Blown Away
Scotsman takes a bracing tour of Wellington, “New Zealand’s Windy City.’ Highlights include Te Papa (“spacious and informative, an emporium of knowledge”), Old St Paul’s (a cosy bijou of splendour”), a 4WD circuit of the coastal seal…
News of New Zealanders via Global Media
Colonial bad girl
Claire Tomalin reminisces about the fascinating subject of her 1987 biography, Katherine Mansfield: A Secret Life. “Mansfield has often been seen as one of the bad girls of literature. And it’s true that she…
Armchair kayaking
Chris Duff won the history/biography section of Britain’s National Outdoor Book Awards with Southern Exposure: A Solo Sea Kayaking Journey Around New Zealand’s South Island.
No 8 Wired
Singapore’s Straits Times focuses on the entrepreneurial spirit driving NZ’s booming science industry. “Over time, the Number 8 wire came to epitomise a culture of adaptability and creativity, a ‘can-do spirit’ of which the Kiwis are…
Closer Thais
A move towards closer economic relations between NZ and Thailand was kick-started by Foreign Minister Phil Goff’s talks with his Thai counterpart, Surakiart Sathirathai, in late November. The NZ government has offered Thais aged 18-30 6 month…
‘Queen of the Green’ will be Missed
Millie Khan, one of NZ’s best-loved and most successful sportspeople, died unexpectedly of a heart attack in Rotorua aged 65. Khan took up lawn bowls at 38 and was representing NZ 9 years later. She won silver…
Wetawood
Two LA Times features look at the phenomenal success of Peter Jackson’s Miramar-based empire; Weta Digital, Weta Workshop, and the Film Unit. The challenge meeting Jackson’s business is keeping the world-class staff he amassed…
Nukes Not the Issue
State Department spokesman, Phillip Reeker, dismissed claims that NZ’s anti-nuclear policy was a barrier to a free-trade agreement with the US on his recent trip to Wellington. “If you want to re-examine that policy, that would be…
Edge eatery hits NoLIta
21 November 2003 – Celebrated ex-pat chefs Peter Gordon and Anna Hansen (the team behind London’s The Providores and Tapa) have opened a new restaurant in New York’s trendy NoLIta district – Public. In…
Southern Exposure
Guardian writer takes one of NZ’s iconic road trips: the State Highway 73 from Christchurch to Greymouth, across the Southern Alps. “The road begins to climb sharply, and in just a few miles, via a series of…
The World Breaks left to Raglan
The final of the 2003 Oxbo World Longboard Championships was held near Raglan, November 6-16. The prestigious US$50,000 event saw top competitors from the US, Australia, Brazil, South Africa and Hawaii surf Manu Bay’s famed left-hand…
Winning ways continue for Whale Rider
International plaudits continue to come for Niki Caro’s 2002 hit, Whale Rider. Whale Rider beat Hollywood blockbusters 28 Days Later and The Wild Thornberry‘s to win the feature film category at the 2003 Environmental…
Xena and Her Sisters
17 November 2003 – Ex-Warrior Princess, Lucy Lawless, was the obvious choice to front a Discovery Channel documentary series on women fighters in history. Warrior Woman features Joan of Arc, China’s Wang…
Black Day for ABs
After starting as promising co-favourites the All Blacks finished a disappointing third in the 2003 World Cup being knocked out in the semi-finals 22-10 by a more professional and committed Wallaby performance. England defeated Australia 20-17…
McCahon’s Edgy New-world Modernism
Peter Hill’s review of the Stedilijk Museum’s Colin McCahon exhibition – now showing in Sydney – perfectly encapsulates the New Zealand Edge. “Enough time has passed for a shift between the centre and the…
Metal, Opera, and All that Jaz
Jaz Coleman – the legendary “madman” behind British industrial rock band, Killing Joke, and a recently naturalised Kiwi (“It’s not safe to have a British or Australian passport, anyway, these days.”) – held court…
Edge of the World (Cup) Musing
The Rugby World Cup saw columnists muse on NZ’s evolving relationship with its (big) brotherly neighbour. SMH: “For those who’ve not noticed, New Zealand – a small nation off the east coast of…
Land of Milk and Honey
The NZ economy is currently on a high, with the lowest unemployment rates since 1987, 26,000 new jobs created in the last 3 months, and a $1.2 billion surplus in the first 3 months of the…
Trade Takes Off
