News of New Zealanders via Global Media

Economics World Loses Star Thinker

Economics World Loses Star Thinker

John McMillan, the man who “could make Economics jump right off the page,” has died from cancer complications aged 56. Born in Christchurch, McMillan taught economics at America’s Stanford Graduate School of Business since 1999. “John in…

Westenra joins Celtic Woman

Westenra joins Celtic Woman

NZ soprano Hayley Westenra is currently touring the US with Irish group “Celtic Woman”. The group of five women – four singers and a fiddler – shot to fame on the back of a…

International appeal

International appeal

Valerie Reid’s Sand Dancer has won Best Documentary in its first US screening, at the Foursite Film Festival in Utah. The award is the latest in a string of wins for the…

Legend of The Bear Lives On

Legend of The Bear Lives On

NZ car racing great Denny Hulme was the subject of a retrospective article on the sport in the Guardian. Known as The Bear for his rugged looks and gruff manner, Hulme dominated Formula One…

Tribute to Peter Munz

Tribute to Peter Munz

Historian, author and Victoria University of Wellington emeritus professor Peter Munz has died aged 85. Born in Chemnitz, Germany, Munz was part of the wave of mostly Jewish intellectuals who fled fascist…

Making Poetry Out of Darkness

Making Poetry Out of Darkness

A profile of novelist, poet and critic CK Stead focuses on both his historical prominence in the NZ literary scene and his remarkable late-life burst of creativity. Last year, Stead (74) published his eleventh…

Paradise Home to Future Leaders

Paradise Home to Future Leaders

Paradise, NZ, could be home to the first United World College (UWC) in Australasia, and just the second in the southern hemisphere. Based on the philosophy of Kurt Hahn, who also founded the Outward…

Impossible is Nothing to Lomu

Impossible is Nothing to Lomu

All Black legend Jonah Lomu is one of 21 elite athletes to feature in the latest advertising campaign by Adidas. Titled Impossible is Nothing, the series shows internationally recognised sports figures discussing how they overcame adversity in their…

New Era in Online Advertising

New Era in Online Advertising

NZ internet entrepreneurs Firstlight are emerging as world leaders in online advertising with their Editorial Related Advertising (E|R|A) programme. With offices in Bangalore (content support), New York (sales) and Wellington (research and development), Firstlight have developed what…

Triumphant return to the airwaves

Triumphant return to the airwaves

Te Kuiti-born comic Tony Martin has made a brilliant return to Australian radio with the success of his Get This show on Triple M. Martin was regarded as one of Australian radio’s leading figures…

Being Nice Makes Business Sense

Being Nice Makes Business Sense

Tourism NZ has launched a new campaign encouraging Australians to travel to NZ at different times of the year. At the same time, it urges New Zealanders to ease up on the traditional taunting…

Real achievement

Real achievement

Dunedin artist Peter Lyons has found critical and commercial success in the US after being “discovered” while working as a security guard at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Lyons’ strikingly rendered…

ANZACs Honoured in Acton

ANZACs Honoured in Acton

The second annual ANZAC Sports Challenge will be held at Twyford Park in Acton, London, on April 21. The event celebrates NZ and Australia’s shared ANZAC heritage by staging friendly matches across a range of sports…

NZ Retreat in Roppongi

NZ Retreat in Roppongi

Tourism NZ and Air NZ are co-sponsors of the New Zealand Travel Cafe, recently opened in Tokyo’s Roppongi entertainment district. The café serves NZ burgers, beer, wine and ice cream, plays NZ music and houses a…

Food to Match the Location

Food to Match the Location

Wellington restaurant Martin Bosley’s features in a guide to the Pacific region by the New York Times. Research for the guide was conducted by leading US travel authority Frommers. “Previously reserved as the…

Lyrical minimalism in Aotearoa

Lyrical minimalism in Aotearoa

The latest instalment in US artist Chip Hooper’s ongoing series of ocean photographs is New Zealand’s South Pacific and Tasman Sea. Hooper’s solo exhibition of silver prints opens on March 29 at New York’s…

World First for Scary Mary

World First for Scary Mary

Papamoa’s “Scary” Mary Perkins is the first woman in history to tour with freestyle motocross legends the Crusty Demons. The 24-year-old is currently the world’s number one female freestyler and holds the record for the longest…

Comic success stories

Comic success stories

Taika Waititi’s debut feature Eagle vs Shark has won the award for best screenplay at the US Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, Colorado. The film, which also screened at South by Southwest in…

Finn welcomes world to his kingdom

Finn welcomes world to his kingdom

Tim Finn has embarked on a tour of the UK and Europe to promote his latest solo album, Imaginary Kingdom. Finn wrote most of the album in NZ, which he says had a…

