Farewell to a Literary Legend
Hone Tuwhare, one of NZ’s most distinguished and best-loved writers, has died in Dunedin aged 86. Tuwhare was the first Maori poet to be published in English (No Ordinary Sun, 1964) and one…
News of New Zealanders via Global Media
Gourmands Flock to Matakana
The New York Times heads to Matakana Village, a thriving boutique wine town an hour north of Auckland City. Matakana Village is a gourmand’s delight, boasting an award-winning artisanal bakery, scores of boutique…
The World Mourns Our Humble Colossus
Sir Edmund Hillary – adventurer, philanthropist and global icon – has died aged 88. The lanky beekeeper from Tuakau found international fame in 1953 as the first person to scale Mt Everest, together with…
Pacific Perspective on Disarmament
Christchurch anti-nuclear campaigner Kate Dewes is the first New Zealander to be appointed to the UN’s Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters. “It is exciting,” she said in a Christchurch Press interview. “It is…
Aquaflow Ahead of the Curve
A Blenheim-based company could hold the key to the world’s energy crisis, according to a recent Guardian article. Aquaflow Bionomic Corporation has patented a cleansing process known as bio-remediation that extracts biofuel from…
Portrait of a Lady
New Zealander Daisy Wilkie has been immortalised in oil for Australia’s leading portrait prize. Australian artist Malcolm Smith chose Wilkie as his Archibald Prize subject after meeting her at one of the art classes…
Gov-Gen Reflects on Changing Nation
NZ Governor-General Anand Satyanand gave an exclusive online interview to Indian TV station NDTV. In it, he discussed NZ’s increasingly multicultural makeup, as well as his own Indian ancestry. “New Zealand, like all countries,…
Beauty and the Beast
Black Beauty driver Jonny Reid took on a Boeing 777 at Auckland International Airport this month, in a dramatic promotional stunt for January’s A1 Grand Prix event in Taupo. The race car and…
Hall Takes out Huntsman
Paralympian ski racer Adam Hall has become the first New Zealander to win the United States’prestigious Huntsman Cup. The 20-year-old from Outram won seven gold medals in a row to claim the Cup,…
Taranaki’s Silver Surfer
Taranaki teenager Paige Hareb has stunned the international surfing world by reaching the final of the Billabong World Pro Junior in Sydney. Hareb, 17, finished in second place behind Australian favourite Sally Fitzgibbons,…
Tapping into Kazakhstani Market
A tiny Martinborough vineyard has become the first NZ winery to establish a presence in Central Asia. Alexander Vineyard, a family-run business headed by Michael Finucane, has added Kazakhstan to its growing list of…
Worthy Splurges and Brilliant Bargains
Two NZ luxury lodges feature in Tatler’s annual hotel guide for 2008. Otahuna Lodge, Christchurch, and Matakauri Lodge, Queenstown, were named two of the world’s 101 Best Hotels by the British society…
Arrondissement-on-the-Edge
NZ-born architect Brendan MacFarlane is playing a major role in the redevelopment of Paris’s 13th arrondissement. The planning project for the French capital’s “nouveau quartier” is known as Paris Rive Gauche, and has…
World’s Fastest Win
The Black Caps have won their three-match home series against Bangladesh in record-breaking style. NZ reached Bangladesh’s total of 93 all out with 44 overs and ten wickets to spare, replacing India’s 2001 thrashing of Kenya…
Christchurch soprano tops UK sales
Hayley Westenra‘s breakthrough album has been named the UK’s biggest-selling classical record of the 21st-century to date. Pure (2003), the Christchurch singer’s international debut, went gold in its first week of release in…
Hollywood Holidays in Aotearoa
NZ was allegedly the holiday destination of choice for a slew of A-list celebrities over the summer. Bill Gates spent Christmas quad-biking at Ahipara with his son, while actors Jack Nicholson and Charlize Theron reportedly spent time…
Award Winning Airmanship
A Te Anau helicopter pilot has been awarded the Federation Aeronautique International (FAI) Outstanding Airman Award. Richard “Hannibal” Hayes received the honour for single-handedly putting out a bush fire in Queenstown in November…
Trans-seasonal Vistas
A Toronto Star travel piece likens NZ’s famous TranzAlpine train journey to the Crowded House hit Four Seasons in One Day. Star: “In half a day, it travels from summer-like warmth in the farmlands…
