winner of the 2017 Samoa Observer Tusitala short story competition, Samoan New Zealander, Liana Roberts-Letiu, 21, is as intriguing as the title of her short story entry “An Elegant Tantrum”, Elizabeth…

Laughing Kea a Science Story of the Year

Laughing Kea a Science Story of the Year

Leading scientists pick the dozen most significant discoveries and developments of 2017 – from a steep decline in flying insects to a laughter-like play vocalisation – a warble call – has been discovered in…

NZ Named Asia-Pacific Top Golf Destination

NZ Named Asia-Pacific Top Golf Destination

New Zealand had been named top golf destination in the Asia Pacific region by the International Association of Golf Tour Operators (IAGTO) for the second time. Held for the first time in 2000, the annual…

What Will Lorde Come up With Next?

What Will Lorde Come up With Next?

Lorde’s Melodrama has made it into the top five of the Guardian’s 50 Best Albums of 2017, an LP the UK publication considers, “a work of insight, strength and gloriously self-aware wit.” “On the face…

Mt Taranaki given Same Legal Rights as a Person

Mt Taranaki given Same Legal Rights as a Person

The sacred mountain in the North Island is the third geographic feature in the country to be granted a “legal personality” entitled the same legal rights as a person, Eleanor Ainge Roy reports for…

Robin Hammond Image Best Nat Geo Picture

Robin Hammond Image Best Nat Geo Picture

Documentary photographer New Zealand-born Robin Hammond’s image of Avery Jackson, a transgender child from Kansas City in the United States, has been selected as one of the National Geographic’s 57 best images of 2017. The…

Kyle Glogoski Signs with Philadelphia Phillies

Kyle Glogoski Signs with Philadelphia Phillies

Auckland-born pitcher Kyle Glogoski, 18, has signed a contract to play with the Philadelphia Phillies in America’s Major League Baseball (MLB). Glogoski, who currently pitches for the Sydney Blue Sox in the Australian Baseball League,…

Anniversary of Ed Hillary’s South Pole First

Anniversary of Ed Hillary’s South Pole First

It was the first few days of 1958 and the two teams of the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition were converging on the South Pole. Although it was not meant to be a race, New Zealand…

Jim Anderton a Towering Figure in Politics

Jim Anderton a Towering Figure in Politics

One of New Zealand’s senior political figures, former deputy prime minister Auckland-born Jim Anderton, has died in Christchurch, aged 79. The idealistic former president of New Zealand’s progressive Labour Party became disillusioned with the organisation’s…

Organisational Expert Beck Wadworth Shares Tips

Organisational Expert Beck Wadworth Shares Tips

Twenty-eight-year-old New Zealander Beck Wadworth founded her own stationery company and blog, An Organised Life, in 2013 – after a fruitless search to find a functional-yet-sleek diary left her with nothing. She shares how…

Journey Through Scent with Abel’s Frances Shoemack

Journey Through Scent with Abel’s Frances Shoemack

When Huffington Post contributor E. Nina Rothe was introduced to Amsterdam-based brand Abel at this year’s Pitti Fragranze, a fragrance fair held in Florence every September, she fell in love. Not just with their…

Looking Back on a Decade of The Naked and Famous

Looking Back on a Decade of The Naked and Famous

Ten years into being a band, Auckland-formed group The Naked and Famous are finally living up to the first half of their name and baring it all – kind of. Victoria Wasylak of online…

Waiheke Commute One of the More Unusual

Waiheke Commute One of the More Unusual

Whether it’s skiing, snowboarding or skating, Guardian readers from around the world, who opt to take an alternative route to work, share their stories, including Aucklander James Scroggins who commutes daily from Waiheke Island…

Hayden McMillan’s Etta one of Melbourne’s Best

Hayden McMillan’s Etta one of Melbourne’s Best

A number of Melbourne’s best-known restaurateurs and chefs opened new venues in 2017, and they did not disappoint. This was a year for the industry veteran with a precise and emphatic vision, executed with…

Superorganism Push Pop Into the Next Dimension

Superorganism Push Pop Into the Next Dimension

From secretive internet sensations to one of the most talked about new bands around, Superorganism’s hyper-modern approach to pop is propelling them further by the day. Superorganism, an eight-piece collective which includes New Zealanders…

