Beery Good
“Beer makes people more sociable in an increasingly unsociable world. Beer, particularly for the Aussies, is something of an icon, so I’m very well aware of the responsibility,” says Scot Gordon Cairns, the man taking New…
News of New Zealanders via Global Media
Nobel Award
New Zealander and Nobel laureate for Chemistry, Dr Alan MacDiarmid, receives his award from His Majesty the King of Sweden.
Into Africa
“These flying doctors, as they are sometimes known, were the inspiration of Wood, Sir Archibald McIndoe of New Zealand and Tom Rees of America. They perceived that the only way to cope with casualties and sickness…
Ideal Burglar
“If you wanted an ideal burglar, we could give him a reference. You never know he’s been in,” says Ron Hancock of the crook who’s broken into his Lake Rotoehu holiday house twenty times in the…
Neill at home
“It’s good to get back to New Zealand and Australia to make a film because I feel more at home in that part of the world,” says Sam Neill, now on screen in Aussie…
Scottish
“The evening’s most accomplished performance comes from the New Zealand tenor Ian Storey, whose Pinkerton is sung with rich and fluent tone and acted with a rare warmth and understanding.”
Creamier, milkier, safer
New Zealand butter has much lower concentrations of dioxin than Australian, European and American products.
Because It’s There
Slovenian Davo Karnicar, the first person to ski down Everest, now plans to slalom Aoraki (Mt Cook).
Vertical Exhilaration
NZ-filmed and directed Vertical Limit goes public. The scenery scores universal acclaim: Ottawa Citizen, Chicago Sun-Times, USA Today, ctnow, entertainmentnewsdaily, National Post, Chicago Tribune, the Star, Washington Post. Scott Glen battled Mt Cook, the…
Moral Turpitude
“My eye always goes back to that sad and sinister little word at the beginning of the list: what the hell is “turpitude”, anyway? One immediately thinks of child molesters, satanists, and men who do funny…
Avalanche Warning
IT staffing company Avalanche plans to open a branch in New Zealand. The attraction? “English is a native language … and there is a first world infrastructure”.
Xmas Cheer
Montana Wines, New Zealand’s largest winery, have swallowed Corban’s, creating a company that will produce 55% of New Zealand wine.
A Plague on Both Your Houses
“All the studies that have been done in New Zealand show that the sentiment ‘a plague on both your houses’ motivated the majority who voted in New Zealand’s 1993 referendum … in practice, MMP in New…
Hotel NZ Disgrace
The New Zealand, 235 Main St, Vancouver – one of the ten most troublesome establishments in the city.
Ozone in Godzone
Having suffered under the hole, New Zealand should be among the first places to feel the benefit of ozone regeneration.
Coutts Coming
The Swiss syndicate headed by Russell Coutts has been cleared to challenge in 2003, after doubts about the legality of the entry.
Soldier Five
New Zealand courts give ex-Bravo Two Zero patrol member Mike Coburn the OK to publish his memoir of the mission behind Iraqi lines.
Skin Tight
Based on iconic Dennis Glover poem ‘The Magpies’, Gary Henderson’s Skin Tight is a play with “spare beauty and competitive power”.
Still singing
Dame Kiri scotches retirement rumours. Her agents are “actively seeking engagements and opportunities well into 21 and beyond”.
Moko on Film
Jillian White’s Moko, a short documentary featuring the first contemporary man to wear moko, included in Sundance 2001. Felicity Morgan-Rhind’s short Donuts for Breakfast, is also on the programme.
Virtual Success
Virtual Spectator, the New Zealand company behind the America’s Cup graphics, plans to revolutionise the way all sport is viewed, allowing spectators to view reconstructed plays from every angle.
Tom the Pole
Stationed in New Zealand in 191, Irish Navy-man Tom Crean managed to get a place in Scott’s Antarctic expedition.
Walk Over
Kiwi apprentice jockey Michael Walker: one season; a record-breaking 131 wins; “probably the greatest thing to happen to racing for a long time”.
Divine Edge
“It’s not often you are greeted at the door of the Coliseum by a bleach-blond New Zealand Benedictine monk, but this was merely the prelude to a slightly surreal tour of Frank Matcham’s venerable old building…”
Temping It
An influx of hard-working New Zealand and Australian temps has lifted industry standards in the UK.
Proof of Life
The plot goes wobbly, but Russell Crowe is the man. Crowe is “a powerful screen presence, the sort of fellow every man wants to befriend and every woman wants to love”: “the movie comes…
Proof of quality
Oscar noms tipped for Crowe’s Proof of Life turn as kidnap and ransom rescue specialist Terry Thorne.
