Remembering Sixties Country Star Houston Wells
The life of Houston Wells, sixties country singer, is celebrated in the Independent this month. Wells, born Andrew Smith in 1932 north of Newcastle upon Tyne, lived on the shores of Lake Taupo until…
Blog Archives
Vibrancy of Kuala Lumpur Fascinates Former Aucklander
Managing director at Kuala Lumpur-based Orchan Consulting, Craig Selby, 40, is fascinated by the changes taking place in Malaysia since he moved there nine years ago. “The places near where I live have become a…
Interior Designer Joins NY’s Fabergé Egg Hunt
New Zealand-born interior designer Sandra Nunnerley is participating in this year’s Fabergé Big Egg Hunt held throughout New York’s five boroughs through April 26. The Fabergé Big Egg Hunt is a fundraising initiative…
Baritone Thriving in San Francisco Opera Scene
Baritone Hadleigh Adams, New Zealand’s first San Francisco Opera Adler Fellowship recipient, talks with the Huffington Post’s cultural critic Sean Martinfield about his latest performance, in American composer Gabriel Kahane’s The Memory Palace, an…
Crowe Impressively Grounded as Enigmatic Noah
Russell Crowe’s performance in Noah alongside Jennifer Connelly in Darren Aronofsky’s “audacious adaptation of one of the Bible’s best-known but still enigmatic chapters,” is “impressively grounded” and “powerful,” according to Washington Post reviewer Ann…
Peter Thiel Invests Big in POS Software Provider Vend
New Zealand point of sale, cloud-based software provider Vend has new investors – Peter Thiel, the PayPal cofounder and the first outside investor in Facebook, is among a group that has agreed…
New Zealand’s Dusty Landscapes Explain Ice Age Cooling
3 April 2014 – New Zealand’s iron-rich dust is helping scientists explain how the Earth cooled after the last Ice Age. Scientists travelled to the Southern Alps in an expedition to gather dust samples…
New Zealand Speak Clarified
Australians are carrying around a dark secret according to the Australian’s Ben Groundwater, and that is that they actually like New Zealanders. And Groundwater, “at least, kinda loves them.” “Forget the forced sibling rivalry, most…
Star-Studded Everest Film Re-Treks Fatal Expedition
The story of Christchurch mountaineer Rob Hall’s tragic 1996 Everest expedition in which he, a fellow guide, and two clients perished, is being made into a film by director Baltasar Kormakur, and will star…
Farmers Uprooting to Tasmanian Dairy Paddocks
A wave of New Zealand farmers are being wooed to Tasmania’s dairy scene, where milk production is rising helped by a record price from processor Fonterra of $6.64 a kilogram for milk solids this…
For the Times We Live in, NZ the Best Country to Be
New Zealand “is absolutely the best country in the world for the times we’re living in”, according to former Seattleite, speculator and business consultant Chris Eyerman. When Eyerman, his wife Kelly, and their young twins…
Trademark Taylor Encompasses All Seasons
“Rebecca Taylor, the hip New Zealand-born designer whose collections appeal to a young, fashion-forward customer, is among the designers who are turning upside down the notion of what to wear when”, Clifford Pugh writes…
New Guernsey Energy Role for New Zealander
Guernsey-based New Zealander Paul Wright, who has lived on the island for the past 17 years, has been hired as finance director of Guernsey Gas, Jersey Gas and Manx Gas and will be involved…
Music Man Reunites with the Muppets
Having worked on the 2011 film The Muppets (winning an Oscar for his soul-searching power ballad Man or Muppet), 37-year-old New Zealander Bret McKenzie was signed up for the follow-up, a crime caper called…
Talking to an Angel for Start-Up Investment Tips
Award-winning angel investor, New Zealand-born technology entrepreneur Dale Murray talks to British publication Director magazine about the best path to take in order to secure start-up investment or to fund the crucial…
Diligent Coach Instills Winning Culture in Ireland
For those who have played under New Zealander Joe Schmidt, it was no surprise that his first campaign in charge of Ireland’s national team ended on such a high. Schmidt led the Irish to…
On the Hippie Trail with Lonely Planet’s Founders
The journey that spawned publishing empire, Lonely Planet founders Tony and Maureen Wheeler’s trek from London to Australia via the hippy trail in 1972, has taken the first step on a new odyssey –…
Setting up Practice in a Nice Part of the World
New Zealand veterinarian Allan Rapley, 63, moved to North London’s Highgate Village in 2012 to transform an antiquarian bookshop into his own live-in practice “in a nice part of the world”. The father-of-five and his…
Knittable Sensor Could Revolutionise Bandages