Oslo-Based Brady Daniell-Smith’s Debut a Hidden Gem

Oslo-Based Brady Daniell-Smith’s Debut a Hidden Gem

From hypnotic hip-hop to Japanese psych-rock, Observer critics pick some albums of 2017 that deserve a wider audience, including the work of New Zealand-born Brady Daniell-Smith, who produces the melodies for singer-songwriter Anna Lotterud…

A Cook’s Tour of New Zealand

A Cook’s Tour of New Zealand

“If you’re a hardcore foodie headed to New Zealand for the first time because you’ve heard how good the produce is, its national airline knows how impatient you can be. That’s why Air New…

Attica Looks to Australian Bush for Design

Attica Looks to Australian Bush for Design

Ben Shewry’s award-winning Melbourne restaurant Attica now has an interior to match. New Zealand-born Shewry was not only keen to capture a sense of the Victorian bush for Attica but, as importantly, to reflect…

Fond Memories of Flying Pioneer Jean Batten

Fond Memories of Flying Pioneer Jean Batten

“Jean Batten was the first woman to be awarded the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale’s highest award, the FAI Gold Air Medal. Awarded 80 years ago in 1937 she got it for the remarkable feat of…

Michael Linton’s Record-Breaking Mosaic on Show

Michael Linton’s Record-Breaking Mosaic on Show

An exhibition showcasing New Zealander Michael Linton’s handmade replica of the Bayeux Tapestry, has opened in Melton, Suffolk. The 64-metre long mosaic contains 3 million tiny pieces, and took 33 years to put together. This…

Chantelle Nicholson Eats Plant-Based in London

Chantelle Nicholson Eats Plant-Based in London

New Zealander Chantelle Nicholson is chef patron at Tredwells in London’s West End where she takes huge pride in ensuring that there are plenty of plant-based dishes on the menu. Her first book Planted…

Southern Hemisphere Christmas Variations

Southern Hemisphere Christmas Variations

“As the resident southern hemispherian, my colleagues had a lot of questions about what Christmas is really like down under. Spoiler: we eat the same things as you,” UK-based digital and lifestyle reporter Laura…

Rochelle Canteen’s Food Feels Just Right

Rochelle Canteen’s Food Feels Just Right

New Zealand-born chef and co-owner of London’s Rochelle Canteen, Margot Henderson has a new endeavour in the capital city inside the ICA on The Mall, which was recently given high praise by the Observer’s…

In the Office With Trygve and Barnie

In the Office With Trygve and Barnie

“Following the delirious success of Kraken and Nautilus, extraordinary celebration of the…

Miriam and Peter Lancewood Living Off the Grid

Miriam and Peter Lancewood Living Off the Grid

For seven years, Dutch woman Miriam Lancewood and her New Zealand-born husband Peter have lived a nomadic life – she is the hunter and he is the cook. Five years into a nomadic life…

Chelsea Jade and Boyboy Take Their Chances in LA

Chelsea Jade and Boyboy Take Their Chances in LA

Singers Chelsea Jade Metcalf and Sam McCarthy, who goes by the moniker Boyboy, explain why leaving New Zealand and relocating to Los Angeles has made them better songwriters. Metcalf was used to the industry’s eyes…

Simon O’Neill Joins Fellow New Zealanders in US

Simon O’Neill Joins Fellow New Zealanders in US

New Zealand-born tenor Simon O’Neill gave a recent recital at Hertz Hall in Berkeley, California. He was accompanied by fellow New Zealander Terence Dennis on piano. “Both O’Neill and Dennis are much decorated artists…

Life and Times of Apia Identity Bob Moore

Life and Times of Apia Identity Bob Moore

If you’re driving around Apia gazing at the many, multi-storeyed government and company buildings, chances are you’re looking at some of the work of well-known, local identity, Motueka-born Robert (Bob) Arthur Garner, who has…

Diane Limbrey Receives Highest Judo Ref Licence

Diane Limbrey Receives Highest Judo Ref Licence

Whanganui policewoman Diane Limbrey has reopened the record books during a weekend in Hong Kong refereeing at the Asian Judo Open, Whanganui Chronicle journalist Iain Hyndman reports. Limbrey was also there to sit her International…

Human-Sized Penguin Remains Found on Hampden Beach

Human-Sized Penguin Remains Found on Hampden Beach

Remnants of a 1.77-metre-tall penguin who walked on earth 55m to 60m years ago have been found south of Christchurch on what is now Hampden Beach. Measurements of the partial skeleton show that the flightless…

