Taking Australia by Storm
Twelve years on since their television debut on Wellington’s regional TV station, the Flight of the Conchords, Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement, haven’t changed. McKenzie still looks perplexed and Clement still looks…
Blog Archives
Upritchard Pose at V&A
A work by New Zealand artist Francis Upritchard is part of the Britain Creates 2012: Fashion + Art Collision exhibition on at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum through 29 July. “An old…
Fuss-Free and on the Cheap
Twenty days, 14 towns and cities throughout the North and South Islands, return flight tickets, return ferry transfer across Cook Strait, lodging, travel pass, two typical Kiwi adventures and shopping for famous local outdoor…
Inspirational Outlook
American novelist David Vann’s desktop picture is a view from his land in New Zealand. “We rented a place in Taupo Bay in 2009, for nine weeks, and that’s where I wrote the first…
#147: 100%
THE GLOBAL LIFE OF NEW ZEALANDERS From Brian Sweeney, producer NZEDGE.COM | 4 July 2012| #147 |…
Sheer Grit and Determination
New Zealand cyclist Alison Shanks, 29, is profiled in The Wall Street Journal, which introduces athletes from around the world competing in the 2012 London Olympics. “New Zealand’s world champion individual pursuit…
This Brother to Memorialise
Former champion rower Rob Hamill’s film Brother Number One, which tells the story of his brother Kerry Hamill and two friends killed in Cambodia after accidentally sailing there in 1978, was among…
Uncorking Auckland’s Potential
Mayor of the new Auckland Council Len Brown is profiled in a Monocle report called, “Ten Smart Govenors”, “a selection of inspiring local legislators.” “In just 18 months he has…
Climbing the City Ranks
Auckland rises four places to rank at nine in Monocle’s annual list of “Top 25 Liveable Cities”. “What a difference a Rugby World Cup and a new political structure makes,” the magazine writes. “Aucklanders…
Saving the Arctic at all Costs
New Zealand-born actress Lucy Lawless, who was recently in Rio de Janeiro to launch Greenpeace’s Save the Arctic campaign alongside Sir Richard Branson, talks to the Guardian’s Susanna Rustin about her latest…
Wines Making the Cut
Cinema celebrities New Zealanders Michael Seresin and Sam Neill are two of a growing number of filmmakers turning their knowledge of a good drop into winemaking. The Australian’s Michael Bodey brings his “critical faculties…
New Album with Swagger
Gin Wigmore featured on MTV Australia’s ‘Local Produce’ June special. Wigmore talked to MTV about how she got her start, her plans for the year ahead and her latest album inspiration. “Gravel & Wine…
Cricket Council President Named
New Zealander Alan Isaac has been appointed the eighth president of the International Cricket Council (ICC) succeeding India’s Sharad Pawar. Isaac, the former chairman of New Zealand Cricket, has spent the past two years…
McKellen Show Just for New Zealand
“For the past decade he has been best known as the X-Men antihero Magneto or The Lord of the Rings wizard Gandalf, but in more than a dozen sold-out performances in New Zealand, where…
Veterans Remember their Friends
New Zealand World War II airmen were among 800 veterans present at Green Park, London for the Queen’s unveiling of a memorial sculpted by Scotsman Philip Jackson. New Zealand paid for 39 veterans, aged…
Mr Fix-it in the Running
Arguably the best-placed candidate to head News Corporation’s new publishing company is New Zealander Tom Mockridge, the safe pair of hands that Rupert Murdoch parachuted in to lead News International out of the phone-hacking…
Velocity is Everything
Business leaders have things the wrong way round according to New Zealand-based Kevin Roberts, chief executive worldwide of Saatchi & Saatchi. They spend far too much time assessing information and making decisions,…
Strategically Repositioning Business
Investment banking faces a shakeup and only large commercial players and boutiques offering outstanding service will survive and prosper, New Zealander Stephen Jennings, the head of Moscow-based Renaissance Group says. “The industry will end…
Devastating ABs Stifle Irish
All Blacks Sam Cane and Sonny Bill Williams each scored double tries to inflict a record 60-0 defeat on Ireland and sweep their three-Test series. “We knew we had to start well and we…
Brightening the Bridge
The Wanganui City Bridge is sporting a refreshing new look at night as a result of new GE80W R150 LED luminaires, the Financial describes. “The 14 new fittings on the bridge will save the…
What This Hotelier Wore
New Zealand-born Sean MacPherson, 47, proprietor of the Bowery, Jane and Maritime hotels and an owner of the Waverly Inn restaurant, is revamping the Crow’s Nest Inn in Montauk, New York. MacPherson…
Off on a Dream Holiday
