Beyond the Edge Premieres in Toronto
“In 1953, no one even knew if it could be done,” says Auckland-based Leanne Pooley, director of the 3-D documentary Beyond the Edge, which chronicles Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay’s…
News of New Zealanders via Global Media
Lorde Lands Cover of Billboard Magazine
New Zealand singer, Lorde, has graced the cover of Billboard magazine, while saying in the accompanying interview that in a perfect world she would never do interviews. The comment, according to the magazine, stems from…
Pages Seethe with Misfired Bullets and Opium
“Eleanor Catton didn’t set out to write an enormous book,” Guardian correspondent Kira Cochrane begins. “When she started her second novel, the Man Booker longlisted The Luminaries, she expected it to be about the…
Royals Makes Top 10 and Selena Gomez Covers
Auckland singer Lorde, 16, has made it into the United States Billboard Top 10, with her “debut alternative/pop hit” Royals, which pop star Selena Gomez covered at the Heineken Music Hall in Amsterdam on…
Australian Amateur Golf Title for New Plymouth Man
Murray Martin from New Plymouth has become the first New Zealander since 2009 to win the Australian Men’s Senior Amateur Championship with a six stroke victory at Royal Queensland Golf Club. Martin finished with rounds…
Mountain Peaks to Be Named in Their Honour
Nepal is set to name two Himalayan peaks after New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, the men who were the first to reach the top of the world’s highest mountain on…
Kiwi Band Wins Top Prize at US Music Competition
New Zealand band, Streets of Laredo, have taken a top spot in the US indie music competition, Unsigned Only. The New York-based band, made up of brothers Dan and Dave Gibson, and Dave’s wife,…
All Blacks Defeat Pumas in Rain-soaked Hamilton
The All Blacks overcame difficult conditions to defeat the Argentina Pumas 28-13 in a rain-soaked Rugby Championship clash at Waikato Stadium in Hamilton on Saturday, extending their winning streak in the multi-nation competition. The team…
Risk Taker on Another Collision Course
“Seconds before Russell Coutts crashed his AC45 into the race-committee boat at the start of an America’s Cup World Series race a year ago in San Francisco, Murray Jones braced himself…
Through Yellowstone and on to Key West
Alabama is the latest stop for New Zealand engineer Wayne Gatenby, who is biking across America on a journey taking him to Key West. Gatenby turns 40 this year, and his particular bucket list included…
Pacific Nations on Track to Meet Renewable Energy Target
According to a report presented by New Zealand Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully, Pacific Island nations are on track to achieve their goal of increasing their reliance on renewable energy resources within the next…
Global Consultancy Success Built Without a Plan B
“As an Auckland schoolgirl, the first high school career advice Skipp Williamson received, was that she would be well suited to a life as a builder’s labourer,” Mathew Dunckley writes for The Australian Financial…
Norfolk Chef Passionate About Region’s Produce
New Zealand-born north Norfolk-based owner of the Flying Kiwi Inns chain of UK boutique hotels Chris Coubrough is also chairman of this year’s North Norfolk Food Festival, to be held at Holkham…
Lorde Single Breaks into Billboard Top 10
Sixteen-year-old New Zealand singer, Lorde, has had continued success the US, with her single ‘Royals’ currently sitting at 8th place on the Billboard Hot 100 List. The single has also been sitting atop of the…
Deciphering Tokyo Voxels over Coffee
New Zealander James White, 30, owns Pico Pico Café in Tokyo and he is also an independent game designer, musician and futurist; the café doubles as the home of Lexaloffle Games, White’s one-man game…
Unearthing a Personal History
Is an actual, physical, deadly and devastating earthquake too obvious a metaphor for personal upheaval? Sydney Morning Herald journalist Sally Pryor asks New Zealand author Lloyd Jones. Perhaps, he says, but in his case…
Cormack on Remand in Wentworth Drama
Auckland-born actress Danielle Cormack, 42, has said she jumps at the chance to play strong women, this time in the lead role of Bea Smith in Wentworth Prison, a contemporary reworking of Prisoner:…
New Zealander Rescued After Being Trapped by Crocodile
A New Zealand kayaker spent two weeks stranded on a small island off the coast of Western Australia after a menacing crocodile refused to let him leave. Each time the man tried to kayak away…
Telephone Me and I Will Show You My Land
New Zealand-born artist Nabil Sabio Azadi, 21, has reinvented a cherished commodity for world travellers seeking an authentic experience in a new place: a local’s recommendation, Erika Allen reports in The New York Times. In…
