Onward to Invercargill
Wellington actor Bret McKenzie will co-star with Australian television and radio personality Hamish Blake in a New Zealand feature film, Two Little Boys, which is due to start filming in January in Southland. Based…
News of New Zealanders via Global Media
Speedshear fundraiser
Te Kuiti veteran shearing champion David Fagan will join current World Champion Cam Ferguson, 1994 World Champion Alan MacDonald and 1984 World Champion Tom Wilson amongst others in a Speedshear to …
Classic reimagining
“Reports that Cate Blanchett and Orlando Bloom will reprise their Lord of the Rings roles in The Hobbit suggest Jackson’s two-part production may be more epic than its source material,” the Guardian’s Ben…
Benji Bags the Boot
New Zealand Test captain and Wests Tigers star five-eighth Benji Marshall, 25, has won the 21 Rugby League Golden Boot Award. Now in its 25th year, the prestigious award is presented to the game’s…
Gallantry Cross awarded
Wellington-born Rifleman James McKie, 29, a member of the British Forces, has been presented with the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross at Buckingham Palace. McKie was providing security for a new patrol base when a live…
Swell Protection
Nineteen New Zealand top surf breaks will now be officially protected from inappropriate use and development under the revised New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement which came into effect in early December. New Zealand is…
Lifestyle for sale
A Waimauku three-bedroom cedar home on five acres is advertised for sale in a recent New York Times. Priced between $1.2 and 1.4 million, the main house has a steeply sloped asymmetrical roof and…
Gimblett’s workspace
Auckland photographer John Savage and Auckland-born New York painter Max Gimblett have collaborated on a book from Italian art publisher Charta about Gimblett’s studio and home on The Bowery. The book was launched at…
Back on the Wards
Auckland-born actor Martin Henderson is profiled by Canadian television station site Global Lethbridge. Henderson, who currently lives in Los Angeles, will soon appear on the American small screen as “legendary Dr Ben Keeton” in…
Two shorts for Sundance
Two New Zealand short films have been selected for the 27th Sundance Film Festival which runs from January 2 to 3. Both short films are part of a group of seven to be selected…
Volcanic adventure
“The precipitous mist that clung to the peaks of this volcanic island did little to obscure the ominous scene that was quickly emerging in front of our boat,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporter Elisabeth Ponsot describes…
Steamy sightseeing
Rotorua’s “Buried Village is a museum where you can walk around the excavations and see a Victorian gentleman’s hat and Sunday best crockery preserved in mud as perfectly as were the artefacts from ancient…
Makarora patience
The Makarora River, which enters Lake Wanaka from the north, is where the Edmonton Sun’s Neil Waugh heads to fish. “You quickly learn that New Zealand trout fishing is unlike most other…
Demanding legacy
“All Blacks centre Ma’a Nonu believes the team’s success comes from always striving to improve their performance and like every All Black ever come across, Nonu is reluctant…
Defined by humour
The best way to understand another country is to get to grips with its sense of humour, says Guardian writer Joris Luyendijk. Included in a list of jokes told in various countries — generally…
Tasman talent shift
Western Force’s New Zealand recruit Willie Ripia, who has just signed a two-year contract with the team, expects the migration of New Zealanders across the Tasman to continue in Super rugby. Murupara-born Ripia, 25,…
Seven the song bird
Auckland model, the “more-gorgeous-than-ever” Zippora Seven, 18, graces Australian designer Jessie Hill’s SS1/11 look book, the collection taking the title Song Bird 7. She “features with heavy eye makeup and messy waves.” Seven is…
Ozone Hole Shrinkage
Auckland-based National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) studies have found that the ozone hole over Antarctica has shrunk to the smallest in five years, decreasing about 22 million square kilometres from 24…
Tamarillo collaboration