“In a nutshell,” this is why American Jennifer Thomas went to New Zealand: “I’m driving along some winding country road and a flock of sheep shamble up a hill and cover the road, blocking…
New Zealand’s Great Indoors
New Zealand’s temperate climate, stunning scenery and lower cost of living make it an attractive option for young Irish people and families who are looking to find a new home. According to Quotable Value…
Puttin’ ‘Em Back in the Trees
A mammoth conservation effort stretching back decades is offering hope for one of the world’s rarest birds, the kakapo, lifting its numbers from about 50 in 1990 to 126 this year. The kakapo was…
Windows to the Soul
New Zealand’s blue-eyed triplefin fish is one of American National Geographic photographer Brian Skerry’s “amazing pictures from beneath the waves” featuring in the Daily Mail. The triplefin fish is commonly found around…
Cheap Beginnings and a Title
Little Bridge, bred by Des Hawkins’ Llanhennock Trust at Wentwood Grange in Waikato, has became the first New Zealand-bred horse to win at the Royal Ascot meeting, outgunning a class field to…
Fern Hopes for Place in London
Football Ferns goalkeeper Aucklander Aroon Clansey, 26, who currently plays for English FA Women’s Super League club Liverpool Ladies, is hoping to be in the New Zealand team who will face Cameroon in the…
Air New Zealand: Safety Sketch
Ed O’Neill and Melanie Lynskey explain the dos and don’ts of flying in Air New Zealand’s latest safety video.
Radio New Zealand Wins Gold
New Zealand’s top ranking radio station, Radio New Zealand, has won gold at the 2012 New York Festival Radio Awards for their Christchurch earthquake documentary, Broken River. Broken River received the top…
Big Plans for the Pacific Rim
Former president and chief executive of Unilever’s Canadian business, New Zealander Christopher Luxon, 41, has been named Rob Fyfe’s successor as CEO of Air New Zealand. Luxon joined Air New Zealand in May 2011…
Reputation Grows in UK
“We’ve always thought we’d love New Zealand-born New York-based designer Rebecca Taylor, but meeting her yesterday to talk through her holiday collection it became official — Grazia’s got a girl crush,” Grazia Daily says…
Our Great Women Celebrated
New Zealand Women’s Weekly marks eight decades of publication after being launched in the depths of the Great Depression and lists the top 10 women who have shaped New Zealand. After former…
Possums and Their Strings Hit US
New Zealand bluegrass group The Johnny Possum Band have announced tour dates for their 2012 tour of the United States. “The Johnny Possum Band has been delivering their own brand of alt…
Meeting Porgy in Cincinnati
Dunedin opera singer Jonathan Lemalu takes the lead role in Cincinnati Opera’s production of Porgy and Bess, which runs through 8 July in Music Hall. During rehearsals, Lemalu tells Cincinnati.com about the character Porgy:…
Golden Oars Row the Isar
New Zealand has taken third place at the World Rowing Cup in Munich, after winning three golds and six medals. Lightweight women’s double scullers Southland’s Louise Ayling and Rotorua’s Julia Edward took gold finishing…
From Meek Geek to King of Cool
New Zealand comedian Rhys Darby, 38, is taking his latest live show, the award-winning This Way to Spaceship, to Leeds on 14 July as part of his first UK tour. “Only Rhys can figure…
Niccol Adapts Meyer Novel
New Zealand-born director Andrew Niccol, 48, has adapted Twilight author Stephenie Meyer’s The Host, which stars The Lovely Bones’ actress Saoirse Ronan as Melanie Stryder, one of the last people fighting against an invading…
He Makes Stuff You Want
Professor of mechatronics at Massey University in Auckland Olaf Diegel’s bespoke nylon-bodied guitars are attracting interest from all over the world. An exponent of 3D printing, Diegel’s zany guitar bodies are created using computer-aided…
On Shortlist for Dream Win
Outrageous Fortune actor Tammy Davis’ short film Ebony Society has been picked as a semi-finalist for the first international Your Film Festival. The competition is described as a global hunt to find…
Connecting the Health System
General manager for planning and funding with Canterbury District Health Board Carolyn Gullery explains how the city’s healthcare workers responded so quickly and effectively to last year’s devastating earthquake. “The transition towards a more…
On From London to Rio
Despite pushing his body to breaking point for years five-times world rowing champion Mahe Drysdale cannot resist the lure of an Olympic gold medal. While Drysdale looks forward to the day he can eschew…
On the Slopes by Lunchtime
It’s possible to take an early flight from an eastern capital in Australia and be lining up at the lifts above Queenstown, by mid-afternoon, The Sydney Morning Herald’s online sports reporter Scott Spits explains….