Heartening News
New Zealand researchers have found Pravastatin, a drug that helps control cholesterol, also helps ward off heart disease. Bring on the Xmas pav…
Museum reborn
A “New Zealand ancestor figure” is among the art on display in the inaugural exhibition at the revamped British Museum.
White Flight = All Black
British journalists fear reverse colonisation as staunch Polynesian men flex their muscles on the rugby field.
Spiritual Edge
Colonel Margaret Hay of the Salvation Army accepted The Times Preacher of the Year award with humility: “It just goes to show that God does use the foolish and the weak to do his…
Killer Wine
Wairau River Sauvignon favoured by the Star and National Post Online, “killer” Cabernet Franc in the Washington Post, Villa Maria leaves the National Post reaching for more.
Can the Kiwi Economy Fly?
A contrary view: “recent claims that New Zealand’s economic experiment has failed, and that it therefore needs to change course, do not stand up”.
Netjetters to NZ
New Zealand features on the itinerary for the winners of the Guardian‘s netjetters competition.
Bax Facts
“I am a supermodel. I worked damn hard to get where I am. I’ve been on many Vogue covers. I’ve done all my jobs well, and I worked damn hard to get that title….
Price of Milk
“So this film is my dream about New Zealand, this make-believe country that seems almost empty of people” – director Harry Sinclair on his dairy-tale romance, The Price of Milk.
Turbulent Fiordland
“Fiordland has been twisted, buckled, and tilted. It has been buried beneath ocean sediments for millions of years, then thrust above the waves for wind, sun, and ice to carve and erode. It has been fragmented…
Shifty Crowe
New DVD’s reveal Crowe’s dark, pre-Gladiator side: “With his shifty eyes, stocky frame and ready fist, he was born to be the heavy. His roles have included portrayals of a neo-Nazi skinhead (Romper Stomper),…
Fantastically weird
“The Price of Milk is a fantastically weird and funny little film. Boasting the sort of edgy, quirky slant usually only maintained in short film, it never compromises its oddness which is a joy.”
1953 – Hillary’s Year
“It was also a year in which a white man and a brown man, held together by a light nylon rope, climbed the highest mountain. In this feat of the New Zealand beekeeper, Edmund Hillary,…
Edge of Safety
Entrants in “the Race” must pass through Cook Strait – the Southern-most point of safety in the opinion of race organisers.
E-tax
IRD sets a dodgy precedent, requiring Dominz to hand over personal details linked to all .NZ domain names.
Cut Short
Can you catch apotemnophilia, the desire to become an amputee? A spate of recent “voluntary amputations” performed in Britain take their cue from work by ground-breaking but controversial New Zealand sexologist John Money.
Christina Conrad: edge poet and outlaw of the tribe
Noted poet Billy Marshall Stoneking writes about New Zealander Christina Conrad for art journal alicubi, locating the genesis of her expression in the New Zealand edge: “Conrad studiously disdains mediocrity, fashion and safety ……
“It’s Ok I’m Wearing Really Big Knickers”
NZ-Edged Louise Rennison, author of hilariously funny and best-selling novels for teens documents such existential provocations as angst ridden days, erupting spots and bickering with parents. Rennison spent her teenage years in New Zealand…
Menopause Rescue
University of Auckland scientists have identified a gene potentially responsible for thousands of cases of premature menopause world-wide.
Meteorologist Dies
James M. Austin, Dunedin-born and educated TV meteorologist, MIT teacher and D-day weatherman, died in Boston aged 85.
Conner On
Dennis Conner will skipper the New York Boat Club’s 2003 challenge, hoping to end the Cup’s twenty-year residence away from the NYYC.
Star Detective
Newbie Hamilton security man Gillie Henare explains his efficient lifter-nabbing techniques: “they use a lot of tricks to smuggle stuff out. You look for things like the bulging stomach, loose sleeves, bags. Once you’ve seen it…
Sun-kissed Pasta
Trials are underway to improve the colour of New Zealand pasta by creating yellower strains of wheat.
Tabloid Corner
Reports of a Mandy Smith-Dean Barker romance cause international consternation as dreams of a super-child assail NZ sport fans.
Berry Good
“Tall, dapper” New Zealander Martin Brown runs centuries old vinters Berry Brothers & Rudd. He’s turned Lord Byron’s purveyors of the liquid muse into Britain’s top wine e-tailer.
