Kapa Haka Tale a Piece of NZ for Oxford
As part of Oxford’s Family Dance Week there is a one-off opportunity to see the haka live in a show performed by Corey Baker’s dance company, as part of a stunning new show called…
Blog Archives
Celebrating Our Ties to Korea
“The New Zealand Embassy has kicked off a month-long festival in October to celebrate growing commercial and cultural links with Korea, expected to expand further after the free trade agreement likely comes into force…
Callum Millward Ups the Ironman Ante
One year ago, New Zealand-born Callum Millward was showing off cupcakes and interviewing triathletes preparing for the Ironman World Championships, Hawaiian news site Big Island Now reports. This month, he got his first taste…
Lili Sumner Joins Saint Laurent Model Girl Gang
Originally from Auckland, 21-year-old model Lili Sumner, who took to the catwalk at Paris Fashion Week this month, is one of the “Saint Laurent model girl gang”, according to Vogue. “The Saint Laurent model crew…
Silver Fern Stars Aim to Motivate in Singapore
Two of the most storied names in netball, New Zealand’s Irene van Dyk, who recently retired from international netball, and current captain Casey Kopua, will travel to Singapore in November on a week-long visit…
Lorde One of Stardom’s Vengeful
Lorde joins the ranks of pop singers joyfully and brutally sidestepping tropes about victimhood in the music video for Disclosure’s “Magnets” which ends with the featured New Zealander tying a guy to a chair,…
Helen Clark Comments on 70 Years of the UN
As the UN marks the 70th anniversary of its founding this autumn, those imperfections – and how the UN addresses them – have come to the fore as the organisation struggles to define its…
New Zealand Negotiates Itself into the Future
Why can New Zealand negotiate vast trade deals like the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the largest regional trade accord in history, while Britian continues to argue over markets of the past, the Telegraph’s Harriet Maltby…
With a Little Help from Sam Neill’s Friends
Hollywood star Sam Neill may originally hail from Northern Ireland, but he has just confessed to having a little difficulty mastering an Ulster accent for television drama series Peaky Blinders – despite help from…
Jane Campion Casts Gaze over Female-Directed Films
Jane Campion contributes to a Sight & Sound magazine special issue, which aims “to write women back into film history by championing 100 female-directed hidden gems that have been forgotten or unfairly overlooked.” “Just because…
Pavlova Makes for an Odd Culinary History
Some of the sweet things you’ve been eating all your life have a very interesting, contentious history, women’s interest site Bustle reports, listing New Zealand’s very own pavlova in its “Strange History of Five…
New Role for ANZ CFO Shayne Elliot
New Zealander Shayne Elliot, 51, has been appointed CEO of ANZ Bank, the first internal appointment within the bank in 30 years. Shortly after the announcement of his appointment, Elliott said: “Obviously I know ANZ…
Ho Hai Tran Reminisces about Pizza Hut
New Zealand photographer Ho Hai Tran has launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise money for a book that will record his photographic journey of over 8700 miles from Australia to the US to document…
Burlesque Dancer Bonita Muntz off to Vegas
Christchurch burlesque artist Bonita Muntz, who performs as Bonita Danger Doll, is the first New Zealander selected to perform at the Las Vegas Burlesque Festival, held over three days, from 8-10 October. “This will be…
New Zealand a Slopestyle Ski Wonderland
New Zealand is one of the greatest places on earth, according to 23-year-old British slopestyle ski star James Woods, who just spent the season here winning both the North Face Freeski Open and the FIS…
John Key Talks Candidly with TIME
Just hours before Prime Minister John Key addressed the United Nations recently, the National Party leader, who has been in office since 2008, spoke with TIME’s editors about Vladimir Putin, why New Zealand needs…
Hip Op-eration Crew Are Ageing with Attitude
Waiheke-based Hip Op-eration Crew is the oldest hip-hop dance group in the world with 22 members and an average age of 81. Manager and choreographer Billie Jordan, 45, founded the group to inspire other…
Marlon Williams’ Live Act Is Quite Something
“So often Clash will troop along to watch a new band, and their fringes will droop down over their chins, eyes pointed to the floor. Not so, Marlon Williams,” the music magazine writes. “A…
Bret McKenzie Digs Himself Into a Big Hole
Starring Bret McKenzie from Flight of the Conchords digging himself a massive, literal hole in the ground, the latest single by the New Zealand powerpop group Phoenix Foundation features on the Guardian’s music site. “If…
