First Lady of Style
Lower Hutt-born Anouska Hempel (Lady Weinberg) featured in The Times‘ list of iconic women over 50 in a piece by writer Paul Theroux on ‘the older woman’. Hempel is the creative force behind ultra-hip London hotels Blakes…
News of New Zealanders via Global Media
Celebrity chef
Kiwi chef Alex Mackay is one of the bright sparks leading Britain’s ongoing gastronomic revolution. After working in England and Italy, Mackay now runs an acclaimed cooking school at Le Baou d’Infer in Provence…
Age No Barrier
16-year-old New Zealander Chris Pither came second in the Formula Ford Track Attack at Albert Park, Melbourne. Pither has been racing since the age of seven, and already has three national karts titles to his credit….
Believe the Hype
The Hyperfactory continue their good work at the forefront of SMS technology. Australian and British buyers are showing great interest in the company’s SMSJukeBox application, which has already gained over 70,000 members in New Zealand through ClubZM.
A view from the edge: Topp Twins bring the noise
NZ musicians The Topp Twins and Jenny Morris played at Melbourne’s 27th Port Fairy Folk Festival. While Morris’ act was comparatively apolitical, the Twins pointed the finger at “stupid men” starting wars at the…
Dirty Deeds Earn Place on Hall of Fame
Oz-rockers AC/DC have been inducted to the American Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as one of the top five best-selling bands in U.S history. NZ drummer Phil Rudd makes up one part of…
Finn-less wonders
In a review of the recently released Anthology, the Toronto Star dubs The Clean “the most important and influential New Zealand band not to include anyone with the surname Finn A fascinating primer,…
California Dining – From the Edge
Country style cooking? “We’re all familiar with restaurants featuring cuisines from countries and subregions around the world. What if a restaurant opened that featured the food products of a certain country rather than…
Clean and Clear?
New Zealand has been ranked third best in a United Nations survey of global water quality. Ironically, New Zealand was also fingered as one of the leading water-wasters in a recent (un-related) study.
Challenging Times Ahead for Team NZ
The NZ government has pledged $5.14 million in an effort to win back the America’s Cup. Says America’s Cup Minister Trevor Mallard; “This new funding will allow Team New Zealand to start the process of re-signing…
Joining the Hoop
A NZ team is to join Australia’s National Basketball League next year, in a move sure to raise the sport’s profile even higher in this country. The Auckland-based franchise is yet to announce its name and…
From Trash to Flash
A NZ company – Waste Solutions – has provided part of the technology behind a radical new energy-producing venture in western Sydney. The project in question is an $AUS36 million power plant which converts organic waste…
Toy Love a “clear winner”
NZ comedy Toy Love has won the Audience Award at Portugal’s Fantasporto 2003 film festival. Says writer-director Harry Sinclair; “I’m thrilled about the award. It’s a highly respected festival, so it will certainly…
The Woman with the Whistle
Kirstin Daly has been made the first woman in Australasia to coach a men’s basketball team at national level. The former NZ women’s captain is to take the helm at Hawke’s Bay. Says club management; “[The…
Owens Takes Top Title
NZ’s Carol Owens has taken over as women’s squash world No.1 after the retirement of Australia’s Sarah Fitzgerald. The Women’s International Squash Players’ Association announced the new rankings after Owen’s win at February’s Arader & O’Rourke Tournament…
Change of Pace
BBC series on ex-pat Brits profiles Jake Barnett, a London banker turned Christchurch viticulture student. Barnett has nothing but praise for the NZ wine industry, not to mention his adopted homeland. “The nearest we get to…
Making Tracks
22-year-old Scott Dixon blitzed the field at the opening Indy 300 in Florida, making him the just the third competitor ever to win an IRL race on his season debut. Said Dixon of his second Indy-car…
Auckland: An Urban Paradise
Leap-frogging Sydney, Auckland is the fifth-best city in the world to live in, according to an annual survey by Mercer Human Resources Consulting. The ranking takes into account a variety of political, social and economic factors,…
“The America’s Cup is …”
… off to Switerland. Team New Zealand, led by Dean Barker and defending the Cup for the second time, were eventually beaten 5-0 by the Swiss syndicate Alinghi, led by Kiwis, skipper Russell Coutts and tactician Brad Butterworth.