Simon McMaster, a New Zealand-born inventor and chemist, has developed a new knittable, wearable sensor, which could lead to the creation of bandages that measure their own tightness. The sensor will be demonstrated for…
What the Royals Are Taking in on Their NZ Tour
As Prince William, Kate Middleton – and Prince George – head to New Zealand on an official tour, the Telegraph looks at all the places they are visiting asking their own experts, as well…
Our Three Greatest Male Triathletes of All Time
A trio of New Zealanders are named in an elite “25 Greatest Male Triathletes of All Time” list, with Auckland-born Hamish Carter (pictured), 42, taking the No 10 spot on Triathlete Europe’s lineup which,…
Fabric Store from NZ a Natural Fit in LA
The Los Angeles location for The Fabric Store, a New Zealand-based business that also has four retail stores in its native country and three in Australia, offers “a more edgy, fashiony focus…
Another Win for Smith Ahead of London Marathon
New Zealander Kim Smith, 32, has won the 37th New Bedford Half Marathon, her third victory in as many tries. Smith won the same race in 2011 and 2010. Smith, the three-time winner of what…
Interest Mounting in Abandoning Playground Rules
Swanson School principal Bruce McLachlan’s unconventional approach to playground rules is making waves around the world with school administrators and parents as far away as the United States and the United Kingdom asking how…
Guess What Al Pitcher Saw on the Way to His Show
New Zealand comedian Al Pitcher performs his improvised stand-up slide show, the Al Pitcher Picture Show, as part of the Format Photographic Festival on 29 March in Derby. Now based in Stockholm,
Tinkerbell Now Brain-Eating Med Student in Zombie Series
24 March 2014 – Star of American series Once Upon A Time New Zealander Rose McIver, who played Tinkerbell in the show, has been cast in the lead role of medical student Liv in…
Pulp a Handsome Cinematic Homage to Unique Band
A documentary about Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker directed by New Zealander Florian Habicht (pictured) is a “witty, warmhearted, imaginative documentary about the British farewell hometown show”, says a review in the Hollywood Reporter. “Though…
Getting Away from It All on the Coromandel
The New Zealand way of life, our “fondness for corrugated iron” and how we hang our laundry out to dry, are some Antipodean oddities which charmed a visiting American who was shown around Bill…
Yumi Zouma Instantly Poignant and Placeless
“Assembled via email, at night, from far-flung corners of the globe is the debut EP from these ex-pat New Zealanders,” Guardian reviewer Paul Lester writes, including Yumi Zouma in the publication’s “Band of the…
Canyon Road Unbelievably Scary as It Is Beautiful
The Skippers Canyon road, 25 minutes north of Queenstown, has been deemed one of the world’s 22 most dangerous roads by British firm Driving Experiences, who gave the road an “overall road fear factor”…
Fusion Finds at Bobby Chinn in Hanoi
Famed Hanoi chef Bobby Chinn, who was born in Auckland, serves a fusion of his influences – French, Californian, Middle Eastern – with Vietnamese dishes. Restaurant Bobby Chinn is recommended in a Forbes feature…
MAC Makeup Range in Lorde’s Name
Lorde’s signature dark purple lipstick and sweeping eyeliner has landed the Grammy award-winning singer, 17, her own MAC range, following in the footsteps of Rihanna, Ru Paul and Lil’ Kim. Lorde said: “I have loved…
Surprise Advance and BBC Film Deal for NZ Author
Author Deborah McKinlay, formerly of Auckland, has received a seven-figure advance and a lucrative film deal for her new book, That Part Was True. McKinlay, who had been making a living as a jobbing non-fiction…
New Zealand Wins Slalom Silver at Sochi
New Plymouth skier Corey Peters, 30, has won silver in the giant slalom at the Sochi Paralympics. A former Taranaki age group rugby representative, Peters was paralysed at a motocross event in 2009. He says all…
Waiheke Island a Paradise for Art Lovers
“Waiheke Island is upscale Auckland’s offshore beach resort of choice – but its thriving creative community means it’s also a paradise for art lovers of all types,” according to Time Out Dubai. In an…
Sun City Poms Ageing Gracefully in Vivid Colour
When New Zealand-born advertising and fine art photographer Todd Antony was shooting landscapes in the southwestern United States in 2009 he came upon Sun City, Arizona, a desert retirement community of approximately…
Eating Mince Pies off the Subway in New York
New York’s DUB Pies, run by New Zealander Gareth Hughes, “might be a tiny shop, but so is its specialty – the flaky-crusted savoury hand-made pies that are as popular as both bagels and…
Perceptive Debut Novel Immediately Engrossing
Twenty-one-year-old Sebastian Hampson, an art history and literature student at Victoria University, writes with an assurance that belies his years, according to the Australian, and his debut novel The Train to Paris, inspired by…