The Modern Pantry Is a Pleasure to Be In
“Anna Hansen first made her mark in London as one of the cooks and co-owners, along with fellow New Zealander Peter Gordon, of Providores in Marylebone, the restaurant that pioneered Pacific Rim ‘fusion’ food,”…
Claudia Li Makes NY Fashion Week Debut
Before her official New York Fashion Week debut, New Zealand-born designer Claudia Li was unexpectedly peaceful – aside from the preshow jitters. “Everything was done two weeks before the show,” Li told news site Fashionista…
American Cinematheque to Honour Cliff Curtis
New Zealander Cliff Curtis, 47, who portrayed speed chess genius Genesis Potini in The Dark Horse, will be honoured by the American Cinematheque at a ceremony on 11 October at the Aero Theatre in…
Real Life Castaway Tom Neale Never Lonely
“The phrase “sole survivor” evokes scenes of violent disaster — a plane crash; an explosion in a mine; the eruption of a volcano whose lava destroys a city and all its inhabitants but one,”…
An Irish Emigrant Living Life in Two Parts
Lower Hutt asthma nurse educator Alice Paul tries to retain her identity as an Irish person, but says she is also “a new New Zealander eager to fit in.” Paul tells the Irish Times…
TIME Looks Back at 1997 Everest Cover Story
The new movie Everest is all Hollywood, with big movie stars meant for a big IMAX screen. But the story it tells is very real. TIME magazine looks back at the images and account…
Trans-Tasman Flat White War of Origins Heats Up
New Zealand and Australia have been in a cold war for decades over the origins of a meringue and marshmallow pie. But now a new front threatens to emerge over the origins of the…
After 40 Years Rocky Horror Has Become Mainstream
The Rocky Horror Picture Show, co-written by New Zealand-based Richard O’Brien, has risen “from a shelved failure to a cult hit to a beloved cultural staple is thanks to its dedicated groups of fans,”…
Plain Language Expert Lynda Harris Earns Award
Plain language expert Lynda Harris (pictured centre) has won the Christine Mowat Plain Language Achievement Award at a conference in Ireland, the first New Zealander to win the prestigious prize. The founder and chief executive…
Antony Young Leaving Adland to Live on NZ Farm
Media agency veteran Antony Young will trade in spreadsheets for orchards as he plots a move back to his native New Zealand with his wife and children to live and work on a farm. Young…
Linda Villumsen Wins Women’s World Time Trial Title
New Zealander Linda Villumsen, 30, has won the women’s individual time-trial at the World Road Cycling Championships in Richmond, United States. Villumsen who won last year’s Commonwealth Games time-trial, captured the world crown by completing…
How Jonah Lomu Led to the Success of World Cup
“On 18 June 1995, Rupert Murdoch was sitting in his Los Angeles office watching the World Cup semi-final between England and New Zealand,” Sydney Morning Herald rugby columnist Spiro Zavos writes. “England winger Tony…
When Dorothy Morris Went off to War
Wellington historian Mark Derby first heard of Dorothy Morris while editing the 2009 book, Kiwi Companeros: New Zealand and the Spanish Civil War. As Derby began asking Spanish Civil War historians worldwide if they…
How to Avoid Panic over Technology in Schools
New research questioning the value of computer use in schools should not deter Ireland’s government from boosting its investment in classroom technology, according to leading educationalist, New Zealander Professor Mark Brown. Brown, who is director…
Anna Paquin to Star Alongside Forest Whitaker
Golden Globe and Academy Award winner Anna Paquin has been cast in a new role opposite Forest Whitaker in the epic television miniseries, Roots, which is based on Alex Haley’s 1976 novel as well…
Nina Hall Swims in Solidarity with Refugees
New Zealander Nina Hall, who is a post-doctoral fellow at the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin, recently swam from Turkey to Greece in solidarity with the refugees who are making the dangerous journey…
New Zealand Labels to Know Before Everyone Else
According to Vogue Australia there are six New Zealand names in fashion you should know before everyone else and these are: Georgia Alice, Eugénie, Harman Grubisa, Lucilla Gray, Stolen Girlfriend’s Club and Twenty Seven…
NZ Dishes up Perfect Conditions for US Ski Team
New Zealand offered up the US Alpine Ski Team some of the best conditions to kick off their 2016 on-snow prep period, with the perfect mix of off-snow activities that only this adventure capital…
South Pacific Secret to Breaking Poverty Cycle
“Migration to pick fruit is probably not the first thing you think of when you think of the World Bank’s work, or the broader global effort to eliminate poverty after 2015,” global development expert…