Dean Wareham and Luna Cover Some Greats

Dean Wareham and Luna Cover Some Greats

“As Luna singer-guitarist Dean Wareham sings a cover of Bob Dylan’s song Most of the Time, I could swear that the New Zealander is channelling the spirit of Lou Reed,” Andrew Griffin writes in…

Raelene Castle Named New Rugby Australia Chief

Raelene Castle Named New Rugby Australia Chief

Former Netball New Zealand and Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs National Rugby League chief executive Raelene Castle is excited by the challenge of turning around rugby’s fortunes in Australia, but doesn’t believe her appointment as Rugby Australia…

Royals Certifiably Diamond Rated

Royals Certifiably Diamond Rated

“Just four years after it was first released, Lorde’s breakout single Royals has been certified diamond in the US after moving 10 million units. The New Zealand-born singer-songwriter first released Royals as a free…

Home and Away’s George Mason Readies for Finale

Home and Away’s George Mason Readies for Finale

Long-running Australian soap Home and Away has become famous for its dramatic end-of-year finales and according to New Zealand actor George Mason, who plays Summer Bay’s well-meaning bad boy Ash, this year is no…

Farming Couple Matt and Pip Smith Enter New Market

Farming Couple Matt and Pip Smith Enter New Market

Award-winning farming couple, New Zealander Matt Smith and wife Pip, co-owners of Trefranck Farm near Launceston, in the UK have used HSBC funding to acquire 250 pedigree breeding deer, which has increased their livestock…

Ryan McPhun on His Good Band the Ruby Suns

Ryan McPhun on His Good Band the Ruby Suns

Always trust a man in a jumpsuit, writes Sarah Illingworth for The Huffington Post. Ryan McPhun knows how to wear one well she says, and whilst performing musical acrobatics as a one-man act no…

Conductor Gemma New Displays Crisp Technique

Conductor Gemma New Displays Crisp Technique

American piano virtuoso Conrad Tao was on the programme with the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra and guest conductor New Zealander Gemma New not once but twice – playing Rachmaninoff’s Paganini Variations on the first half…

André Spicer Desperately Seeks Self-Improvement

André Spicer Desperately Seeks Self-Improvement

Like a couple of lab rats, professors New Zealander André Spicer and Swede Carl Cederström have subjected themselves to every conceivable test in pursuit of perfection, hoping to become better human beings, smarter, more…

NBA Star Steven Adams Gets to Work

NBA Star Steven Adams Gets to Work

The biggest reason for basketball team Oklahoma City Thunder’s turnaround has not been Russell Westbrook, Paul George or Carmelo Anthony. It’s been New Zealander Steven Adams, whose 22 points per game on 28-of-34 shooting…

Shoshana Sachi Writes Inclusively from Los Angeles

Shoshana Sachi Writes Inclusively from Los Angeles

Shoshana Sachi, 30, explains what it’s like for a New Zealander being a “triple threat minority” in Hollywood – an immigrant woman of colour in a Vice magazine opinion piece. “It’s not a new phenomenon…

Sunwolves Coach Jamie Joseph Eyes Top Five

Sunwolves Coach Jamie Joseph Eyes Top Five

The new coach of the Tokyo-based Sunwolves Super Rugby side, New Zealander Jamie Joseph has said he was targeting a top-five finish next season, despite the team being on the wrong end of multiple…

NZ’s Film Industry Worth a Billion to Economy

NZ’s Film Industry Worth a Billion to Economy

The International New Zealand Screen Production Grant (NZSPG) is a key contributor to the nation’s economy according to a new economic study released by the New Zealand Film Commission (NZFC). The New Zealand screen industry…

New Cops Ad Drives Huge Increase in Web Traffic

New Cops Ad Drives Huge Increase in Web Traffic

How do you reach a broad cross-section of potential police recruits? Adweek asks. With an entertaining video that features a broad cross-section of police spokespeople. Ogilvy did just that for New Zealand Police, and…

Intimate Return From Pop Newcomer Alayna

Intimate Return From Pop Newcomer Alayna

Rotorua-born R&B singer Alayna Powley, 23, who goes by the mononymous name alayna, has always wanted to make music with a certain intimacy, music that peers beneath the surface, according to the UK’s Clash…

Remembering Sir Peter Blake 16 Years On

Remembering Sir Peter Blake 16 Years On

“It is 16 years since we lost Volvo Ocean Race legend Sir Peter Blake,” Jonno Turner writes for sailing news network Sail-World. “A three-time Ocean Race skipper, he finally achieved his dream of lifting…