The successful launch of the Emirates air service in NZ is expected to dramatically increase exports to and from the Middle East. NZ exporters are now able to fly perishable goods such as seafood and flowers…
A day like no other
Alone It Stands, John Breen’s play about the infamous 1978 All Black loss to Irish club Munster, ran at Sydney’s Opera House Drama Theatre during the Rugby World Cup – not on match nights,…
Let there be more rock
As if they don’t have enough rock cred already, The Datsuns have hired Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones to produce their highly anticipated second album. Says singer, Dolf de Datsun, “It’s going really well…
Beware the Shaky Isles
The grim travel warning issued for NZ by Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has caused derision on both sides of the Tasman. According to the DFAT, NZ is a terrorist target located on a hot-bed…
X-treme for the Faint of Heart
Washington Post reporter goes tandem skydiving in Queenstown, one of the “softer” sports on offer in the home of X-treme: “somewhere between hot-air ballooning and needle-pointing … I survived without a scratch, or a grass stain. How’s…
Canterbrian Chinatown
An amateur English historian claims that NZ was discovered and settled by Chinese explorers well before the arrival of Maori. According to Cedric Bell, a Chinese city of 4,000 people was situated where the Botanical Gardens in…
Hard-edged Cinema
05 November 2003 – Empire magazine applauds Christine Jeff’s Sylvia the biopic of American poet Sylvia Plath starring Gwyneth Paltrow – calling it “a moving and supremely acted account of the writer’s life, her…
Noiseworks
Houston Press reviews an exhibition by edge conceptual artist Julian Dashper at the Texas Gallery. ‘Unique Records’ is a collection of art-shrine sound-bites amassed during Dashper’s travels and presented on transparent vinyl discs. On…
Get Real
Brent Hansen, NZ-born MTV Europe chief executive, criticises the current obsession with ready-made pop stars epitomised by hit reality Television show, American/Australian Idol: “These programs make good TV but from a musical point of…
Where Angels Tread
Time magazine special on exotic bike tours recommends Butterfield & Robinson’s NZ adventure, ‘Cloud Walk.’ After cycling Fox Glacier, participants are ferried to Mt Cook via helicopter: “There, from above the cloud line, visitors can look down…
Catch Me if You Can Merriman
NZer Stefan Merriman won the 250cc two-stroke class riding for Australia at the 2003 International Six Days’ Enduro in Fortaleza, Brazil. “The three-time world champion was an intimidating force on his Honda CRE250 two-stroke machine, easily…
A Tailor of Two Empires
Bafta award winning costume designer Ngila Dickson profiled (+ slide show) in the New York Times. The signature of Dickson’s work on Lord of the Rings and Last Samurai is its fluidity and authentic…
Hunters and Gatherers
Baltimore Sun writer, Maureen Conners, accompanies her brother on a hunting trip to Shane Quinn’s Alpine Hunting Adventures, just out of Taupo. While brother bags deer, Conners wines and dines, shops, and takes in the local scenery:…
Glisten Like a Pearl …
NZ locales and services scored points with international tourists in the annual Condé Nast Readers Choice Awards, the most prestigious and comprehensive poll of its kind. Christchurch and Queenstown ranked highly on the friendliness test, with 90.5 and…
“Round the Horn if You Dare”
Russell Crowe graces the cover of Time, prior to the release of his latest film, Peter Weir’s acclaimed maritime epic, Master and Commander. His edge? “Hanks, Cruise and ladies’ champ Julia Roberts are…
End of a Long Innings
Gordon Lindsay Weir, the world’s oldest surviving Test cricketer, died in Auckland on October 31 aged 95 years and 151 days. Known in cricketing circles as ‘Dad,’ the right-hand batsman and medium-pace bowler played 11 Tests for…
Matchmaker
Scotsman sommelier, Rose Murray Brown, sheds light on the delicate task of food and wine matching. Not one to be bound by the traditional “white with fish, red with meat” mentality, Murray Brown recommends Kim Crawford Unoaked Marlborough…
Black sheep and proud of it
Jane Campion discusses love, Hollywood, and women directors with Harpers & Queen. “Jane Campion seems to have the wrong name. ‘Jane’ is one of those names that belongs to girls who play skipping-rope, while…
Fujinaki Tours Ltd.