Power Steering for Coutts
The victorious Alinghi campaign was described by Larry Ellison, head of Oracle as, “a fine Swiss watch with a few Kiwi parts”, none more influential than helmsman Russell Coutts. The win establishing him as one of the…
Blown Away by Windy City Styles
“Dull (never)” The Australian takes in the sights, sounds and tastes of Wellington in a glowing weekend feature. On a “perfect summer’s day” they breeze through cultural institutions (Pataka Museum and Te Papa), funky fashion (House of Hank,…
In Good Company
Kiwi songstress Hayley Westenra is to join a star-studded line-up, including Jose Carreras, at Wales’ prestigious Faenol Festival in August. According to organisers, Westenra’s performance is one of the most highly anticipated of the…
D4 dee-light North America
The D4 have unleashed their distinctive sound on the North American market, gaining thumbs-up all round. Rolling Stone: ” blitz through their blues-punk-garage-rock playbook on hyperdrive.” Chart Attack: “One of the few…
Harper’s Hot List
New Zealand destinations feature strongly in veteran resort-rater Andrew Harper’s recommendations for 2003. Huka Lodge (Taupo) and Blanket Bay (Glenorchy) crop up in both the Top Ten International Resort Hotels and Top Ten International Resort Hideaways.
Waking Up the Establishment
Nancy Wake, NZ-born heroine of the WW2 resistance movement, interviewed in SMH, recovering after a heart attack in hospital. At 90 Wake has become an honoured permanent resident and “something of a tourist attraction” at the…
A Savvy Critic
“New Zealand wines have zest.” So proclaims Michael Apstein, wine writer for The Boston Globe. His picks of the sauvignon-blanc bunch include Mount Riley (Marlborough, 22), Thornbury (Marlborough, 22) and Craggy Range (Martinborough, 22).
Songbird flees her cage
“I’m moving away from opera performance … I like to make a big occasion of it when I sing. I have performed in exotic and marvellous situations in Turkey and Korea, and in the…
Tataurangi Topples World No.2
Kiwi golfer Phil Tataurangi brought an abrupt end to Ernie Els winning streak, knocking the South African star out of the Accenture Match Play Championship with a 25-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole. The Championship pairs…
Passengers May Remove Their Safety Belts?
The effects of war and the SARS crisis on tourism and travel may be looming for global airlines, but presently Air NZ is bucking the global downturn. The carrier recently reported a half-yearly net profit of…
An End to Sheep Jokes?
NZ’s sheep population is at an all-time low, plummeting from 70 million in 1982 to less than 40 million. Cows and fruit – particularly wine grapes – have gradually replaced the woolly icons as more lucrative…
Enough with the Pavlova War
“ANZAC sibling rivalry must end,” says High Court judge Michael Kirby. Kirby has proposed a common passport, currency and tax system to honour the 2015 centenary of Gallipoli. Visiting Australian Treasurer Peter Costello: “A single Anzac currency…
Inappropriation?
Shock-boxer Mike Tyson has paid a dubious tribute to Maori culture by having a moko-inspired design tattooed around his left eye. New York Post: “‘It was meant to be Maori-ish,’ one source said of the…
FX to rule them all
The Two Towers cleaned up at the Visual Effects Society awards in L.A, winning 8 of the 9 categories for which it was nominated. Towers streaked ahead of Star Wars: Episode II to…
Kuala Tarlton
NZ-based company Aquawalk is developing a state-of-the-art aquarium for the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre. An innovative blend of natural and digital, the “discovery zone” will contain a computerised replica of the entire life-support system within the aquarium….
The Taxman Only Rings Once
An end to double-taxation in Australasia seems imminent after meetings between Australian Treasurer Peter Costello and NZ Minister of Finance Michael Cullen. The removal of “triangular-tax” is expected in the near future, in a move sure…
Tea-total
Auckland University researcher, Joy Hsu, has confirmed the belief of generations: a strong, hot cuppa works wonders. Hsu measured the antioxidant levels of 33 types of green, black and oolong teas to discover that the stronger and…
Wireless Oscars
Auckland based company, The Hyperfactory, were commended at the 2003 GSM Awards in Cannes this month for their TXTDJ innovation. This was The Hyperfactory’s second consecutive nomination for what is essentially the wireless industry’s Oscar equivalent.
