New Zealand New Festival to Wow New Yorkers
New Zealand gang culture, the art of sleep and a man who believes he is the key to putting another Clinton in the White House are among the offerings slated for the
Blog Archives
Wellington Acting like a City but Loving like a Village
Wellington, which celebrates its 150th year as New Zealand’s capital, has a funky, creative vibe, which comes in part from a strong community feel. These characteristics make it one of the BBC’s 2015 “Hottest…
Jemaine Clement Stars as Israeli Fixer Opposite Sam Rockwell
The Utah filmmakers who begat Napoleon Dynamite made a triumphant return to the Sundance Film Festival with New Zealand actor Jemaine Clement playing opposite American funnyman Sam Rockwell in Don Verdean, a movie about…
Martin Basher Causing Big Waves in the Art World
New York-based New Zealander Martin Basher, 35, is included in an Art Collector magazine feature about the work of artists who have caught the eye of collectors and achieved commercially successful sell-out exhibitions. “There’s immediate…
Scott Dixon Sets Crazy Pace Winning Daytona’s Rolex 24
New Zealand’s most famous speedster, three-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon (pictured right), was the key to team Ganassi wining the prestigious annual Rolex 24 at Daytona on 25 January, according to team members. Dixon, 34,…
Australian Tech Millionaires Hold Queenstown Secret Summit
Some of Australia’s best-known tech millionaires were in Queenstown recently at a mysterious meet-up where the requirement for entry was having a company valued at over $100 million. Among the invitees were Seek co-founder Paul…
Cricket Legend Martin Donnelly Remembered in Warwickshire
Legendary New Zealand batsman, Ngaruawahia-born Martin Donnelly, who also briefly played rugby for England, was a member of the Warwickshire County Cricket Club in the late 1940s impressing local fans with his skill. “As a…
Routeburn Track a Spectacle of Jaw-Dropping Scenery
For the ultimate adventure the Wall Street Journal recommends escaping into the “supersize spectacle” of one of New Zealand’s nine Great Walks for a tramp along the 32-km Routeburn Track. Journal correspondent Robin Kawakami (pictured)…
Sundance Comedy Immeasurably Funnier with Jemaine Clement
Jemaine Clement plays the lead role in indie romantic comedy People, Places, Things as penny-pinched New York graphic novelist Will Henry who is struggling upstream with life and the numerous females in his orbit,…
Kate McIntosh’s Joyous Creation Hits Vancouver Festival
New Zealand-born Belgium-based dancer and conceptual performance artist Kate McIntosh took her “favourite theatrical creation” Dark Matter to this year’s PuSh International Performing Arts Festival, one of Vancouver’s signature events. “It’s a joyous,…
Eleanor Catton Blasts Critics’ Jingoistic National Tantrum
Award-winning author Eleanor Catton has hit back at figures in New Zealand who reacted with anger to her criticisms of the country’s “neoliberal, profit-obsessed, very shallow, very money-hungry politicians”, describing the vicious attacks she…
Alice Mabin Captures Historic Cattle Drive in Bestselling Book
New Zealander Alice Mabin is as comfortable on the back of a horse as she is behind a camera and is living her dream in a world where those two loves collide, battling the…
Rob Tucker’s Still Lifes a Highlight of NY’s Outsider Art Fair
According to Vogue, 27-year-old Devonport artist Rob Tucker’s still-life paintings were one of the highlights at New York’s Outsider Art Fair on from 29 January through 1 February. Tucker uses whatever materials he…
How Irish Zoologist Suzanne Burns Fell in Love with NZ
There are many “weird, wild and wonderful aspects to living in New Zealand” that have made Irish woman Suzanne Burns, 40, fall “hopelessly in love with the country.” Burns, a zoologist and wildlife guide…
Revised Views of World War One’s Bloodiest Conflict
As the 100th anniversary of the Gallipoli campaign approaches, the Smithsonian Magazine looks back at one of the bloodiest conflicts of World War I, which claimed the lives of 2721 New Zealand soldiers –…
Outflanking the Tolkien Fans on Tongariro
Before Peter Jackson and his film crew rolled into town, Mount Doom went by the humble name of Mount Ngauruhoe, the fearsome volcano which forms the centrepiece of New Zealand’s Tongariro Alpine Crossing, the…
Near-Death Experience Inspiration for Mark Major’s Game
Seven years after New Zealander Mark Major, 28, fell down a 9m-deep hole in Beijing and broke his back, he has turned his near-death experience into a tongue-in-cheek mobile game called, Plummet Free Fall,…
Riding a Whole New World of BMX Clay Trails at PMP
For a trails rider, an appealing aspect of New Zealand is the PMP trails, located not far from the bustling metropolis of Auckland. This sculpted greatness is a dramatic clay theme park…
Spiderways Plots with Helium Balloon Record-Breakers