Echo Park Band Gets It Right in Los Angeles
New Zealand singer-songwriter, Bradley Hanan Carter (pictured second from left), 33, is founder of Los Angeles sextet, NO which is celebrating the launch of its debut album El Prado with a tour at legendary…
Swiss Helicopter Wingsuit Flight Caught on Film
Daredevil New Zealand BASEjumper and professional skydiver Dan Vicary was recently filmed leaping from a helicopter over the Silberhorn Mountain in Switzerland, supported only by a nylon wingsuit. The astonishing footage was taken by American…
Crane Brothers One of Australia’s Top Suiters
Sydney clothing store, the New Zealand-owned Crane Brothers, founded by former Zambesi menswear designer Murray Crane, is included in a Sydney Morning Herald feature on the best places in Australia to buy a suit. “No…
Australian Rules Convert like a Duck to Water
Auckland-born Falcons West Perth recruit Tamati Young, 22, had never picked up an Australian Rules (AFL) football until seven years ago. Young’s Maori heritage also meant when he finally had a crack at Australia’s indigenous…
Twilight Star Dons Dul’s Eco-Tux for Oscars
New Zealand was once again represented on the red carpet at the Oscars with Twilight star Kellan Lutz wearing the Academy Awards first sustainable tuxedo created by Jomnarn Dul, 23, lead designer at iconic…
Tracing Maori Ancestry for Worldwide Family Tree
Over the past year, Gisborne’s Ngai Tamanuhiri has been participating in the National Geographic’s Genographic Project working closely with Oceania’s genographic principal investigator Lisa Matisoo-Smith who is helping the iwi learn more about their…
Get out of Your Routine, Says Fitness Exec
Sarah Robb O’Hagan, president of American luxury fitness company Equinox Fitness, is one of six luminaries invited by the Wall Street Journal to weigh in on the question of power. The New Zealander is…
Overland Journey in a Balloon for the World’s Kids
Hot air balloon pilot Andrew Parker, 30, is attempting a four-year overland journey across more than 100 countries, in which he aims to raise awareness and US$1 million for the UNICEF Flying…
Research Flock Saudi Arabia Bound
New Zealand will export a research flock of sheep to Saudi Arabia this year under a breeding project aimed at bolstering the kingdom’s livestock supplies, according to the National. Pregnant ewes and lamb will…
Top Gear’s Jeremy Clarkson Quadskis into Lake Como
Jeremy Clarkson, host of hit BBC show Top Gear, recently drove the New Zealand-designed Quadski, described as “the world’s first personal sports amphibian” vehicle, into Italy’s Lake Como in a race against co-presenter Richard…
Dame Kiri Returns to Covent Garden Stage
Dame Kiri Te Kanawa has returned to Covent Garden after 17 years for performances of Donizetti’s comedy La Fille du Régiment in the role of the Duchess of Crackentorp. Te Kanawa celebrated her 70th birthday…
Brooklyn DIY Drummer on her Influences
New Zealand-born Fiona Campbell, a long-time participant in the Brooklyn DIY music scene, discusses her admiration for late-00s noise-pop New York band Vivian Girls, for whom Campbell drummed in 2010. Formerly of Auckland, Campbell left…
Cuttlebone Works on Display at Melbourne Flower and Garden Show
New Zealand artist Christian Gundesen will display his cuttlebone sculptures at the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show, which runs 26-30 March. Gundesen, who lives in Rye, 83km south of Melbourne, moved to the seaside…
Medal-Winning Weightlifter Heading Minnesota Wine Subsidiary
Former weightlifter and two-time Commonwealth medal winner New Zealander Nigel Avery, 46, is these days marketing his family’s wine in Minnesota. Last year, Avery assumed the role of CEO for the subsidiary
Virgin Media Boss Building Company up from the Top
The boss of Virgin Media, New Zealander Tom Mockridge, a former senior lieutenant in Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation, has been busy since he was installed as chief executive last June. For much of the…
Warner Bros Buys Rights to NZer’s Book with Bradley Cooper to Star
A crime drama based on an upcoming book by New Zealander Ben Sanders called American Blood, has been purchased by Warner Brothers and will star Oscar nominee Bradley Cooper who will also produce. At least…
New Crustacean Species Could Unlock Secrets of the Deep
Scientists from the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) have discovered a new crustacean species in the Chatham Rise east of New Zealand, that may unlock the secrets of the deep sea. NIWA…
There’s a New Sheriff in Town
New Zealand actor Martin Henderson, 39, stars as sheriff Harold Jensen in Sundance Channel’s new thriller The Red Road. Dark and dramatic, The Red Road is set in in the fictional town of Walpole, New…