Power in Numbers
The New York Times reports on a multi-organisation effort to save NZ’s national symbol from extinction. Founded in 1994, Operation Nest Egg is a combined effort by the Department of Conservation’s Kiwi Recovery Program, non-profit group Save…
Value for Money
NZ private schools are moving ahead of their British counterparts on the global league table for English-speaking education, according to new international research. NZ tops the table for maths and science in the Pisa…
The Great Escapee
The last living New Zealander involved in The Great Escape of World War II has died in Masterton aged 92. Mick Shand was an RAF fighter pilot who fought in the Battle…
Stamp of Approval
NZ label Untouched World is about to become the first fashion company in the world to carry a United Nations sustainability logo. Untouched World has been given UNESCO approval to attach the UN Decade…
Round Two Record Attempt
NZ speedboat Earthrace will begin its second attempt to break the world circumnavigation record in March 2008. Earthrace is using the record attempt to raise awareness for environmentally friendly biofuel. “The record is just a small…
Hobbit back in Jackson’s court
Peter Jackson has settled his long-running legal dispute with New Line and will make The Hobbit for the studio as originally planned. Jackson and his creative partner Fran Walsh have announced that they will…
Natural Selection
Telegraph writer Jonathan Ray discovers the art of high-altitude wine tasting with Air New Zealand’s team of wine buyers: Jim Harré, John Belsham and Kate Radburnd. Air NZ is the single largest purchaser of NZ wine…
It’s All About Murray
NZ comedian Rhys Darby earned a special mention in The Guardian‘s entertainment guide awards for 2007. Darby was named Best Supporting Character for his role as beleaguered band manager Murray Hewitt in Flight of…
NZ ceremony honoured in UK
The dedication ceremony for the New Zealand Memorial at London’s Hyde Park has won a major British award. The event won the International Visual Communication Association (IVCA) award for projects that inform and…
Familiar sights in Utah
25,000 International Rotary members were treated to a Polynesian luau at a Utah convention centre this month. The performance, which involved story, song and dance, was put on by Kaeo-born Dave Atkinson, chairman of…
Making a Splash with Splatter
A current trend for home-grown horror in NZ film is noted by Variety magazine. The article points to recent features Black Sheep, The Tattooist and The Ferryman as examples of the genre by first-time…
Good morning Beijing
NZ journalist Edwin Maher, the first Western news anchor on Chinese state television, has received China’s highest honour for foreigners. Maher was awarded the Chinese government’s “Friendship Award” in a ceremony at the Great…
Renewing Friendships, Broadening Horizons
Helen Clark was the first foreign leader to meet with Kevin Rudd in his new role as Australian prime minister. The pair met for a casual lunch at Rudd’s Brisbane home, where they discussed climate change ahead…
Police Laws Go Wiki
The NZ police force has used wiki-style online collaboration to update its 1958 Police Act. In September, they posted the Act online and invited contributors from all over the world to suggest their own…
Love Me, Love My Food
Canterbury University researcher Annie Potts coined the new buzzword “vegansexuality” in a paper published in May. Potts, a director of the New Zealand Centre for Human-Animal Studies, surveyed 157 vegans and vegetarians on all…
Second Chance for Henry
Graham Henry has been reappointed as the All Blacks’ head coach, despite widespread criticism of his 2007 Rugby World Cup campaign. Henry, who has vowed to learn from his World Cup mistakes, has signed a two-year…
The Complete Package
NZ’s largest city is described as having “new wind in its sails” in a US travel feature. Once the jumping-off point for further exploration of NZ, Auckland has become a worthy destination in its…
Bright lights beckon for Wellington student
Wellington student Landen Hale-Brown has a lead role in the Australian production of Billy Elliot the Musical. Hale-Brown, 12, won the role of Billy’s best friend Michael over 3000 other hopefuls. He made…
Beckham Fever Hits Wellington
David Beckham‘s Australasian tour with the LA Galaxy was a resounding success for NZ soccer. A record crowd of 31,853 turned up to see the Galaxy play newly minted NZ side the Wellington Phoenix at…