Te Matatini: “It Really is That Good”

Te Matatini: “It Really is That Good”

Australian journalist Bruce Elder spent two weeks in NZ writing a travel blog – TrampaboutNZ – for the Sydney Morning Herald. The highlight of his tour was the Te Matatini kapa haka festival, a…

Stretching the Limits

Stretching the Limits

Bungy pioneer AJ Hackett is to mark the 20th anniversary of his historic Eiffel Tower jump with a new world record attempt. In Kuala Lumpur later this year, the 48-year-old will leap from a…

Funny man finds his feet

Funny man finds his feet

In just over a decade, Hawera-born comedian Alan Brough has established himself as one of Australia’s most popular talents. Since moving to Melbourne in 1995, Brough has appeared in films The Nugget and Bad…

Another Red Destined for Greatness

Another Red Destined for Greatness

Observer wine critic Tim Atkins calls Hawke’s Bay Syrah “one of the most exciting wine styles I’ve tasted in the past five years.” The red varietal makes up just 3% of the region’s vineyards, which are…

Monster Haul

Monster Haul

A NZ fishing crew has caught an adult colossal squid, one of the world’s most aggressive and mysterious predators. The 450kg monster, with eyes the size of dinner plates and razor-sharp hooks on its tentacles, is the…

Auckland Prof Named UN Science Laureate

Auckland Prof Named UN Science Laureate

Auckland University professor Margaret Brimble has been named one of the world’s top five woman scientists by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). As Laureate for the Asia-Pacific region, Brimble received the US$100,000 L’Oreal-UNESCO prize…

Playboy Bunny Turned Property Mogul

Playboy Bunny Turned Property Mogul

New Zealander Sandra Costa is co-owner and designer of new LA super-club Tatou. The 35,000 sq ft space features state-of-the-art sound and lighting, 45 plasma screens, a 40 ft stage, private VIP rooms and a rooftop restaurant,…

Black Caps Victorious

Black Caps Victorious

Three famous victories in a row have seen the Black Caps complete a “black-wash” of the world champion Australians and claim the Chappell-Hadlee series. Over a period of six days the Black Caps broke a number of…

Teen Actors on Global Stage

Teen Actors on Global Stage

Disney fantasy film Bridge to Terabithia has thrust four teenage New Zealand actors into the limelight. The film, which features Carly Owen (pictured), Isabelle-Rose Kircher and Cameron Wakefield of Wellington and Aucklander…

Altitude with Attitude

Altitude with Attitude

Whare Kea Lodge – the “ultimate mountain hut” – featured in the Observer’s dream travel series. The luxury lodge is located at 5,600ft in the South Island’s Buchanan mountain range. Observer: “A mountain hut that mixes altitude…

Web celeb Rose turns to cinema

Web celeb Rose turns to cinema

NZ actress Jessica Rose – who found fame on YouTube as lonelygirl15 – has made her first foray into Hollywood, starring alongside tabloid queen Lindsay Lohan in the psychological thriller I Know…

Ten Years of Te Reo

Ten Years of Te Reo

Te Kohanga Reo o Ranana in London is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year. The centre was established in 1997 by a group of parents who wanted their children to retain their NZ…

Landmark Brain Research

Landmark Brain Research

A joint discovery by NZ and Swedish neuroscientists could potentially revolutionise the study of the human brain. The eight-year collaboration has succeeded in finding the path adult neural stem cells travel to repair the human brain, opening…

Air New Zealand’s Wines Fly High

Air New Zealand’s Wines Fly High

Air New Zealand’s premium on board wine selection has been recognised as one of the best in the world. UK Business Traveller magazine named Air New Zealand the winner of three awards in its annual Cellars…

NZ Scientists Solve Pigeon Puzzle

NZ Scientists Solve Pigeon Puzzle

Scientists at Auckland University have solved the enduring mystery of homing pigeons. “We are now confident that pigeons … use the intensity of the Earth’s magnetic field to determine position during homing,” said Dr Todd Dennis, who…

Miracle Escape

Miracle Escape

A NZ skydiver has survived a 3600m fall after his parachute became entangled. Michael Holmes, 25, filmed his fall with a helmet camera as he spiralled out of control over Lake Taupo. The video…

Text Polling a Hit in US

Text Polling a Hit in US

Auckland mobile marketing company Txstation has established a strong presence in the US, providing real-time audience polling for the National Basketball Association, Fox News and the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Txtstation’s technology allows broadcasters and event organisers to ask…

Not Your Average Winery

Not Your Average Winery

Americans can finally appreciate the work of artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser on home soil, with the opening of the Quixote Winery in California’s Napa Valley. Owner Carl Doumani commissioned the eccentric Viennese-born artist to design…

