News of New Zealanders via Global Media

Kiwi Startup Coco’s Coconut Co Picked up by Givenchy

Kiwi Startup Coco’s Coconut Co Picked up by Givenchy

Coco’s Coconut Co, a small Kiwi startup that produces a premium brand of coconut water called CoAqua, has landed a deal with French fashion brand Givenchy to be their in-store drink. CoAqua will soon be…

New Plymouth Teen Eden Bristowe Opens Vivienne Westwood Show

New Plymouth Teen Eden Bristowe Opens Vivienne Westwood Show

New Plymouth teenager Eden Bristowe has opened Vivienne Westwood’s Red Label show at London Fashion Week wearing a “Yes” badge, in support of Scottish independence from the United Kingdom. The 16-year-old was the first model…

Sailing World Championships “Dominated” by Kiwi Pair

Sailing World Championships “Dominated” by Kiwi Pair

The International Sailing Federation (ISAF) Sailing World Championships in Santander were dominated by Kiwi sailors Peter Burling and Blair Tuke. Peter Burling and Blair Tuke had already secured Gold before starting the 49er skiff event,…

Gemma New to Conduct for LA Philharmonic

Gemma New to Conduct for LA Philharmonic

University of Canterbury graduate Gemma New has been selected by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association as one of two conductors to participate in the 2014/15 Dudamel Fellowship Program. New will be conducting ‘Peter and the…

Rare Giant Squid a Spectacular Scientific Opportunity

Rare Giant Squid a Spectacular Scientific Opportunity

The colossal squid hauled from the depths of Antarctica’s Ross Sea by a New Zealand fishing crew last year has local scientists very excited, as it is one of very few ever examined. The 350kg…

Prime Minister John Key Wins Third Term

Prime Minister John Key Wins Third Term

Prime Minister John Key will lead New Zealand for a third consecutive term after the National Party won 48 per cent of the vote in this year’s election. Official results show Key’s party will likely…

Cliff Curtis Gives Career-Making Performance as Genesis Potini

Cliff Curtis Gives Career-Making Performance as Genesis Potini

New Zealand actor Cliff Curtis, 46, who gives a career-making performance in fellow New Zealand director James Napier Robertson’s The Dark Horse (now playing the Toronto International Film Festival) is serious about his craft….

Tour of Britain Rider Tom Scully Shares His Food Diary

Tour of Britain Rider Tom Scully Shares His Food Diary

To meet the relentless energy demands of this year’s eight stage Tour of Britain professional cycle race, New Zealander Tom Scully is one of approximately 114 riders who must fuel up each morning, topping…

That Little Emilia Wickstead Point of Difference

That Little Emilia Wickstead Point of Difference

Over the past half decade, New Zealand-born Emilia Wickstead has emerged as London’s go-to designer for occasion dressing. Her ability to find inspiration in 1950s and 1960s couture salons and the candy-coloured society ladies…

Richard “Hannibal” Hayes Gives National Geographic Russia a NZ Tour

Richard “Hannibal” Hayes Gives National Geographic Russia a NZ Tour

Sir Richard “Hannibal” Hayes, legendary helicopter pilot, gave two National Geographic reporters from Russia the ride of their life as they explored New Zealand. Sir Richard is is probably New Zealand’s most legendary helicopter pilot…

Air NZ Boeing 747-400 Takes Final Flight

Air NZ Boeing 747-400 Takes Final Flight

Air New Zealand’s last Boeing 747-400 affectionately referred to by pilots as “Daddy’s yacht” has completed its final flight in teal livery, as the airline ushers in a new generation of long-haul aircraft. The 16-year-old…

Strictly Star Erin Boag Says Motherhood Her New Priority

Strictly Star Erin Boag Says Motherhood Her New Priority

For 17 years, Auckland-born ballroom dancer Erin Boag, 39, and British partner Anton Du Beke, 48, have been tripping the light fantastic together, in a journey that has seen them rise through the amateur…

Makeup Artist Aaron De Mey Minimalist at London Fashion Week

Makeup Artist Aaron De Mey Minimalist at London Fashion Week

New Zealand-born, New York-based makeup artist Aaron De Mey was backstage at Irish designer J.W. Anderson’s show for London Fashion Week crafting pure looks and “matte fragility”. “We’re really trying to amplify a no-makeup state…

Denim Designer Simon Miller Reshaping Californian Brand

Denim Designer Simon Miller Reshaping Californian Brand

Wellington-born designer Simon Miller, men’s creative director at premium denim brand Citizens of Humanity in Los Angeles, talks to Monocle about his new role and plans for the label’s future. “I’ve been living my life…