“It’s Life James, but Not as We Know It”
Time devotes a special issue to DNA and its discoverers, including NZ born scientist Maurice Wilkins. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Nobel Prize winning and paradigm shifting findings of Crick, Watson, and Wilkins: “The…
Owens Squashes the Competition
NZ’s Carol Owens has won her sixth Kuala Lumpur Open Squash Championship, taking her world title count to an impressive 21. Owens crushed Australian rival Natalie Grinham 9-3 9-0 9-2 in the women’s final in Malaysia.
Dear Mr President…
West Coast resident Margie Beamsley paid Wellington’s Dominion Post $5,000 to print her anti-war plea to President Bush. The open letter was passed on to the White House by the US ambassador to NZ and…
Long Time Coming
NZ military veterans have applauded a court ruling that a former French serviceman died of leukaemia as a direct result of exposure to radiation at Moruroa. France has consistently denied that any harm was caused by…
Sir Ed Reflects
Sir Edmund Hillary is celebrating the 50th anniversary of his Everest climb with a round of fundraising for The Himalaya Trust. “When I look back over my life, I have little doubt that the most worthwhile…
Bush Backlash Begins Down Under
A global wave of protests against America’s proposed war on Iraq began in New Zealand, with thousands taking to the streets across the country. In Auckland, a Greenpeace plane with a banner reading “No war, peace now”…
Best man for the job
NZ-born Alexander Grant is in the director’s chair at Boston Ballet’s Grand Studio, where a performance of Ashton’s Fille is currently under production. The 77-year-old, widely regarded as “one of the great character…
Italians do it Better
“Kirwan’s crew a cut above”. All Black legend John Kirwan has been reincarnated as the golden boy of Italian rugby after coaching the game’s “perennial whipping-boys” to their second ever Six Nations victory, and first against Wales….
Trans-Pacific Soul
NZ-based Samoan group, Pacific Soul, are building a loyal fan base in Hawaii. Star Bulletin: “The soulful foursome performs Samoan-language songs and American-style urban material with equal skill … is a great…
Caddie by Day…
Steve Williams – the NZ-born caddie to Tiger Woods – is gaining sponsorship recognition in his own right. The race car driver has just signed a lucrative deal with Valvoline, whose logo he will wear while…
Peace Fest
NZ feature The Price of Milk is to screen at the inaugural Kuala Lumpur World Film Festival. The festival, held in conjunction with the 13th Non-Aligned Movement Summit (NAM), is appropriately themed “Peace, Harmony,…
Saint Cruise of Taranaki
Tom Cruise – Taranaki’s favourite adoptive son – has come to the financial aid of a local school. The Edge radio station had offered $5,000 to whoever could get the Hollywood star on air….
Give Up Your Day Job?
Otago-born Peter Lyons has the attention of the American art world, with shows scheduled for Manhattan’s Richard York Gallery and the St Botolph Club in Boston. The 42-year-old security guard works nights at Boston’s…
Captain Kirk at the Helm
Former All Blacks captain, David Kirk, has been appointed chief executive of troubled Australian publishing company PMP. Chairman Graham Reaney believes the ex-Rhodes scholar and governmental advisor has what it takes to turn PMP’s fortunes around: “He…
Principaled Principal
NZer Graham Cherry, director of the Baghdad International School, intends to stay on in Iraq despite repeated warnings for Westerners to leave. Cherry: “I have no plans to leave. The school is open. I don’t want…
Sevens Heaven for Home-crowd
NZ’s rugby sevens team delighted a 32,000-strong crowd in Wellington, beating England 38-26 to win their first home series in four years. NZ now lead the 11-leg International Sevens series with 68 points, followed by Fiji and…
Get Thee to a Nunnery
Detroit Free Press recommends Marlborough’s Old Saint Mary’s Convent in a feature on romantic getaways “off the beaten track.” “Lavender, vineyards and olive groves surround the property, and there’s a pond you can putter in with a…
Black Caps’ Dark Horse
Stephen Fleming will come out looking good no matter where NZ places in this year’s Cricket World Cup. So says Johannesburg’s The Star, which included the Black Caps’ captain in their official “World Hunks XI.” “One…
Round one…
“The food is sooooo good — we want to lick our plates. And the breathtaking views – islands, harbours, volcanoes.” Edmonton Journal travel writer is so impressed by his whirlwind North Island tour he’s…
