Merleen Thomas, Inspirational Airline Engineer
‘One of the most satisfying things about my job is seeing an aircraft that you inspected take off and just seeing it fly in the air,’ Merleen Thomas, Air New Zealand aircraft engineer, told…
News of New Zealanders via Global Media
Looking on the Bright Side of Life
“The world’s most southerly capital city is a shining example of turning weaknesses into strengths,” David Whitley writes for Middle East newspaper The National. “Hemmed in between harbour and hills, Wellington simply doesn’t have…
Differences of Time on and off Set
Actor and winemaker Sam Neill, 65, talks to the South China Morning Post about corks, cows and why action films are duller than they look. “Making good films and good wines are both very…
Pasifika Education Achievement on the Rise
There has been a 3.5% increase in the number of Pacific Island 16-year-old students achieving the NCEA Level 2 qualification, according to the latest New Zealand education statistics. Pauline Winter, Chief Executive of New…
Birds with Mirrors Take Flight for Australia
New Zealander Lemi Ponifasio’s dance works have been acclaimed by critics as nothing short of revelatory, spiritual, even. The self-taught choreographer’s productions, starring Polynesian dancers, have been staged to critical acclaim across the…
NZ Told to Stop Fatty Food Exports
Nauru, the Cook Islands, Tonga, Niue and Samoa all rank in the 10 most obese nations on earth, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). Obesity rates in all these Pacific nations exceed 80%….
One of the World’s Best Guided Tours
Active Adventures New Zealand’s Five-Day ‘Kauri’ Essence of the North Island tour features in National Geographic Traveler’s eighth annual “50 of the World’s Best Guided Expeditions” list, which appears in the magazine’s May issue….
Keeping Track of North Korean News
Christchurch researcher Frank Feinstein has dedicated a website, to cataloguing dispatches from North Korea’s state media organization, Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). The website, called KCNA Watch, catalogues every KCNA English report on…
Pacific Leaders Choose Sustainable Development
Pacific leaders from 18 nations have rejected a call from the World Bank and New Zealand to free up trade, loosen regulation and shrink their public sectors, according to the Samoa Observer. Instead, a…
Ladyhawke Slips on Armani for Indie Cover
“Her songs like ‘Paris is Burning’ or ‘My Delirium’ are well-known all over the world, but hardly anyone knows her real name,” according to Austrian-based magazine, Indie – The Independent Style Magazine. “We…
Berlin Takes a Bite on Friedrichstrasse
Hamish Morrison Galerie in Berlin presents their first solo exhibition by New Zealand artist Billy Apple entitled “Apple sees red”, beginning 26 April. “The title for this exhibition ‘Apple sees red’ – in…
Mayfair Salon Opening for Designer
A brief internship with the jewellery department of Sotheby’s in London at the age of 25, has brought New Zealand fine jeweller Jessica McCormack to opening a 465-square-metre salon – The House –…
Best City in the World for Being Wild
In Wellington, wildlife sightings are a part of daily life, thanks to the city’s green policies and development of countless parks, nature reserves and walking tracks, Adam Bray writes for CNN. Bray recommends a…
She’s About to Be a Very Big Deal
“Listen to … Lorde, aka Ella Yelich O’Connor, a 16-year-old from … because she’s about to be a very big deal,” claims US website BuzzFeed. “Her voice is incredible – something like a…
Willie Moon Shows ‘Wit’ and ‘Invention’ on Debut Album
Kiwi 50’s revivalist singer Willie Moon’s debut album, Here’s Willy Moon, shows ‘wit’ and ‘invention’, according to The Observer. Described by the same paper in 2011 as ‘one to watch’, Moon combines ‘rootsy rock…
Pat Lam Relishes Leading Connaught Rugby
Pat Lam is looking forward to coaching Connaught, one of four Irish teams in rugby’s Heineken Cup, writes Gerry Thornley, in The Irish Times. In Galway for only eight days, Lam told Thornley he…
The Daily Mail’s ‘Awe Inspiring Journey’ to Hobbiton and Beyond
‘Thanks to the Lord of the Rings, and now The Hobbit, New Zealand one big photo opportunity for Tolkien fans’, says Helen Nicholson in The Daily Mail. Nicholson did a Hobbit Tour of…
Right-Wing Danish MP Labeled ‘Ignorant’ About Maori Culture
Marie Krarup, a right wing Danish MP, offended New Zealand Maori by describing their traditional welcome as ‘uncivilised and grotesque’, says Richard Shears in The Daily Mail. The Danish MP, in New Zealand with…
New Zealand Winemaker Leads in California Chardonnay Revival
‘California chardonnay is back- yet again’ says Lettie Teague, of The Wall Street Journal. ‘Lighter, brighter varieties untouched by oak,’ are leading the revival according to Teague. New Zealand’s Fintan du Fresne, winemaker for…