Casual Brilliance Shines Brightest of All in Canada
“Amateur Lydia Ko is a humble sports prodigy, a student and 16 years old, all of which means that rarely have the absolute best pros in women’s golf had their collective butts…
Beautiful Food Earns Melbourne Accolades
Taranaki-born chef Ben Shewry has been named Victoria’s best at the launch of The Age Good Food Guide 2014, with the Ripponlea restaurant he heads, Attica, also honoured. Attica was among four restaurants awarded…
Auckland Students Feminist Video a Hit
YouTube’s parent company, Google, has admitted the site made a mistake when it removed Auckland University law students’ viral parody video of Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines”. The video received over 300,000 views before it was…
Chinese Media Praise Fonterra’s Handling of Botulism Scare
After it was revealed last week that Fonterra’s botulism scare was a false alarm, the company and New Zealand are now receiving admiration from Chinese media for its handling of the incident. The botulism…
Detained New Zealand Journalist Freed
New Zealand journalist Wayne Hay has been released by the Egyptian authorities after he, and three other journalists, were detained for five days. The Telegraph reports that the former TVNZ journalist, along with…
NZ is Beating Australia to the next Wool Bonanza
“As to why the New Zealanders beat Australia to a market that could – arguably should – have been ours, the story is complex, ranging from chutzpah to lost opportunities and marketing failures…
Illinois Race Win for Young Cyclist
Auckland cyclist Alexander Ray has won the Bloomington Jaycee Criterium in Illinois. The 22-year-old’s solo breakaway with six laps left so shredded the legs of his opponents, he had more than enough strength to…
Sir Keith’s Locomotive Rededicated in Worcestershire
A locomotive renovated after 20 years in a scrapyard has been rededicated to the Battle of Britain legend New Zealander Keith Park it was first named after in 1947. Sir Keith commanded RAF squadrons…
More Caffeine Injections for Central Londoners
London’s Coffeesmiths Collective, run by New Zealanders Tim Ridley and Chris McKie is, together with London banker and investor Stefan Allesch-Taylor, about to open its fifth specialist cafe in the centre of the capital …
Spiffing Stuff on Stage at the Edmonton Fringe
New Zealand actress Penny Ashton, 38, “magnificently” pulls off one-woman Jane Austen musical Promise and Promiscuity, on during August’s Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival. Edmonton Journal reviewer Elizabeth Withey gives Ashton’s show 4.5 stars…
Rare Crossing for New Zealand Motorcyclists
Five New Zealand motorcyclists have successfully crossed the world’s most militarised border as part of a ride for peace across the Korean Peninsula. The rare crossing saw the New Zealanders pass through the demilitarised zone…
New Zealand Abolishes Software Patents
The New Zealand Legislative has passed a law prohibiting patenting of software, in a move seen as a boost for innovation and competition in the technology sector. CBC News reports, “The reformed Patents Bill,…
Visitors Get Up Close to Lions at Orana Park
Christchurch’s Orana Wildlife Park is making headlines for its unique lion experience that takes visitors inside the lion enclosure for a close encounter with the big cats as they are fed. The difference? The…
Misadventure Tourism Makes for Good Read
Wellington-born performer and writer Tom Doig (left) prefers travel with adversity over leisure, and as Doig says in his new travelogue Mörön to Mörön, a book about him and his best mate, Tama Pugsley…
South Sea Treasure Available Online
New Zealand-born London-based Laura Myers, creative director of new fashion brand Atea, says she wanted her collection to be fashionable, “but not shout-y”. “Think more Emmanuelle Alt than fashion blogger,” Myers says. With the launch…
Kakapo in Global Ugly Animal Contest
New Zealand’s native kakapo has been thrust into the international spotlight, named as one of just 12 endangered animals to be included on the Ugly Animal Preservation Society’s list of ugliest animals…
Stamps Behind Stories of Terrible Wartime Loss
Aucklander Bruce Chadderton, president of the Philatelic Society of New Zealand, has had his book Descent into the Abyss: The Shoah — a philatelic retelling published by the Society of Israel Philatelists after one…
Cook Responsible for Beauteous Vancouver Garden
New Zealand-born Alleyne Cook has devoted 23 years of his life to planting and maintaining Vancouver’s Ted and Mary Greig Garden within Stanley Garden which contains an extraordinary botanical inventory of more than 4500…
Pre-schoolers Star in Karen Walker Eyewear Campaign