First NZ doco selected for Sundance
A NZ documentary has won a place at the Sundance Film Festival for the first time. The Art Star and the Sudanese Twins by Auckland filmmaker Pietra Brettkelly will compete in the World…
An appreciative audience
The Telegraph describes Crowded House’s performance as “just like old times” and Neil Finn’s voice as “Lennonnish” in a review of their show at Manchester’s MEN Arena. “There’s a long tradition of audience participation…
Age No Barrier
Sir Bob Charles made history at this year’s NZ Open by becoming the oldest man to make the cut on a major non-seniors tour. The 71-year-old New Zealander finished four under par and tied…
Dilemma for Cat Fanciers
NZ-based psychoanalyst Jeffrey Masson has weighed in on the cats versus birds debate in a New York Times magazine feature. The issue of cats killing native birds in the US came to national attention…
Magic realist
Aotearoa North Carolina (US) artist Robert Johnson has just returned from a three month stint in NZ. The magic realist painter bought an old van in Auckland and toured the country from north to…
Third Time at the Top
NZ has been voted the world’s best holiday destination by readers of Britain’s Daily Telegraph. Around 30,000 readers took part in the annual survey, which is the largest independent analysis of British travellers. Second and third…
“Food Miles” Shredded by Chef
NZ celebrity chef Peter Gordon has made discrediting the “food miles myth” and promoting quality NZ produce his mission in the UK. In recent months, the London-based chef has appeared on British TV,…
Enlightened dining
NZ-owned restaurant Seamstress has won over critics and diners just weeks after its opening in Melbourne. The four-storey modern Cantonese eatery is co-owned by Dunedin-born Jason Chan, who runs the successful NZ-themed cafe…
High Seas Drama
A book detailing the tumultuous Earthrace mission to date has been published in time for Christmas. First Time Around by Scott Fratcher follows the state-of-the-art boat on its mission to promote biodiesel fuel…
Spoilt for Choice
An Australian travel guide to NZ’s top 30 lakes covers the length and breadth of Aotearoa, from world-class trout fishing at Lake Turangi, to the “perfectly still bush reflections” at Lake Ianthe, near Mt…
Rotorua Takes Root in Nanjing
Rotorua Town is the latest in a series of namesake housing compounds to be built for China’s booming upper class. Located in Nanjing, two hours from Shanghai, Rotorua Town is an upmarket gated…
Grand statements
Auckland artist Dane Mitchell, 31, has been selected to exhibit at Miami’s prestigious Art Basel fair in June 2008. Mitchell’s work will feature in the Art Statements section for emerging artists, and will be…
Hot shot
NZ photographer Stefanie Young is part of a group show called Tripping the Light Fantastic, which has just opened at the Agora Gallery in Chelsea, New York. Young, who currently lectures at the Waikato…
Edge Treatment for Classic Americana
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, the new film by director Andrew Dominik, earned four stars out of five in The Guardian. “This is a real success for New Zealand-born,…
Dave Versus Goliath
The opening of a new hotel in Christchurch coincided with the launch of a film detailing the unusual story behind its development. Hotel SO is the result of property developer Dave Henderson’s 13-year clash with the…
NZ Proposes Winter Games
An interim board is developing a proposal to launch the inaugural New Zealand Winter Games in 2009. The aim of the Winter Games is to provide elite winter athletes from Pacific Rim countries with off-season training…
Kohanga Reo Movement Continues to Inspire
NZ’s thriving kohanga reo movement was the subject of a lengthy Age feature last month. Kohanga reo, or Maori language and cultural immersion schools, have blossomed since the movement’s launch in 1980. There are…
Two Atkins for NZ Wine
Influential Observer wine columnist Tim Atkin has published his Best Of list for 2007. Atkin named NZ his wine producing country of the year, with the 2006 Mount Difficulty Pinot Noir (Central Otago) and 2007 The…
NZ in Three Speeds
A Guardian travel article offers a three-pronged approach to seeing NZ. The first writer covers the entire span of 90 Mile Beach by Blokart, a NZ-designed sailing dinghy on wheels. “So much power without an engine…
