Flights of Fashion Fancy
Telegraph writer Emma Forrest reports on NZ’s fledgling Fashion Week and finds that many of the shows are more than deserving of an international stage. Highlights include Zambesi (“in the Dries Van Noten/Martin Margiela…
News of New Zealanders via Global Media
Leading by Example
Despite opposition from home, NZ’s method of funding scientific and technological development is being used as a model by EU countries looking to overhaul their outdated research structures. Cordis: “The OECD has declared the country’s framework for…
Two for Parr
Larry Parr’s Fracture scooped two major awards at the St Tropez Film Festival in October. Auckland’s Kate Elliot won Best Actress and the film was voted most popular festival entry by the audience. “We…
From South Korea with love
NZ launched its inaugural South Korean Film Festival in Auckland on October 22. Actresses Chang Mi-hee and Park Sol-mi, directors Kang Je-gyu and Kwak Jae-yong, and critic Yu Gi-na attended the week long event,…
LIFE Photographer
Born in Levin 1916, educated Auckland Grammar, George Silk became a combat photographer for Australian Ministry of Information, covering the battles at close hand in the Middle East, North Africa, Greece and New Guinea. He joined…
Coutts’ Cup Runneth Over
Russell Coutts beat American Ed Baird and Australian Peter Gilmour to win the US$30,000 King Edward VII Gold Cup. He now heads the leaderboard of the 2004-05 Swedish Match Tour championship after three of eight races. The…
New World Charm
The international reputation of NZ Pinot Noir continues to grow, with glowing features in both the Bradenton Herald and San Francisco Chronicle. The former article praises the grape’s “dark, earthy Burgundian profile with a little more…
Whinge Benefits
Research undertaken at Victoria University suggests a positive side to gossiping and whining at work. According to the report, “whingeing to a sympathetic co-worker both reflects and constructs the close relationship between team members, thus consolidating the…
A Year in Review
Canadian Runners Web featured an email from Kiwi triathlete Bevan Docherty in its news section. “It’s been one of the most amazing years for me, a World cup Win, a World Championship Win, Taking the No.1 ranking…
Accidental winner
Sally Andrews won Best Actress at this year’s San Diego Film Festival for her starring role in NZ feature, Her Majesty. The 15-year-old Hutt Valley High School student is a self-described “accidental actress,”…
Luna Rendezvous
New Zealand born, Harvard educated and New York resident Dean Wareham and his band Luna track through Japan promoting their final album Rendevous. “Where the last half of Luna’s career flirted with edgier tempos…
Melancholy Masterpiece
The Australian mainstream release of In My Father’s Den has seen writer/director Brad McGann dubbed “NZ’s answer to Ken Loach.” Features in the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age focus on…
Hobblers Anonymous
Paul Kennett of the NZ Police has founded what is believed to be the first broken leg recovery room online. Entitled ‘My Broken Leg,’ the website was inspired by Kennett’s own biking accident and has quickly caught…
Basis for Change
The British government is considering an overhaul of its outdated pension scheme based on the current NZ system. According to the Times, the state of women’s pensions in the UK is “a national scandal” in urgent need…
Crisp, Stunning Humdingers
The Scotsman urged readers to sample NZ’s “crisp, green apple and gooseberry-steeped sauvignons” and “stunning, cold-climate reds” at The New Zealand Wine Fair in Edinburgh. In a separate tasting section, Drylands Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc was given a glowing…
Making it on their own
The Age profiles ex-pat band Betchadupa and finds that despite their “pop-star pedigree” (Liam Finn is son of Neil and Matt Eccles of Angels drummer Brent), they are more likely to eschew parental advice…
Exchange of Potential
In mid-October Helen Clark made the first visit to India by a NZ Prime Minister in nearly 20 years. During her meetings with the President, Prime Minister, Congress Party leader, and economic heads, Clark emphasised the…
Dynamic Partnership
Christchurch based Nano Cluster Devices Ltd (NCD) has secured a potentially lucrative partnership with American organization and manufacturer, NanoDynamics. NanoDynamics is to take over international sales duties for NCD’s groundbreaking technologies, which include the self-assembly of nanowires in…
Kiwi scoops top Australian award
Slow Water by Annamarie Jagose won the prestigious AU$30,000 fiction prize at the Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards in October. Jagose has lived in Australia for 12 years and is currently on leave from the…
Great White
Boston Globe raves over Kumeu River Winery’s 2003 Mate’s Vineyard Chardonnay, calling it “unbelievably rich and refined.” Named after Mate Brajkovich, son of the vineyard’s founders and managing director until his death in 1993, the wine is…
Legacy in Letters
Acclaimed author Maurice Shadbolt (72) also passed away this October. Shadbolt burst onto the international scene in 1959 with the publication of his short story collection, The New Zealanders, and is widely regarded as…
Worth the Wait
Once again, NZ features in the Guardian‘s “long-haul trips of a lifetime” travel feature. Highly recommended are Lake Rotorua’s On the Point chalet and Big Tom’s Cottage in Hawkes Bay.