New Zealand company Spidertracks, which specialises in airline tracking equipment, recently partnered with the pilots of helium-filled balloon expedition Two Eagles, enabling the American and Russian pair to set a world record. Spidertracks,…
Te Papa’s Autochrome Collection Illuminates the Everyday
Lissa Mitchell, curator of historical documentary photography at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, explores the work of three photographers creating autochromes in early 20th-century New Zealand. Mitchell’s writing features on the…
Peter the Great’s Hobbit Premieres in China
Oscar-winning director Peter Jackson was joined by Weta Workshop’s Richard Taylor (pictured far left) in Beijing for the Chinese premiere of the final Hobbit installment on 19 January. This was Jackson’s final stop on his…
Arbitration Stars Audley Sheppard and Wendy Miles Made QCs
New Zealand arbitrators, Clifford Chance construction disputes partner Audley Sheppard (pictured) and Boies Schiller & Flexner partner Wendy Miles, feature among the five leading solicitors on the latest Queen’s Counsel list in England and…
Graeme Simsion and Wife Anne Buist Literary Double Act
Auckland-born author Graeme Simsion and Anne Buist are Australia’s hottest literary couple, according to the Age, spurring on each other to keep the words – and surprises – coming. Buist is showing signs of nerves…
Pat Lamb Stays on at His Transformed Connacht Club
New Zealand-born head coach Pat Lam, 46, has transformed Galway’s Connacht club from a development side for provincial rugby players to one genuinely competing with the best teams in UK’s Guinness PRO12 competition. And the…
Art of Learning Author Lance King Motivating Kids in Bermuda
Author of educational programme the Art of Learning, New Zealander Lance King, has been invited to address students and their parents in Bermuda at the country’s oldest school, Warwick Academy. King has delivered his programme…
Tesla Co-Founder Ian Wright Has More Electric Ideas
A decade ago, New Zealander Ian Wright and a few tech-minded buddies got together bent on creating a fast and cool electric car. They called the company Tesla Motors. Now, Wright is…
New Zealand Baches Get a Luxury Makeover
A bach on the beach has long been the embodiment of the New Zealand dream, with the traditional version often a modest structure haphazardly pieced together with corrugated iron and reused timber. Lance and Nicola…
Meet John Bougen the World’s Best-Travelled Man
Thirteen years after he began exploring the globe, New Zealander John Bougen expects to be named the world’s best-travelled man by the end of the year. And he knows who to thank. “I had the…
Snowmaker Mark Eldring Skips Summers for Colorado Slopes
Snowmaker and groomer Mark Eldring, 32, originally from Mount Maunganui, has experienced one summer in the last nine years opting for winters instead shaping slopes around the world. Eldring is part of a small crew…
Julian Robertson’s Legacy from Hedge Funds to NZ
Billionaire Julian Robertson is renowned on Wall Street for being a pioneer in the hedge-fund industry in the 1980s and, more recently, for being a philanthropist who is giving much of his fortune away…
Amos Chapple Couldn’t Resist Shooting in the Coldest Place on Earth
New Zealand photographer Amos Chapple says he shoots travel photos aimed at the news sections of papers and which need a headline to hang a story on. It got down to -31 degrees Centigrade…
Tabby Besley to Be Honoured by the Queen for LGBTI Advocacy
At just 22, Tabby Besley is set to be honoured by the Queen for her work for the LGBTI community, the only New Zealander to be awarded the inaugural Queen’s Young Leader award, a…
Jane Campion’s Sweetie a Beautifully Strange Debut
Writer-director Jane Campion’s “mysterious visual style was showcased” in her 1989 film debut Sweetie, a “left field story about the love-hate relationship between two sisters,” the Guardian’s Luke Buckmaster writes. “Campion has made a career…
Animation Tutor Oana Croitoru Wins International 3D Print Comp
Aucklander Oana Croitoru, aka “Oana Jones”, has won first prize in the MakerBot Ghostly Vinyl Challenge for her hand-cranked record player featuring a 3D printed 15 cm-cube turntable. Croitoru is a tutor at Auckland’s Animation…
Michael Wayne Plant Named One of Six Imaging Ambassadors
Sony UK has announced that New Zealand-born Michael Wayne Plant has been named one of six photographers to join its Imaging Ambassadors programme, which is run on Sony’s behalf by the World…
Oscar Nominations for Screenwriter Anthony McCarten
Among the five Oscar nominations announced for the Stephen Hawking biopic The Theory Of Everything came a nod for New Plymouth-born producer and screenwriter Anthony McCarten. McCarten has been nominated twice as co-producer and…
Poet Lang Leav Offering up More Romance
Best-selling poet and artist Lang Leav has just released her second collection of poems, Lullabies. The New Zealander cemented her name in publishing history with a Best Poetry win at the Goodreads…