Emilia Wickstead Delivers Her Best Collection Yet
New Zealand-born designer Emilia Wickstead, who has dressed the Duchess of Cambridge and Samantha Cameron, carpeted the foyer of an unfinished office block in King’s Cross in sugar-almond pink at London Fashion Week, and…
Lucy Lawless on a Quest in Splatterfest
New Zealand native Lucy Lawless didn’t appear in the original Evil Dead movies, but she brings her own cult following to the television revival of that classic horror franchise. Lawless stars as the mysterious and…
Richard Taylor to Help Bring Monkey King to US
Special effects maestro New Zealander Richard Taylor will direct the design of characters in the upcoming American film version of The Monkey King, a Chinese blockbuster. “There has been a rush to bring Western-originated movies to…
Ron Stenberg Painting Mystery Solved
When Auckland artist Ron Stenberg launched an appeal to discover the identities of two people in a £100,000 painting he donated to one of Scotland’s leading art galleries he had no idea what a…
Writing New Album Therapeutic Says Gin Wigmore
Currently on tour in the US to great acclaim, Gin Wigmore, whose music has featured on the soundtrack to Pretty Little Liars and Grey’s Anatomy, pauses to talk with Marie Claire about her creative…
We’re All Thinking Number One
Just about every famous New Zealander, including Lorde, the Flight of the Conchords, Kimbra and Shihad’s Jon Toogood, have packed into Neil Finn’s studio to record Team Ball Player Thing, a fundraising effort for…
Jake Mahaffy’s Rare and Valuable New Film Lauded
Jake Mahaffy’s evocation of a borderline unbearable true-life tragedy, Free In Deed is a bracing, bruising corrective to the “faith-based filmmaking” movement, according to Indiewire. The New Zealand-raised director’s third film, set in and…
How New Zealand Sustains Its Rugby Dynasty
A country of just under four and half million is home to arguably the most dominant team in sport. The Guardian looks at how the All Blacks remain at the pinnacle more than 100…
Richard Branson’s Right-Hand Man Is Josh Bayliss
Auckland-educated lawyer Josh Bayliss, 42, is the global chief executive of Virgin Group, spearheading a web of transport, telecommunications, lifestyle, healthcare and financial services businesses across 34 countries. He runs Virgin for Richard Branson…
Michael Seresin Working on Wine and the Jungle Book
Cinematographer and wine producer Michael Seresin was born in Wellington, emigrated to Europe in 1966 and has been based in west London since 1967, but there’s one thing he still hasn’t acclimatised to, reports…
Forgotten Crowded House Song Helping Refugees
Songs can grow and assume new shapes with time, and pop’s power to engage people has taken Crowded House’s 16-year-old ballad Help is Coming and given it new life as a charitable ode to…
Stephen Taberner’s Choir a Bit on the Spooky Side
Georgian polyphonic singing enthusiast, Christchurch-born Stephen Taberner leads the 16-man Australian choir Spooky Men’s Chorale which recently performed in London at the Islington Assembly Hall. The Guardian’s Robin Denselow reviewed the evening. “It takes a…
Murchison’s Never-Ending Fire
A seemingly typical clear and swift South Island river, the Blackwater has one unmistakable trait: the water carries a whiff of kerosene. It’s faint, but it was enough to give the Blackwater its name,…
Photographer Robin Hammond Witnessing Change
While producing Condemned, an in-depth look at how the mentally ill people are treated in several African nations, New Zealand photographer Robin Hammond believed that the mere act of making their condition visible would…
Christchurch Returning to Cycling Roots
After the 2011 earthquake, Christchuch residents were asked what they wanted from the city once known as ‘Cyclopolis’. They demanded a greener, more people-focused city – and investment in new cycleways means it is…
Pietra Brettkelly’s Doco Premieres in Venice
Multi-award-winning director and producer Pietra Brettkelly’s documentary A Flickering Truth, filmed in Afghanistan, made its premiere at the 2015 Venice International Film Festival. New Zealand-born Brettkelly’s 2008 film The Art Star and the Sudanese Twins…
On the True Detective Set With DOP Nigel Bluck
Recently rated by Variety magazine as one of 10 cinematographers to watch, New Zealander Nigel Bluck, 43, has been working as director of photography on the second season of popular…
Introverted Dancefloor’s Latest Effort Far from Shy
“Not nearly as introspective as the eponymous album title would have you believe, Bevan Smith’s latest project as Introverted Dancefloor is restrained, yes, but far from bashful,” UK arts magazine the Skinny…