New Zealand Moviegoer Strikes a Blow for Film Fans Everywhere
Ever seen a movie trailer, then gone to the film and noticed something major was missing? Well, J Congdon, eagle eyed New Zealand film-goer, certainly did. But, unlike most, he did something about his…
Ngakau Toa Takes on Globe History in Te Reo
Actor Rawiri Paratene, 59, features in Mike Jonathan’s Troilus and Cressida: The Road to the Globe, which follows Paratene, director Rachel House and their 18-strong cast during the gruelling three month lead-up to…
Veils Frontman Has Accomplished a Cool Rarity
Lead singer and songwriter for London-based band The Veils, New Zealander Finn Andrews, 29, has “accomplished something rare and cool, namely a guitar-based record that transcends easy categorization,” according to Vancouver online news…
Maori King’s Gift to Chairman Mao Loaned Back to New Zealand
‘The smallest is as a great as the largest’, said Chairman Mao when given a Maori cloak by New Zealand filmmaker Ramai Te Miha Hayward in 1957. Chairman Mao was replying to Ramai when…
650 Million Chinese Receive Offer to Study in New Zealand
A New Zealand education documentary is to screen on Chinese television to a potential audience of 650 million. Entitled Dragons in the Land of the Long White Cloud, the two-part series aims to attract…
Hayley Westenra ‘Thrilled’ to be Back in Taiwan
New Zealand soprano Hayley Westenra has told the Taipei Times that she is thrilled to be in Taiwan again and is looking forward to her performances. The 25-year-old pop and classical singer, on her seventh…
New Zealand Minister Sells ‘Donaldson’s Dairy’ to Chinese
New Zealand’s Tertiary Education and Science Minister Steven Joyce recently launched a Chinese version of Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy by Lynley Dodd, at an education event in Shanghai. Mr. Joyce was in China…
China and New Zealand Trade on Track for $20 Billion by 2015
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister John Key have reconfirmed the target of doubling two-way goods trade between their nations to $NZ20 billion by 2015. ‘Businesses are on track to achieve this, and…
Isabel Estate Shows off Its Wines in America
‘With a population of just 46,000 Hattiesburg, Mississippi, is not the place you might expect to find a major wine festival featuring a huge array of world class vintners,’ says Forbes writer Larry Olmsted….
Heartfelt as Siegmund at the Met
New Zealand veteran heldentenor Simon O’Neill plays Siegmund in the Metropolitan Opera season of Wagner’s Die Walküre. However, on the evening of The New York Times review, the first of two performances, “O’Neill’s normally…
Fandango is Bigger and Bigger Music
Can the Phoenix Foundation’s latest album Fandango match the five stars of their last release, Buffalo, The Guardian asks in their “Album Stream” column. “Five albums into their career, and the Phoenix Foundation…
New Zealand’s Lamborghini Connection
Bob Wallace, originally from New Zealand, became Lamborghini’s test driver in 1964; he was instrumental in the founding of the Italian car company. For most devoted fans,” The New York Times’ John Lamm writes,…
Putting Pictures to Arnett’s Words
Iconic New Zealand journalist Peter Arnett, 78, who ushered in the era of live television war reporting during the first Gulf War in 1991, will be the subject of a feature-length documentary called,
Cannes Award for Campion
Director of award-winning film The Piano, Wellington-born Jane Campion, 58, will be presented with the Carrosse d’Or from the Society of Film Directors at the Cannes Film Festival in May. Campion will be…
Persistent to the Chequered Flag
It’s hard to ignore New Zealand IndyCar driver Scott Dixon’s consistency, according to the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin’s Robert Morales. “After an up-and-down first four years in IndyCar, he has not finished lower…
‘Blunt and Fearless’ Series on Rhino Killing by Natural History New Zealand
In 2012, more than 450 rhinos were killed by poachers in South Africa alone. The poaching is driven by the demand for rhino horn, used for traditional medicine in many Asian countries. ‘Battleground: Rhino…
Williamson’s Speech a Marriage Equality Great
Speaking in support of the Marriage Amendment Bill, National Party MP Maurice Williamson delivered what some are hailing as “one of the greatest speeches ever delivered at a marriage equality debate.” After warming up…
Meteoric Rise for Victory Star
Twenty-one-year-old Melbourne Victory attacker Hamilton-born Marco Rojas has won the Johnny Warren Medal as the A-League player of the year, doubling the amount of votes second-placed Italian soccer legend Alessandro Del Piero, 38, received….