Christchurch’s ‘Cardboard Cathedral’ Symbolises Progress as City Rebuilds

Christchurch’s ‘Cardboard Cathedral’ Symbolises Progress as City Rebuilds

Christchurch’s Transitional Cathedral, known as the ‘cardboard cathedral’, has ‘risen from the ruins’ to become the most recognised building in Christchurch, while ChristChurch Cathedral remains gripped in a battle between modernity and heritage. The ChristChurch…

Possums Adding Value to Elver’s Backpacks

Possums Adding Value to Elver’s Backpacks

“When Kiwi footwear and accessories start-up Elver launched last year the brand faced a dilemma: manufacturers can’t produce small batches without extraordinary costs. The firm decided to capitalize on the availability of…

Vogue’s 15 Must Visit Spots in Wellington

Vogue’s 15 Must Visit Spots in Wellington

Vogue has presented a list of 15 spots to have a perfect day in the “coolest little city in the world: Wellington, New Zealand” “New Zealand’s capital city is no longer just a sleepy layover…

Holly Spring’s Daughter Her Muse for Award-Winning Photos

Holly Spring’s Daughter Her Muse for Award-Winning Photos

Photography was the furthest thing from Holly Spring’s mind when daughter Violet was struck down with a debilitating bowel condition that almost cost her life. Born with just one hand, her right, the new born…

Wellington Vampire Movie Wins People’s Choice at Toronto Film Festival

Wellington Vampire Movie Wins People’s Choice at Toronto Film Festival

‘What We Do In the Shadows’ was a big hit at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, winning the Grolsch Midnight Madness People’s Choice Award.  Its co-creator, ‘Flight of the Conchords’ star Jemaine Clement,…

The Musket Room Challenges Assumptions of Kiwi Food

The Musket Room Challenges Assumptions of Kiwi Food

Amelia Lester writes for The New Yorker restaurant column this week about Australasian cuisine, with a focus on the Musket Room, the highly acclaimed restaurant of New Zealander Matt Lambert. She writes of the growing…

Hairdressing a Terrific Career for Beijing-Based Bill Watson

Hairdressing a Terrific Career for Beijing-Based Bill Watson

Former Wellingtonian Bill Watson, international education and artistic director for Toni & Guy China, is loving life in Beijing. “It’s where things are happening,” he tells New Zealand Herald journalist Janetta Mackay. Watson says working…

Belfast Students Aim to Emulate Burt Munro Record

Belfast Students Aim to Emulate Burt Munro Record

A team of Queen’s University undergraduate engineers will attempt to emulate the 1967 land speed record New Zealander Burt Munro set on his modified Indian Scout motorcycle at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. The…

Steve Williams Reflects on Stellar Caddie Career

Steve Williams Reflects on Stellar Caddie Career

Steve Williams, one of the world’s most famous caddies, talks to the New York Times about his plans to wind down his dream career after being inducted to the Caddie Hall of Fame this…

Webb’s Auction House Offers up Art Bargains

Webb’s Auction House Offers up Art Bargains

“Auckland-based auction house Webb’s leads the way in meeting the growing interest in New Zealand artists,” according to Monocle. “Established in 1976, it now also provides auction services in Wellington and, in 2013, clinched the…

Singer Jackie Bristow Itching to Finish Fourth Album

Singer Jackie Bristow Itching to Finish Fourth Album

New Zealand folk singer Jackie Bristow hasn’t released a new album in four years. But she has a really good excuse: Bristow has been touring non-stop, and consistently appearing on some lofty play bills,…

Secluded Waikato Getaway Carved out of the Hills

Secluded Waikato Getaway Carved out of the Hills

“Long before Peter Jackson re-created Middle-earth in the fertile hills of New Zealand’s Waikato region, Graham Hannah and his young daughter Jessie had a dream,” Rob McFarland writes for the Sydney Morning Herald. “They would…

Scientists Closing to Breeding Eco-friendly Sheep

Scientists Closing to Breeding Eco-friendly Sheep

Scientists at New Zealand’s AgResearch and the US Department of Energy’s Joint Genome Institute have moved a step closer to developing a breed of sheep that belches less methane as part of a quest…

Nonviolent Peaceforce Worker Maria Duncan Flies into S Sudan

Nonviolent Peaceforce Worker Maria Duncan Flies into S Sudan

Christchurch woman Maria Duncan, 27, who works for Brussels-based organization Nonviolent Peaceforce, has flown into war-torn Bentiu, South Sudan to help protect some 25,000 refugees in a UN camp. Almost all its occupants are displaced…