Meet the New Zealand Opera Trio That Outsold Lorde
Lorde may be the greatest New Zealand musical export of 2013, but back home, she’s got competition. The members of the improbably popular operatic trio Sol3 Mio, buck all the current trends in the…
Oamaru Embracing the Steampunk Vibe
Technology blog Boing Boing visits “amazing steampunk town” Oamaru, which though “probably best known for its large colony of blue penguins”, is also the steampunk capital of New Zealand. “Oamaru has fully embraced the steampunk…
Peter Jackson Embarking on WWI Museum Project
Peter Jackson is leaving the battle for Middle Earth behind to dive into some real-world war history curating a collection of artifacts at a new museum in Wellington. The temporary museum will open in…
Malaghan Institute Observes Extraordinary Cell Transfer
New Zealand and Australian scientists have observed DNA moving between animal cells in a breakthrough discovery that may lead to a better understanding of a range of human diseases and new gene therapies. The team…
Lake Tekapo Night Skies Premium Spot for Stargazing
The clarity of the night sky in Aoraki Mackenzie Dark Sky Reserve has made Lake Tekapo the world’s second-best spot for stargazing after San Pedro de Atacama in Chile and the best in New…
Kauri Cliffs a Place to Holiday like a Billionaire
Boutique golf resort the Farm at Cape Kidnappers in the Hawkes Bay wine region is one place in the world where it is possible to holiday like a billionaire, Forbes contributor Larry Olmsted says,…
Dutch Film Industry Appoints Marten Rabarts
New Zealand-born Marten Rabarts, currently head of development and training at the National Film Development Corporation in India, has been appointed head of EYE International (formerly Holland Film) and will take up…
Trygve Wakenshaw’s Solo Show Kraken Perfectly Executed
New Zealand comic Trygve Wakenshaw’s solo show Kraken, a follow up to his Edinburgh and London 2013 smash hit, Squidboy, is on at the Soho Theatre as part of the 2015 London…
Swimming Star Sophie Pascoe Aims for More Medals in Rio
Christchurch Paralympic swimmer, and gold medallist Sophie Pascoe may only be 22, but she is already a veteran on the sport’s elite stage and aims to retain the titles she won in London in…
Air New Zealand One of World’s Safest Airlines
Of 449 airlines monitored by the aviation website AirlineRatings.com, Air New Zealand makes the Top 10 safest for 2015 based on aviation governing body audits and airline incident records, among other factors. AirlineRatings.com’s rating…
Melanie Lysnkey’s Togetherness Performance a Stand-Out
It’s hard to pinpoint what is brilliant about new comedy series Togetherness, but a good place to start is its casting of Melanie Lynskey, according to Salon television critic Sonia Saraiya. “Lynskey is a New…
New Zealand WWI Contingent Enlivened Village
During World War I, New Zealand soldiers, many from the Maori Battalion, including a self-declared Niuean prince, arrived in the small East London village of Hornchurch and formed a strong bond with residents. The location…
Sheep Numbers Fall to Their Lowest for 75 Years
New Zealand has long been the butt of sheep jokes but latest figures show the nation’s woolly flock has slumped to its lowest number since World War II, with numbers dropping by 3.2 per…
Batting Star Kane Williamson Tipped as Best of All Time
Yorkshire batsman New Zealander Kane Williamson – “a bona fide ‘star’ as opposed to one of the self-generated variety – is not your average character or your average cricketer. Tauranga-born Williamson, who can block the…
Eleanor Bishop Creating Challenging Theatre in Pittsburgh
During her first trip to the United States, self-described “feminist artist who creates documentary theatre”, New Zealander Eleanor Bishop, 28, was so moved by a 2012 rape case involving high school students in Steubenville,…
Brendan Cole Promises a Night to Remember
Professional dancer Christchurch-born Brendan Cole, 38, star of the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing, begins a 48-date tour of the UK and Ireland with his dance spectacular A Night To Remember on 27 January in…
South Island Fly Fishing a Bucket List Must
A combination of big fish, spectacular scenery and clear streams has made New Zealand, particularly the South Island, a “bucket bucket-list destination for diehard trout anglers”, according to American writer and fisherman Chris Santella. “Like…
Flat White Now Available at Starbucks Throughout the US
When produced properly the Flat White – now on offer at Starbucks throughout the United States – is made with art and science and dolloped with culture, according to Melburnian CNN contributor Andrew Demaria….
Peter Walker’s Coming of Age Novel Absorbing and Ethereal
New Zealand author Peter Walker’s latest novel Some Here Among Us is “an absorbing, ethereal meditation into how the passage of time opens us up”, Peter Carty writes in a review of the book…