Radiating Statuesque Dignity
New Zealand soprano Madeleine Pierard stars in Haydn’s L’Isola Disabitata, the inaugural performance of the Hobart Baroque Festival in Tasmania. “As the long-suffering Constanza, Pierard radiates statuesque dignity, even garbed in…
Bolthole for Bargain Hunters
Kauri Cliffs Lodge in the Bay of Islands is home to billionaire American hedge fund manager, Julian Robertson, the founder of Tiger Asset Management. But according to investment strategist Tim Staermose, “you…
Devotedly by Her Side
A New Zealander, known only as Kate, who cared for the late Lady Margaret Thatcher, would read to the former British prime minister and keep her mind going in her final days, according to…
Marlborough’s Top Dog
“Never a country to flood markets with bargain swill, New Zealand today boasts the world’s highest average selling price for exported table wine,” Globe and Mail life columnist Beppi Crosariol writes. “I think that…
NZ Parliament Passes Same-sex Marriage Bill, Breaks into Song
New Zealand has become the 13th country to legalise same-sex marriage, completing a social revolution that began with the decriminalisation of homosexuality 27 years ago. After two hours of debate and heart-warming speeches from…
Painting a Parallel World
Nigel Brown is New Zealand’s most “brilliant” and “prolific” living painter, according to Forbes contributor Michael Tobias. “Indeed, as an astute observer, thinker and painter focusing to large degree on Nature…
All-American from Taranaki
Originally from Waitara, Terai Sadler, 20, who plays basketball for Crowder College in Missouri, “can claim something no other Lady ‘Rider has – and perhaps very few around the nation – she’s the school’s…
Bastion of the Boat Building Industry
New Zealand is “a bastion of hard-nosed sailing and boating knowledge,” according to The New York Times. “Being so far away from all places except for Australia, they’ve had to make amends generationally, and…
Sharing Plates in Melbourne
New Zealand chefs continue to make their mark in Melbourne with recent arrivals including Daniel Wilson and Dante Ruaine at Huxtable and Alric Hansen with Small Victories. Christian McCabe…
Speed Stargazing over Tongariro
Amateur Taupo videographer Bevan Percival has captured “breathtaking” time-lapse film showing the star-packed night skies and landscapes of the volcanic Central Plateau over a six-month period. PetaPixel writes: “Shot using a…
Wireless Contract for Chinese
At least one small nation in the South Pacific isn’t too worried about China’s Huawei Technologies Co. posing a national security risk, writes Fox Business. New Zealand’s biggest telephone company, Telecom Corp. of New…
McIndoe Sculpture Unveiled
The design for a memorial honouring pioneering plastic surgeon, Dunedin-born Sir Archibald McIndoe, the hundreds of Second World War air crew whom he rescued from despair, and the town of East Grinstead crucial in…
Michigan Ace
Christchurch-born Barrett Franks, 21, is playing the “best tennis of his collegiate career” for the University of Michigan. Franks’ talent was widely known in New Zealand. Such talent earned him a spot on the…
Palate Changer
East London restaurant St John, where New Zealand chef Margot Henderson (pictured) once worked with husband, owner Fergus, is British sculptor Rachel Whiteread’s favourite eatery. “St John has been a part of my life…
All Aboard on a Tech Trip
Setting out on a New Zealand adventure to test technology, travel and entertainment on the road, air and rail, Forbes contributor Andy Robertson aims to avoid insulating he and his family “from the thrill…
Man from the Deep
Thirty-two-year-old New Zealander William Trubridge, holder of 15 freediving world records, knows intimately the literal depths of the planet’s waters, Matthew Link writes for The South China Morning Post. “With no…
King-Wall Named Principal Dancer
Ty King-Wall, 26, from Katikati has been named the latest – and youngest – 12th principal artist of the Australian Ballet. The company’s artistic director David McAllister said he was certain King-Wall would make a great…
Change of Character
“Each city seems to have its own character and voice; each community has a completely different attitude to life,” Huffington Post freelancer Karen Edwards writes in a blog describing her recent trip….
Exports Soar to China
New Zealand’s food and beverage sector is experiencing a boom with demand from Asia, particularly China, New Zealand’s second largest export destination country, buying $2.9 billion worth of products. The Investor’s Guide to the…