Iconic New Zealand fashion designer Karen Walker has launched a new campaign for her Spring ’13 eyewear collection featuring four pre-schoolers – Alice-Rose, Claudia, Elise and Tyler – as the models. The images follow…
Sky Tower Named One of Regions Top Towers
Auckland’s Sky Tower has been named as one of the Asia Pacific’s top ten iconic observation towers by TripAdvisor, the world’s largest travel website. Coming in at number five on the list of famous…
With a Talent Like Catton’s One Can Never Be Sure
New Zealand-raised author Eleanor Catton’s Man Booker nominated The Luminaries is reviewed by Lesley McDowell in The Scotsman this week. “ Catton’s doorstopper of a novel read like a recall the Victorian works so…
Cage and Cusack Star in Impressive Debut
New Zealand-born writer-director Scott Walker’s “impressive debut” The Frozen Ground, starring Nicholas Cage and John Cusack “amounts to an exploitation flick about the hunt for Alaska’s most notorious serial killer, but told with style and…
Hope for Help from British Construction Workers
An innovative live webcast run by Immigration New Zealand and the Stronger Christchurch Infrastructure Rebuild Team (SCIRT) hopes to encourage British civil construction and engineering workers to consider a move to earthquake-ravaged…
Phil Keoghan Retraces 1928 Tour de France
New Zealander Phil Keoghan has paid homage to the first New Zealander to complete the Tour de France team in an effort to raise funds for the United States National Multiple Sclerosis Society. The…
Should Australia Follow Suit in Housing Sector
Is New Zealand’s macro-prudential mortgage tools an option for the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), The Guardian’s economics correspondent Greg Jericho writes. The RBA will be watching closely as New Zealand introduces innovative regulations…
Join the Dean Barker Fan Club in San Francisco
Team New Zealand skipper Dean Barker is earning devotees at the America’s Cup, says Bruce Jenkins of the San Francisco Chronicle. “I joined the Dean Barker fan club this week,” Jenkins writes. “Whether or…
Plans for Labyrinth-inspired Puppet Musical
Flight of the Conchords star, Academy and Grammy Award-winner Bret McKenzie, 37, wants to bring back to life the eighties classic storytelling technique of real people and puppets singing and dancing side by side…
Team New Zealand Win Louis Vuitton Cup
Emirates Team New Zealand has won the Louis Vuitton Cup for the second consecutive time, making Team New Zealand the official challenger to Oracle Team USA in the America’s Cup challenge this September. Team…
Lydia Ko Wins Canadian Women’s Open
16-year-old Lydia Ko has made history at the CN Canadian Women’s Open, defending her Canadian Open title with a dominating win in Alberta and becoming the first amateur in history to win two LPGA…
All Blacks Retain Bledisloe Cup
The All Blacks have retained the Bledisloe Cup after 27-16 trouncing of the Wallabies in their Rugby Championship clash in Wellington on Saturday night. New Zealand winger Ben Smith followed up on last weekend’s hat-trick…
Dropping Soul-Dub in to Some Far-Flung Corners
Wellington septet Fat Freddy’s Drop “are spreading their infectious grooves all over the world,” according to The Sydney Morning Herald’s Paris Pompor. In a shrinking, fibre-connected world, the band find themselves in ever more…
Prince George Gets His Own NZ Post Stamp
For the first time in its 170-year history, New Zealand Post is issuing a stamp to celebrate a Royal birth, that of Prince George of Cambridge. While Royal children have featured on several New…
New Zealand’s Friendly Airport
Airports are often the least enjoyable part of travelling – while travellers want to enjoy every last moment of their holiday, there’s only so much an airport can offer. However according to Jaunted, Auckland…
Kiwi’s 3D-Printed Cast Could Revolutionalize Recovery
A new prototype cast, researched and designed by Victoria University of Wellington graduate, has been making its way onto international design blogs, and has recently just won the New Zealand leg of the James…
Icebreaker President Reflects on Path to Portland
President and co-founder of Icebreaker, the Wellington-based merino wool clothing brand, Jeremy Moon recently spoke at the inaugural meeting of Athletic and Outdoor Young Professionals about the company’s roundabout route to their US home…
Recreating Iconic Doors Mural in Venice Beach
New Zealand-born painter and sculptor Clinton Bopp, who lives in Santa Monica Canyon, has been working on reproducing the Venice Beach mural incorporating Jim Morrison and band members who made up The Doors. Folk musician…
Ten Pounds Gets You Lots of Funny in Edinburgh
One of New Zealand’s youngest professional comedians, award-winning Rhys Mathewson, 22, is making his Edinburgh Fringe Festival debut, with his show “The Best £10 You’ll Ever Spend”. The List asks Mathewson: “What do you think…