From Lamb to Land
Property has overtaken lamb as NZ’s major spending ground for Britons. Sprawling sheep stations are being divided into smaller blocks and sold off at a great rate to young families, business entrepreneurs, and “lifestylers”…
Strong Silent Type
Telegraph feature extols the many virtues of NZ, voted Favourite Holiday Destination in the paper’s exhaustive annual poll. “NZ is the silent type: take the trouble to get to know her and you will discover hidden depths…
For the Love of India
Bollywood heartthrob Shah Rukh Khan – recently hailed by Time magazine as the biggest superstar in the world, with an audience share of 3.6 billion people – launched Kevin’s Roberts’ book Lovemarks: The Future Beyond Brands…
Brothers in arts
Cheyene Emery, Lisa Bartlett, and Marie Panapa of Te Wananga o Aotearoa (University of NZ) travelled to Sante Fe to take part in an international arts exchange with the Institute of American Indian Arts….
Mane attraction
Turanga Merito has officially assumed the lead in Sydney’s The Lion King, taking over from close friend and fellow Kiwi, Vincent Harder. The 20-year-old from Rotorua studied for a Bachelor of Performing Arts at…
Icons of Indiepop
‘I Love My Leather Jacket’ by Flying Nun legends, The Chills, makes the Guardian‘s list of 10 great singles from the golden age of indiepop. “The Chills … took the so-called ‘Dunedin sound’…
Haven for Holiday-makers
NZ was voted the UK’s Favourite Holiday Destination in the annual Telegraph Travel Awards, ahead of the Maldives, South Africa, and Italy. “The Awards are based on the genuine opinions and experiences of the UK’s most affluent…
Hat-trick Plus One
“Not only do Kiwis like winning our major horse race, they are also becoming fond of winning our major car race.” Greg Murphy took top honours for Holden with his fourth Bathurst victory at Mt Panorama. He…
Mind the Gap
The Herald ran a lengthy feature on trans-Tasman cultural differences prior to the Australian elections, claiming that “geologically, the land masses are creeping together again. However, all other evidence points the other way.” According to the writer,…
Time is on their side
A Scotsman interview with Tim and Neil Finn finds that time and age has turned sibling rivalry to “sibling revelry, mate.” “There’s always a tension there between us,” says Tim. “One of us backs…
All-conquering Conchords
US network giant NBC (home to Seinfeld and Friends) has signed Kiwi comics Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement, better known as Flight of the Conchords. Casting executive Marc Hirschfeld was won over by…
Edge Hero Remembered
The science world – and the Edge community – lost one of its brightest stars with the death of Maurice Wilkins on October 5. Born in NZ in 1916, Wilkins was awarded the Nobel…
Hood Helms Oxford
John Hood was inducted as the 270th Vice Chancellor of Oxford University on October 5; the first non-staff member ever to hold the post. Dr Hood was formerly Vice Chancellor of Auckland University and an advisor to…
Southern Bookmarks
Four American students embarked on a voyage of self-discovery against the backdrop of NZ’s South Island. After taking in such “must-sees” as Queenstown, Franz Josef Glacier, and Milford Sound, the four would ” back a few…
On top of the Down Under world
Is It?, a co-production by Emily Ansell (NZ) and Leonie Blignaut (SAF), won first prize at the UpOverDownUnder film festival in London. The annual event promotes independent film making in Britain’s Antipodean and South…
The money or the bag?