Servilles Steals the Show
New Zealand-based Servilles came out on top at this year’s Schwarzkopf Professional Hair Expo Awards held in Sydney last week, taking away three of the event’s top prizes. Servilles won in each of…
Taking in the Majestic
“New Zealand is a country of breathtaking extremes and that is spectacularly evident in the central North Island where you’ll find the world famous Tongariro Alpine Crossing,” Australian reporter Greg Sweetnam writes. “Even before…
Selling it Natural
Award-winning nudist resort Katikati Naturist Park is for sale. Owners Kevin and Joan Sampson began the naturist resort in 1996, and it ended up being very successful. Each year, the property attracts…
Silence on Sunderland
“In days gone by, sleepy Clyde really made some noise, writes Caroline Gladstone for The Age. “Tuesday morning, 7 o’clock and the streets are pretty quiet. You could fire the proverbial cannon down Sunderland…
Designer Tramping with the Birds
“In the style stakes, there is no contest between hikers and pied oystercatchers in Abel Tasman National Park,” Melanie Ball writes for The Australian’s Vogue Living section. “For while the former splash through low-tide…
Savea Does Us Proud
The All Blacks trounced Ireland 42-10 at Eden Park in the first test since winning last year’s World Cup, with 21-year-old winger Julian Savea scoring three tries in his debut for New…
Drafted into the Major League
Auckland catcher Daniel Devonshire, 19, is “the talk of the Moose Jaw baseball community”, according to Saskatchewan local newspaper reporter Aaron Stuckel. “Devonshire is the third ever baseball player from New Zealand to be…
Startlingly Beautiful by Boat
An image of a local tour boat taken in the Milford Sounds, Fiordland National Park, is featured in the USA Today’s ‘Photo Friday’. “The whole park is part of the Te Wahi Pounamu UNESCO…
Flair on the Field
“If you are in search of a player that encapsulates a sense of flamboyancy, and something just a little out of the ordinary then, Sonny Bill Williams may just be your man,” Kate Rowan…
Prize for Elegance and Economy
Wellington author Emma Martin has won the £5,000 Commonwealth short story prize for Two Girls in a Boat, which chair of judges Bernardine Evaristo described as “gorgeous, elegant and spare”. The story was chosen,…
Experiencing Activism in Thames
Thames was the first stop in New Zealand for American Deborah Swift, author of The Tin Ticket: The Heroic Journey of Australia’s Convict Women. On a three-week book tour of the Antipodes, Swift writes…
Wellington Hosts Hobbit
The world premiere of Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey will take place at Wellington’s Embassy Theatre on 28 November two weeks ahead of the film’s release on 14 December. Based…
Breaking More Ice
New Zealand-based clothing company Icebreaker, makers of hand-picked merino wool adventure-wear will open a second Vancouver store in September. “Vancouverites have been such great supporters of Icebreaker, and we think the North…