Good Kill Andrew Niccol’s Sobering 21st Century Riposte to Top Gun

Good Kill Andrew Niccol’s Sobering 21st Century Riposte to Top Gun

In Good Kill, which has its world premiere this month at the Venice Film Festival, New Zealand writer-director Andrew Niccol explores the implications of waging war while staying home, a development that – for…

Surgeon Is Fundamentally a Storyteller

Surgeon Is Fundamentally a Storyteller

Auckland-based author and surgeon Dr Sharad Paul talks to the Bangalore Mirror about his latest novel The Kite Flyers, and about how a doctor came to be writing literary fiction. “I think I am fundamentally…

Trailblazer Brad Thorn Happy to Be a Leicester Tiger

Trailblazer Brad Thorn Happy to Be a Leicester Tiger

Former All Black forward Brad Thorne, 39, has pitched up at Leicester at the tail-end of a colourful career that’s taken him from Dunedin to Leinster via Japan. But, he tells the Independent’s Chris…

Graeme Hart’s Luxurious Ulysses Sets Sail

Graeme Hart’s Luxurious Ulysses Sets Sail

New Zealand billionaire Graeme Hart has been revealed as the owner of the $77 million 107m super yacht “Ulysses”, just launched from a slip in Ulsteinvik, Norway. The former tow-truck driver and panel beater turned…

Steve Williams Inducted into the Caddie Hall of Fame

Steve Williams Inducted into the Caddie Hall of Fame

After a career that has lasted nearly four decades, New Zealander Steve Williams, 50, has been inducted into the Caddie Hall of Fame by the Western Golf Association. Williams received a bronze caddie statue as…

Lonely Planet’s Top Eight Must-See NZ Port Destinations

Lonely Planet’s Top Eight Must-See NZ Port Destinations

In an extract from Lonely Planet New Zealand, Charles Rawlings-Way describes the country’s top eight must-see port destinations. “Paris may be the city of love, but Auckland is the city of many lovers, according to…

Neil Newton setting Pittsburgh locals straight

Neil Newton setting Pittsburgh locals straight

Pittsburgh locals ask Neil Newton about two things when they learn he is from New Zealand: The Lord of the Rings and HBO’s Flight of the Conchords, two things that he has nothing to…

Sirocco the Kakapo a Great Conservationist Spokesbird

Sirocco the Kakapo a Great Conservationist Spokesbird

Sirocco the kakapo is a great spokesbird to travel New Zealand and share the conservation message, according to James Russell from the University of Auckland, who recently met the hand-raised bird. “The kakapo is an…

Expert Hacker Debugging the World’s Software

Expert Hacker Debugging the World’s Software

One of Google’s “secret team of bug-hunting hackers” is New Zealander Ben Hawkes. Part of the group known as Project Zero, a group of top Google security researchers with the sole mission of tracking…

Chandler Betting Big on Energy in Africa and Asia

Chandler Betting Big on Energy in Africa and Asia

New Zealand-born billionaire Richard Chandler, 55, is counting on gas and oil in far-flung locales from Papua New Guinea to Kenya and Ethiopia, banking on demand from Asia’s growing middle class. Chandler is amassing a…

New Zealander Stephen Cartmell Performing in Minneapolis

New Zealander Stephen Cartmell Performing in Minneapolis

New Zealand actor Stephen Cartmell, once the face of Wattie’s Baked Beans, steps up onto the boards in Minneapolis at the city’s Jungle Theatre, performing in satire The Mystery of Irma Vep. Cartmell…

Nervous Cumbrian Brewer Matt Clarke Sends Pale Ale Home

Nervous Cumbrian Brewer Matt Clarke Sends Pale Ale Home

Head brewer at Cumbria’s Hawkshead Brewery in England, Whanganui-born Matt Clarke, sent a New Zealand Pale Ale (NZPA) to Wellington for the 21st birthday celebration of renowned bar The Malthouse, as part…

Gareth Reeves Elopes as Lysander in Canberra Production

Gareth Reeves Elopes as Lysander in Canberra Production

New Zealand-born actor Gareth Reeves, 36, stars as Lysander in the new Bell Shakespeare production of Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Dream on until 13 September in Canberra. Reeves and Lucy Honigman, who plays…

Bill Nancarrow a Mainstay on Napa Valley Vintner Scene

Bill Nancarrow a Mainstay on Napa Valley Vintner Scene

Originally from the Hawke’s Bay, Bill Nancarrow, 45, has made sauvignon blanc fit for President Obama and escorted Ryan Seacrest and U2’s The Edge on private winetasting tours. The New Zealand Herald’s Leena Tailor…