29 October 2003 – Hoping that The Last Samurai will do for Taranaki what LotR has done for its various NZ locations, local guide James Heremaia has added the ‘A Mountain Like Fuji’ tour to his…
Twin Engined Sculls
Caroline and Georgina Evers-Swindell received the International Rowing Federation’s Female Rower or Crew of the Year Award at the annual FISA Coaches Conference in Athens this month. The twins won their second consecutive world championships title in…
A World in Pictures
British photojournalist, Joan Wakelin, died on September 23 aged 75. Wakelin is best known for her images of Sri Lankan boat-people, Australian Aboriginal and NZ Maori communities; the latter with which she had a special connection. She…
The Price is Right
New York Times feature addresses Peter Jackson’s record-breaking US$20 million salary for Universal’s King Kong remake, deciding he is more than worth the dollars. Jackson, with his collaborative team of Fran Walsh and Phillippa…
Go Karting Cunningham
Auckland teenager Wade Cunningham added to NZ motorsport’s current winning streak by claiming the world karting championship crown in Sarno, Italy. According to Kartsport NZ spokesman, Ross McKay, the 19-year-old’s victory is “unprecedented in the history of NZ motorsport ……
President Hu Jintao Goes Oriental to the Edge
26 October 2003 – A 3-day diplomatic visit to NZ by Chinese President Hu Jintao has further strengthened economic ties between the two countries. Hu met with PM Helen Clark to discuss the possibility of a free…
Out-standing
Ex-pat bar proprietor, Kim Lucas, shares her views on “pride and prejudice” in an Observer feature on Britain’s 20 most outstanding homosexuals. Lucas opened London’s first official lesbian hangout – the Candy Bar…
Go West … to the Edge
“There is another great shining land out there across the Pacific, far from the madding crowd. And it is all the things the Golden State once was. Onward then, to the New Eden, the New California!” LA…
Inter-national Bank
Australia’s ANZ Group has purchased the National Bank of NZ from Britain’s Lloyds TSB. The AU$5.4 billion deal is the largest takeover in the Asia-Pacific this year, doubling ANZ’s market share to make it NZ’s biggest…
Galloping Grylls
NZ jockey Gary Grylls won the AU$90,000 Geelong Classic astride Penitentiary, despite lagging nearly 20 lengths behind leader North Face rounding the home turn. Grylls on his steed: “He was travelling well and I could see…
Supertramp
13-year-old Christchurch schoolgirl, Kimberley Shea, won gold at the 2003 Trampoline and Tumbling World Age Group games in Hanover, Germany. Shea came first in the 13-14 Women’s Double Mini Trampoline discipline. Her routine included the single most difficult…
Gracious in their Success
As their compatriots continue to climb the ranks in Hollywood think Nicole Kidman, Geoffrey Rush, Naomi Watts, and Hugh Jackman the Australian public has decided to toss a few honorary countrymen back…
Kiwis Tie Down Kangaroos
The Kiwis convincingly defeated the Australian Kangaroos with a rousing 30-16 victory in a rugby league test at North Harbour Stadium in Auckland. Led by the hat-trick of tries by Clinton Toopi (a trans-Tasman record) and another…
Seeds of Discontent
The controversial lifting of a 2-year moratorium on genetically modified crop trials in NZ has been covered extensively by the Guardian, BBC, and Wired. The issue is a divisive one in a country reliant…
Runway Successes
19 October 2003 – The usual suspects stood out from the crowd at the 2003 L’Oreal NZ Fashion Week in Auckland, with WORLD (above), Nom*D, and Zambesi flying the edge flag for innovative and individual…
The ‘Rapa’s Best Kept Secrets
Herald writer, Tim Dick, extols the many virtues of his Wairarapa homeland – which have thus far escaped the notice of Wellingtonian wine tourists. High on his list of recommendations are having a “three-scoop ice-cream from the…
Salty tales for stay-at-homes
Voyaging the Pacific, Miles Horden’s account of sailing between his native NZ and Patagonia, reviewed in Japan’s Daily Yomiuri. “Miles Horden’s book … is a cracking good yarn, mainly because he is such a…
“Dark fairytale” played out on the edge
Gaylene Preston and Rachael Blake NZ director and Australian star of Perfect Strangers speak to the Age about filming on the South Island’s rugged West Coast. Preston used the sense of…
Pacific Watchdog
Ngati Tuwharetoa leader, Tumu Te Heuheu, has been elected to represent all Pacific nations on the UN’s World Heritage Committee. NZ beat more than 20 other countries to win one of 8 seats on offer. The…
Salt of the edge
In wake of the latest Booker Prize controversy – in which winner, DBC Pierre, announced his prize money would be used to pay off $200,000 in drug debts – the New York Times looks…