Scott Smith of Auckland became the 7th contestant to face the million dollar question on hit Australian quiz show, Who Wants to be a Millionaire. The aspiring minister ended up taking $500,000 as opposed…
Double Milestone
The Black Caps’ tour of Bangladesh was a resounding success, with NZ winning both the Test and ODI series by comfortable margins. During the second Test captain Stephen Fleming overtook Martin Crowe as NZ’s…
Good things take time
An Australian Rolling Stone feature examines the intimate and lengthy process behind the making of Everyone Is Here, the first collaborative album by Neil and Tim Finn in nearly a decade. “Hyperbole can’t…
A Kiwifruit a Day…
Eating kiwifruit can help ward off heart disease, according to new research undertaken in Norway. Polyphenolic compounds in the fruit cut the amount of fat platelets being pumped around the body and thin the blood, thus reducing…
Just don’t ask him to assume the brace position
Auckland armour maker, Warren Ormsby-Green, made Web India‘s ‘What in the Weird’ equivalent with his air travel exploits. Ormsby-Green, who created pieces for LotR and The Last Samurai, wears a full set of armour…
Mecca for Moviegoers
NZ topped the list of holiday destinations inspired by films in a British survey by Thomson Holidays. 40% of voters picked NZ in response to its LotR exposure. Cephalonia (Captain Corelli’s Mandolin), Thailand (The Beach), Malta (Troy),…
The Wonders of Technology
77-year-old Aroha Pearless used the internet to track down her first crush, a US marine stationed in NZ during WW2. Pearless had found photos of her former flame, Carl Leary, while cleaning out an old album. Remembering…
Tourist Hot Spot Gets Edged
NZ’s Marine Tourism Holdings is the latest company to set up shop at Queensland’s Great Barrier Reef, offering daily tours to a 45m pontoon based at Knuckle Reef. The pontoon, which houses an interpretive centre and a…
Triumph for Edge Adventurers
NZ team Seagate and US team Nike were joint winners of the Subaru Primal Quest adventure race, held in Washington. The event involved six days of trekking, mountaineering, biking, running, orienteering and kayaking. It was shortened from…
Quick Legs, Quicker Wit
Former All Black Eric Rush interviewed by the Gulf News at the launch of the 35th Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby 7s tournament. Rush joined Dan Crowley and John Bentley as key note speakers for the event. “I’ve…
Pass the Watties?
1988 NZ Chef of the Year and Elton John’s former cook, Clive Hitchens, has returned to his roots, opening a meat pie shop in Alameda, California. Hitchens and partner, Donna, had been successfully selling…
White Knuckle Christmas
The Independent lists Queenstown as one of 25 top Christmas holiday destinations. “Work up an appetite for a festive roast lamb dinner by getting the adrenalin flowing among NZ’s stunning mountain scenery … On any day of…
Elegance with Edge
Karen Walker and Zambesi turned many a well-coiffed head at last month’s London Fashion Week. Guardian critic, Jess Cartner-Morley, picked Walker’s show one of the highlights of the week: ” … took as her…
Precious Metal Keeps on Coming
NZ athletes did us proud at the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens, netting a total of six gold medals, one silver, and three bronze. The Wheel Blacks won gold in the wheelchair rugby final against…
National Treasure in Good Hands
China Daily features the Kiwi Recovery Programme, a government sponsored initiative to save the national icon from extinction. “NZ has a history of making refuges for wildlife … saying, these things are in trouble, we’ll scatter them…
Lives on the Edge
National Geographic report details NZ’s world-leading conservation programmes, set up to preserve and protect our “virtual Noah’s Ark of bizarre animals.” NZ is considered a pioneering force in the establishment of animal sanctuaries, with 198 translocation projects involving…
Champs on Surf and Turf
NZ finished second overall in the world lifesaving championships at Viareggio, Italy, behind Australia and ahead of South Africa. The Kiwis won 17 medals in total, including gold in the men’s beach flags event (Morgan Foster), gold in…
Good gut feeling
The Kahurangi Maori Dance Theatre enthralled Boston audiences, according to the Village Voice. “From rapid finger flutters to haka warrior poses, thrusts, and vocal outbursts so strong you feel them in your gut, Tama…
Britain loves Lucie
Another half-Kiwi is making an assault on the British pop charts: 24-year-old Lucie Silvas. Born in Glasgow to a Scots mother and NZ father, Silvas grew up in NZ before moving to Leicester, where…