Auckland-based brewery Epic featured in a December Discovery Channel episode of the Brew Masters series which showcased the brewing of a pilot and production batch of their latest beer Portamarillo — a collaboration…
Star rising in London
New Zealander Madeleine Pierard, 29, won the 25 Lexus Song Quest and as a result spent four years at London’s Royal College of Music and the National Opera Studio, taking up a two-year contract…
Tamahori’s double
Director Lee Tamahori’s latest film The Devil’s Double, a story about the body double for Saddam Hussein’s eldest son, will premiere at next year’s Sundance Film Festival. Tamahori, 6, best known for the 1994…
Memorial for miners
More than 1, people attended a memorial service for the 29 men killed in the Pike River mine disaster, which was held at Greymouth’s Omoto Racecourse on December 2. Each man was remembered with…
Totally natural
Former Miss Universe Auckland-born Lorraine Downes, 46, is the new face of natural skin care company Living Earth. CEO of Living Nature, New Zealand John O’Toole says: “Lorraine and Living Nature is a match…
Diabetes aware walk
From New Zealand national park to New Zealand national park American Greg Lineham, 5, will walk over a two and a half month period to raise money for juvenile diabetes research. Lineham’s daughter, Halley,…
Hall of Fame
Sir Edmund Hillary is part of an august group of adventurers, entertainers, geniuses, and outlaws in Lapham’s Quarterly’s Celebrity issue “Hall of Fame”. “The Mountaineer” rubs shoulders with Theseus, Confucius, Socrates, Gengkis Khan, Leonardo…
Proof in the pudding
The pavlova is a New Zealand-invented dessert, and the proof is in the dictionary entry. An argument dating back generations between Australia and New Zealand over which of them invented the pavlova appears to…
Halal-fuelled burgers
New Zealand franchise Burger Fuel will offer grass-fed halal meat to its customers when a chain of 15 outlets open over five years throughout the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Burger Fuel’s first store operates…
Better and better
All Black captain Richie McCaw, 29, has become the first to be chosen world player of the year three times in a New Zealand sweep at the International Rugby Board (IRB) awards. New Zealand’s…
Breaking the NY ice
Actor and comedian Jemaine Clement recently made an appearance at the opening of sporting apparel line Icebreaker’s new Manhattan store. Examiner.com wrote: “While the staff was getting ready for the big grand opening, a…
Awesome US deal
Auckland hip-hop talent David Dallas, formerly known as Con Psy, has partnered with American label Duck Down Records in a publishing, distributing, and marketing deal. The half-Samoan artist reached No. 1 on the New…
Underground Stars
“The world renowned Waitomo Glowworm Caves should be high on any visitor’s wish-list,” recommends Monsters & Critic’s writer Jennie Radue. “The most obvious difference between the Waitomo Glowworm and its European counterpart is that…
Record steam
Aucklander Simon Janson’s “pretty amazing” steam-powered record player is reviewed by gadgets and gizmos blog site Techabob. “Janson mated steam-power with an Arduino processor. The engine was cobbled together from bits and pieces. The…
Holiday Seclusion
New Zealander Amanda Jones writes for the Los Angeles Times about the bach, “purportedly evoking ‘bachelor pad,’ although this typically refers to their condition and not the marital status of their occupants.” “On a…
Inquiry for Pike River mine
A Royal Commission of Inquiry to determine the causes of the tragic explosion as well as the safety practices at the Pike River mine has been confirmed. “I think it’s a demonstration to the…
Passionate About Food
Wellington is New Zealand’s “culinary epicentre” according to the Los Angeles Times’ Laura Fraser, a city which “gazes out to the Mediterranean” for inspiration. “We’ve got a country with a very Anglo-Saxon food heritage,…
Carter’s kick to history
All Blacks first-five Dan Carter kicked himself into the history books as the record points scorer in the history of Test match rugby on Sunday morning as New Zealand played Wales at the Millennium…
Ink star in town
New Zealand tattooist and star of Hollywood reality show LA Ink Dan Smith, 3, got his first tattoo in the kitchen of a house of a few friends who lived by acclaimed tattoo…
Adventure Shared
