She’s no Barbie doll
True Blood star New Zealander Anna Paquin — “who has an Oscar and a cool accent” — talks to Nylon magazine about the show’s phenomenal success, those nude scenes and going blonde for the…
News of New Zealanders via Global Media
Poet Chief Farewelled
Pukerua Bay poet, playwright and author Alistair Te Ariki Campbell has died aged 84. One of the leading writers of New Zealand and the South Pacific, Campbell published more than 20 volumes of poetry…
Looking for the Lost
Veteran polar expedition leader New Zealander Rob McCallum is leading the search to find the submerged seaplane wreck which had been carrying Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen to the Arctic island of Spitsbergen in 1928….
Without Distraction
A long-term University of Otago study comparing the achievements of 900 boys and girls attending both single-sex and co-educational secondary schools has shown that boys perform better when attending single-sex schools. “These findings are consistent with the…
Bond is back
After a two-year break from international cricket Christchurch fast bowler Shane Bond, 34, is ready for a comeback starting with a one-day tri-series in Sri Lanka on September 2 and 4. Bond is currently in Chennai…
Strengthening Relations
New Zealand’s outgoing ambassador to Vietnam James Kember has received a medal from the Vietnamese government for his contributions to relations between the two countries. Speaking at the award presentation ceremony in Hanoi, President…
Hands Up For A Smack
New Zealanders have voted overwhelmingly to overturn a law that prohibits parents from hitting children, according to the results of a nationwide referendum, but the government says the law is working and won’t be…
Remarkable Wells
Wanaka skier Jossi Wells, 19, won a silver at the 100% Pure New Zealand Winter Games at the Remarkables in Queenstown for the freeski slopestyle event. Wells has a big profile in the United…
Sailing back to form
Emirates Team New Zealand “are back to their best” according to the Telegraph’s Kate Laven, dominating the 29 Audi MedCup circuit with 23 podium positions from 35 races. With a maximum of 16 races…
Anchor Marks the Spot
Hamilton Niwa ecologist Aleki Taumoepeau went to great lengths to retrieve a wedding band which after only three months of marriage slipped from his finger into Wellington harbour while he checked for invasive plant…
Same but Different
On the eve of talks between Australian and New Zealand cabinets in Sydney last week, Sydney Morning Herald columnist Andrew Tink looks back to 1840 – when New Zealand was briefly a dependency of…
Opportunity Knocks
Napier teenager Rachel Reid, 17, has won a four-year scholarship at Pittsburgh’s Duquesne University and is now able to stay in the United States to be with her younger sister Matisse, 8, when a donor becomes…
Looking to the sun
New Zealand power company Meridian Energy Ltd has purchased a Californian-based solar power facility Cleantech America for $8.1 million enabling the electricity generator to explore the potential of solar power in New Zealand. “Hydro…
She’s Getting on With It
“Stuntmaster turned-actor of the moment seems to be New Zealand-born Zöe Bell”, writes Douglas Rusley for The Examiner in a review of web series Angel of Death, in which Bell stars as professional assassin…
For his family
Hamilton trans-Atlantic rower Rob Hamill testified at the Khmer Rouge tribunal trial of Tuol Sleng prison camp chief Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch, who is accused of ordering the torture and execution of Hamill’s…
Mongolia on Horseback
Tekapo man Dave Murray, 29, now based in Perth, is one of four New Zealanders taking part in the 1000km-long Mongol Derby, which began on August 22 and runs for two weeks. The race…
NZ Wine a Popular Drop
New Zealand wine is becoming increasingly popular for Australian drinkers with exports across the Tasman up by 31 per cent to $323 million in the 2008/09 financial year, according to the New Zealand Winegrowers…
Soprano for life
Dame Kiri Te Kanawa is profiled in the Guardian’s ‘Portrait of the Artist’ column in which the soprano says opera is sung by performers from “very ordinary backgrounds”. “I’m not an elitist, so I…
Vili Victorious
World champion shot putter Aucklander Valerie Vili, 25, took the women’s title at the 12th World Athletic Championships in Berlin with a final throw of 20.44m. “I’m satisfied I could defend my title. Tonight…
Robotic travel plans
Victoria University associate professor and tourism futurologist Dr Ian Yeoman predicts self-cleaning hotel rooms, sleep deprivation tablets to fight off sightseeing fatigue, robot prostitution and hotel rooms so clever they’ll be able to detect moods and change…