Everest Round Two

Everest Round Two

NZ innovation could conquer Everest for a second time thanks to the invention of an unmanned helicopter capable of rescuing stricken climbers from its summit. Auckland-based company TGR Helicorp has spent six years developing the Alpine Wasp,…

World Firsts for NZ Ref

World Firsts for NZ Ref

North Canterbury’s Nicky Inwood made history this month as the first woman to officiate in a Six Nations women’s rugby match and the first to referee at England’s Twickenham Stadium. The 37-year-old controlled the match between…

Political Force Remembered

Political Force Remembered

Auckland-born Leo McCarthy, a prominent figure in Californian state politics, has died of a kidney ailment aged 76. A lifelong Democrat, McCarthy was the state assembly speaker from 1974-80 and went on to serve…

Cash Versus Creativity

Cash Versus Creativity

Auckland-raised author Fay Weldon mourns the death of literary creativity in a passionate column for The Times. “Time was when popularity was the mark of artistic failure,” she complains, “These days it’s the other…

South Pacific literati

South Pacific literati

Five NZ writers are finalists for this year’s Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, one of the most prestigious  literary awards. Ocean Roads by James George, Mr Pip by Lloyd Jones and The Fainter by Damien Wilkins…

A Great Mind Remembered

A Great Mind Remembered

NZ Nobel laureate, Alan Graham MacDiarmid, has died in Philadelphia aged 79. Professor MacDiarmid won the 2000 Nobel Prize in chemistry for his joint discovery that some plastics could be made to…

Northern Delights

Northern Delights

Vancouver’s North Shore News featured a travel special on NZ’s North Island. In the Bay of Islands, the writer used the Eagles Nest villa complex as a luxurious base for sailing with dolphins, taking bush walks and…

NZ connection in artUS

NZ connection in artUS

ArtUS magazine featured reviews of two exhibitions by NZ artists in its February edition: Michael Parekowhai at Sydney’s Roslyn Oxley Gallery and Simon Reece’s High Tide exhibition at the Contemporary Art…

Ex-Neighbour a Star in US

Ex-Neighbour a Star in US

Dunedin-born Alan Dale has scored a lead role in yet another hit US TV series. Fresh from his success in The West Wing, CSI: Miami and The O.C, Dale is now playing publisher Bradford…

Medal Haul for Touch Blacks

Medal Haul for Touch Blacks

NZ won two gold and two silver medals at last month’s Touch World Cup in Stellenbosch, South Africa. The Touch Blacks’ mixed over-30 and mixed open teams won their respective finals, while the men’s and…

Premium Export

Premium Export

An ABC Radio report on Wellington’s Pinot Noir festival credits the grape’s – and NZ wine in general’s – explosion in popularity in the US to the success of 2004 indie film, Sideways. “We had $500 million…

New Zealander of the Year

New Zealander of the Year

Wellington architect Jonathan Rennie was named New Zealander of the Year at the annual NZ Society Waitangi Day dinner in London. The award recognises an outstanding contribution by a NZ or British national…

A Wallflower No Longer

A Wallflower No Longer

Auckland digital signage company Wallflower Global has been purchased by Thailand’s Global Satellite Broadcasting Corporation (GSBC) for US $20 million. Since its inception four years ago, Wallflower has become the preferred digital signage specialist for…

Tourists Flock to Favourite Destination

Tourists Flock to Favourite Destination

According to new figures released by Statistics NZ a record 2.4 million tourists visited NZ last year – 1.6 per cent more than in 2005. The number was boosted by 903,504 Australian tourists, the most…

Designer of the Moment

Designer of the Moment

NZ fashion newcomer Cybèle Wiren (of label Cybèle) has caught the attention of international media with her Winter 2007 “Blue Blood” collection, first shown at last year’s Air New Zealand Fashion Week. Runway Reporter.com…

“A Country Waiting to be Explored”

“A Country Waiting to be Explored”

South Africa’s Cape Times features a travel special on NZ, with a focus on Auckland and Wellington. ” is not difficult to see what makes NZ attractive, both as a holiday destination and a potential new…

This is NZ: Take two

This is NZ: Take two

A NZ film made over 30 years ago has won an award at the prestigious New York Festivals Film and Video Competition. This is NZ was originally screened at the Expo 70…

Silver Lining to Climate Change Cloud

Silver Lining to Climate Change Cloud

NZ has the potential to adapt to climate change more effectively than its neighbours, according to the government and global warming experts. Despite being home to just 0.06 per cent of the world’s population, NZ produces 0.2…

Bro’ Town goes global

Bro’ Town goes global

With a slew of national awards under its belt, NZ animation series Bro’ Town is now taking its unique brand of humour to a world audience. The cartoon is already showing in Australia, Canada…