Bachelorette’s second full-length release My Electric Family is reviewed in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer by David Bowling, who writes that Alpers has “a mind that doesn’t work like the normal musician, which is part of…
Rural Studies Merge
Lincoln University, New Zealand’s smallest university, is to merge with Telford Rural Polytechnic, both institutions specialists in the rural sector. Lincoln has about 27 full-time students, including some 7 international students, while Telford has…
Trophy for Team NZ
Dean Barker has led Emirates Team New Zealand to victory over defending America’s Cup champion BMW Oracle Racing winning the 21 Louis Vuitton Trophy. The final in Dubai marked the last series for America’s…
First light treks
New Zealander Reg Kaa, 46, and wife Dutch-born Jacqui Kaa, 39, run Eastender Horse Treks in Rangitukia. Their most popular route is a two-hour circuit along the isolated Rangitukia beach for a trot or…
Peterborough-honoured
Papakowhai-based Revd Alison Pitts will be awarded the title of Distinguished officer of Royal School of Church Music (RSCM) Council in New Zealand at the RSCM awards to be held at a special service…
String release
The New Zealand String Quartet has recorded an album of Asian composers in St Anne’s Church, Toronto. The ensemble’s fifth disc for the label Naxos includes Tan Dun’s Eight Colours, T?ru Takemitsu’s A way…
Distinctive Edginess
Unnerved: The New Zealand Project, an exhibition of 26 contemporary local artists in various media, including photography, sculpture, video, painting and installation has opened at the National Gallery of Victoria in Brisbane. The pieces…
What a scream
Promotional photographs of actress Anna Paquin in the fourth instalment of the Scream series have just been released in the United States, with the film due to hit American cinemas in April next year….
U2 pay tribute
The 29 men who perished in the Pike River coal mine tragedy were honoured during the song One Tree Hill at the November 27 U2 concert, with their names listed on a massive stage…
Nation in Mourning
PM John Key declared that New Zealand was a “nation in mourning” after the deaths of 29 miners in explosions in the Pike River coal mine. “New Zealand is a country where we are…
General Ovations for Liddell
General Motors CEO Dan Ackerson and Vice-Chairman and CFO Chris Liddell (center, at the New York Stock Exchange listing) received standing ovations from the trading floors of JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley to cap…
Varvoom goes live
New Zealand’s first lesbian dating and social networking website, Varvoom, is now live. Varvoom.com is a place where lesbians can connect with each other in a relaxed, fun and safe environment. The website…
Animating beauty
University of Canterbury philosophy lecturer Denis Dutton has collaborated with TEDTalks and animator Andrew Park creating a video illustrating the provocative argument about beauty — that art, music and other beautiful…
Native Methuselah
“The animal that may well be New Zealand’s most bizarrely instructive species at first glance looks surprisingly humdrum,” writes The New York Times’ Natalie Angier. “The tuatara — whose name comes from the Maori…
Drawn to the horizon
It is the lot of New Zealanders to be peripatetic, says author Lloyd Jones, 55, in an interview with the Independent on Sunday’s James Kidd in Streatham, south London. But at least they have…
Paradigm shift
“New Zealand is very much within the US ‘Sphere of Influence” and Clinton just confirmed it by signing the high-profile Wellington Declaration,” Balaji Chandramohan writes for the Diplomatic Courier. “This is the first…
Beware the shy crook
“It does not pay to be a shy criminal in New Zealand,” Tim Dick writes in an opinion piece for The Sydney Morning Herald. “On this side of the Tasman, if you are invisible…
Open for Business
The first of New Zealand’s ‘Great Rides’, the 64km St James Cycle Trail, has been opened by the Minister of Conservation Kate Wilkinson. This section is the first fully competed track in the Nga…
Acclaim for debut
Hastings-born author Alison Wong’s debut novel As the Earth Turns Silver, which won the 29 Janet Frame Award for Fiction and the Fiction Award winner at the 21 New Zealand Post Book Awards, has…