Afghan Warrior Signs Up
Seventeen-year-old Afghan refugee Omar Slaimankhel has signed a two-year contract with the Vodafone Warriors and “after surviving the kind of dangers his family has endured, playing rugby league must seem like a stroll in…
Type Heroics
‘Printing Types: New Zealand type design since 1870’ is an exhibition on until September 12 at Auckland’s Objectspace featuring the type faces of local designers including Joe Churchward, Kris Sowersby and Jack Yan. This…
Solace in the city
Auckland writer Chad Taylor has received a number of reviews commending his latest novel The Church of John Coltrane. A sequel to 1994’s Heaven – made into a film by Miramax in…
Tasman Union Imminent
Flights between New Zealand and Australia will soon be as cheap as domestic flights under new efforts to streamline trans-Tasman travel. Following talks between New Zealand Prime Minister John Key and Australian Prime Minister…
Massive comparisons
Wellington soul collective Fat Freddys Drop released their second album Dr Boondigga & the Big BW earlier this year, an album which according to Guardian reviewer Neil Spencer has an “infectious mix of retro-soul…
Communing with Quiet
Owner of Roxborough Farm Lloyd Watkins invites Toronto Star correspondent Adrien Veczan to spend a weekend on his 210ha property in Tirau. Veczan writes: “The feeling of being in the middle of nowhere can…
Disney’s Newest Princess
Orewa-raised actress Emily Robins, 21, is enjoying international success starring in the Disney Channel’s latest tween hit The Elephant Princess, where she plays Alex, a regular suburban girl who discovers she is a princess…
Thinking woman’s crumpet
Taranaki-born editor of women’s erotic magazine Filament Suraya Singh, 30, has succeeded in publishing an image of a sexually aroused man in the publication’s second issue and now claims to be “the…
Grand dame’s swansong
After 40 years enthralling audiences the world over, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa will give her last operatic performance next April at the Cologne Opera in Germany, playing Marschallin in Richard Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier —…
Back to Blacks
World champion Black Ferns will play a rare double-header with the All Blacks against England at London’s Twickenham on November 21 – something Black Ferns coach Brian Evans believed would inspire his players. “Twickenham…
Topps in Toronto
Much-loved New Zealand entertainers Lynda and Jools Topp (aka The Topp Twins) will join the likes of Canadian rocker Neil Young, Joan Baez and horror film king George A. Romero for free public performances…
Harold in space
The Life Education Trust’s iconic mascot Harold the Giraffe, is set to become the first New Zealander (and giraffe) to go to space. Harold will be part of the NASA’s Mission STS-128, lead by…
Teddy on shortlist
Director Christopher Banks’ film Teddy is the first New Zealand-made film to make the shortlist for the sought-after 2009 Iris Prize Festival, the winner of which receives the largest prize for a gay and…
Badtown do Brighton
West Auckland six-piece ska-punk band Badtown sold their worldly possessions to tour the UK seaside city of Brighton inspired by the city’s own legendary punk rockers Peter and the Test tube Babies. Badtown’s bassist…
Easy in the back paddocks
Fielding farmer David Short has invented a battery-powered shearing handpiece that can be used in the yards or paddocks, and for minimal cost. Short has spent four years perfecting the design and now the…
Perfection on the Peak
Coronet Peak is an international training hub for the US Ski Team, Swedish, Swiss and Canadian Alpine Ski Teams as they train for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Of course, the New Zealand…
Neill the ruthless
Actor Sam Neill stars in the made-for-television Canada-China co-production of Iron Road as ruthless Canadian railroad baron Alfred Nichol. The historical mini-series purports to tell the story of the thousands of Chinese labourers who…
Chopper Pilot Mourned
New Jersey-based pilot Aucklander Jeremy Clarke, 32, died after the tour helicopter he was flying crashed in a mid-air collision over the Hudson River. Clarke was a certified commercial helicopter pilot an flight instructor,…
Concept Muscle
Julian Dashper (1960-2009), artist, died 30 July, 49, in Auckland. Julian had “the unique perspective of attending to an internationalist art history from a distance, enabling him to devise strategies to work around his…
On the fringe
Rhys Darby heads to Edinburgh for his sixth Fringe Festival and a new stand-up show which includes some “very different little unique New Zealand characters” including the “man’s man” Park Ranger, amateur whale-watcher Ron…
Lights, camera, action!