Zombie Survival Game DayZ Tops 2.5 Million Players

Zombie Survival Game DayZ Tops 2.5 Million Players

Game designer Dean Hall, 33, has announced that his zombie survival game “DayZ” has reached more than 2.5 million players since its launch in December last year. Prague-based developer Bohemia Interactive recently delayed update 0.49,…

Newly Discovered Asteroid to Fly Over New Zealand

Newly Discovered Asteroid to Fly Over New Zealand

An asteroid is set to pass Earth closest to New Zealand, at a distance of just 25,000 miles, this weekend. Asteroid 2014 RC was discovered by astronomers on 31 August and will pass New Zealand…

St. John Regular Sam Neill Bemoans the French Wine List

St. John Regular Sam Neill Bemoans the French Wine List

Actor Sam Neill has been frequenting London’s St. John restaurant for nearly 20 years, and while he’s obsessed with the place his greatest passion is reserved for New Zealand vineyards. “Neill is an oenophile and…

Sir Harold Gillies the Man Who Mended Broken Soldiers

Sir Harold Gillies the Man Who Mended Broken Soldiers

In October, the handiwork of New Zealand-born otolaryngologist Sir Harold Gillies, widely considered the father of plastic surgery, can be seen at the Hunterian Museum in the Royal College of Surgeons of England, in…

Bruce Anstey Cruises to Isle of Man Formula 1 Win

Bruce Anstey Cruises to Isle of Man Formula 1 Win

New Zealander Bruce Anstey dominated the Classic TT Formula 1 race in the Isle of Man with a victory margin of over one minute, setting a record lap speed of 123.894 for two-stroke machines…

Nadia Lim Hits the Road to Discover NZ’s Best Local Produce

Nadia Lim Hits the Road to Discover NZ’s Best Local Produce

Nadia Lim – 2011 New Zealand MasterChef winner – has premiered her new eight-part series New Zealand with Nadia Lim on the Asian Food Channel. Lim’s quest to discover the best local produce took…

James McDonald’s Bright Star Shows No Sign of Dimming

James McDonald’s Bright Star Shows No Sign of Dimming

Being so good so young won’t count against James McDonald, 23, according to Craig “Clocker” Tompson, a guiding light behind the meteoric Australian rise of the talented New Zealander. Some jockeys are exceptional early but…

Jemaine Clement Talks Conchords and Vampires

Jemaine Clement Talks Conchords and Vampires

Conchord and vampire Jemaine Clement is interviewed by The Guardian’s Alexander Bisley on his new film What We Do in the Shadows, share homes, and his Maori heritage. Clement is one of the most noted…

California Victory Brings Scott Dixon’s Career Wins to 35

California Victory Brings Scott Dixon’s Career Wins to 35

With IndyCar champion Scott Dixon’s latest Grand Prix win in Sonoma, California, the 34-year-old New Zealander has earned his 35th career victory and is now tied with American legend Bobby Unser for fifth place…

Black Ranger Power Given to Local Actor James Davies

Black Ranger Power Given to Local Actor James Davies

New Zealand actor James Davies will co-star as Black Ranger (pictured, far left) in Power Rangers Dino Charge, with the television show confirmed to return to the country for filming of the latest series. Davies…

Lorde Trumps the Big Guns to Take MTV Best Rock Video

Lorde Trumps the Big Guns to Take MTV Best Rock Video

Lorde has become the first female artist to win in the category Best Rock Video at the MTV Video Music Awards, beating Arctic Monkeys, Linkin Park, The Black Keys and Imagine Dragons. The 17-year-old scooped…

Double Gold for New Zealand Ends Superb Campaign

Double Gold for New Zealand Ends Superb Campaign

Victories for double scullers Fiona Bourke and Zoe Stevenson, and single sculler Emma Twigg capped off a superb world championship regatta for New Zealand’s rowers in Amsterdam. Those wins lifted New Zealand’s gold medal haul…

2015 Venice Biennale Welcomes NZ Artist Simon Denny

2015 Venice Biennale Welcomes NZ Artist Simon Denny

Sculptor and installation artist Simon Denny, 32, has been selected to represent New Zealand at the 2015 Venice Biennale, which runs from 9 May to 22 November. “Simon Denny is one of the…

Maggie Bolger’s Hip London Kids Club a Soho House for Parents

Maggie Bolger’s Hip London Kids Club a Soho House for Parents

Maggie Bolger and Rose van Cutsem are, on the face of it, unlikely friends and business partners. Bolger is a matter-of-fact New Zealander who lives in London, while van Cutsem — née Astor —…