Wellington film director Peter Jackson is gearing up for an extended run at the box office, ending a four-year hiatus from the big screen. Working with a stable of filmmakers, from fellow Oscar-winners to…
Deco Pride
Napier’s annual Art Deco weekend celebrates the most complete Art Deco city on earth, writes Times Online travel writer Dan Cruickshank, where even street furniture and signage consistent with the style have become policy…
This Charming Man
Cambridge-raised Michael King, chair of Fashion Cares, the AIDS Committee of Toronto fundraiser that sits at the intersection of fashion, culture and the city’s queer community, is described by Canada’s Globe and Mail as…
Clark enjoys anonymity
Head of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) former Prime Minister Helen Clark, 59, has told the Dominion Post that “New Zealand is just not quite big enough for me at the moment”…
Tectonic Action
GNS Science geophysicist Dr Grant Caldwell and colleagues have reported that water deep beneath earthquake zones in New Zealand triggers tremors. Caldwell and his colleagues were able to determine how water is moving and…
Ready for Battle
New Zealand’s national softball team, The Black Sox, feature in the ‘Freeze Frame’ segment of ShortList magazine, performing the haka prior to their game against Denmark at last month’s World Men’s Softball Championship in…
Pekapeka Predecessors
New Zealand’s endangered lesser short-tailed bat descended from 20-million-year-old Australian relatives, new research has found. Scientists had long thought that the bat evolved its walking preference independently. Since the bat’s native habitat lacks predators…
Promise at Piha
The world’s top young surfers will take to the waves at Piha from January 20–28 next year competing in the 2010 Quiksilver ISA World Junior Surfing Championship. The event will attract 250 of the…
No thanks to Sir
Actor Sam Neill has turned down a knighthood saying the title was “just far too grand”. His views were echoed by other well-known New Zealanders, including Maori activist and author Ranginui Walker, who said…
Tour of the tropics
Wellingtonian Jan Nye, 59, who is currently based in Dili working as an international development adviser for the East Timorese Ministry of Education, was one of nearly 300 cyclists who competed in the inaugural…
Karaoke star is born
New Zealand Herald travel writer Jim Eagles describes a Korean karaoke as “dangerously addictive”. Eagles recently visited Jeju City on a business trip. When his work was done, his Korean host invited him as…
He’s Lippy
Wellington actor Jemaine Clement is included in Bust magazine’s ‘Fall Preview’ film section showing off “his sugar lumps on the big screen” in Gentlemen Broncos. In the film, directed by the folks behind Napolean…
Futuristic Foot Power
New Zealand-invented pedal powered monorail shweeb opened in 2007 at Rotorua’s Agroventures Adventure Park as a “direct response to the transportation needs of today and the future.” Each capsule holds a single rider. Each…
Perfect for picking
Andrew McKenzie’s mid-orchard home is featured in this month’s Dwell magazine as the perfect example of a marriage between economy, sustainability and design. The house earned Architects Cecile Bonnifait and William Giesen a regional…
To a job well done
The life and work of distinguished New Zealand architect, Marshall Cook— whose career spans over 40 years and across six countries — is paid homage in Issue 03 of design magazine Habitus. “Inspired by…
Singing his praises
Ashburton-born opera singer Simon O’Neill, 37, has been named in a list of the world’s top 10 tenors by an influential London radio station. Rankings in the July issue of Classic FM magazine position…
