NZEDGE News — New Zealand through the eyes of the world's media

Lorde’s Pure Heroine Album One of the Best Albums Made by Teenagers

“The 21st century has spawned a whole host of stars who achieved global success before they were even legally allowed to toast it in America,” writes Jon O’Brien for Paste…

Adventure Calls in Queenstown

“On the balcony of our lovely suite at the Heritage Queenstown, with its front-row views across Lake Wakatipu, I watch and wait as the morning light slowly washes the vast razorback range beyond in…

Finding renewal in New Zealand’s Birthplace

“The cultural history distinctive and beautiful region at the far northern edge of the North Island – from the kauri forests to the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, from the colonial buildings and whaling…

Where the Locals Go in Wellington

From boutique shopping to cable car rides and all the best food in between, the National Geographic finds out how Wellingtonians take advantage of the capital city. “Wellingtonians go where the wind takes them,” Carrie…

Peter Gordon Likes Shelves Stocked With Memories

New Zealand chef Peter Gordon tells the Guardian’s Anna Wilkins about the characteristics of his home kitchen for the newspaper’s regular column, A Cook’s Kitchen. “I used to come to Broadway Market on Saturdays and…

Wellington – The High-Tech Capital Of Asia Pacific

“Wellington is emerging as a rival to Sydney and Melbourne as the start-up hub of the Asia-Pacific region, with the New Zealand city positioning itself as a powerhouse for high-tech start-ups in fields such…

Para-Athlete Liam Malone Vows to Out Do Usain Bolt

Nelson-born double para-athelete champion, Liam Malone, 23, says he will use technology to run faster than Olympic legend Usain Bolt within the next three years. Double-leg amputee Malone won gold in the T44 200m and…

Producer Noah Slee’s Music Superbly Infectious

A New Zealander with Tongan heritage, soul singer and producer Noah Slee threw himself into underground music, using it as a means for him to piece together how he truly felt about himself, Robin…

Kiwi Designer Wins Place On Dulux Design Tour

Rufus Knight of Knight Associates has won a place on this year’s Dulux DIAlogue on Tour scholarship. He is the only Kiwi among the winners. ArchitectureNow reports. “We are excited to have interior architect Rufus…

Amber Sainsbury Teams With Danny Boyle

New Zealand-born Amber Sainsbury is founder and CEO of UK-based creative arts charity Dramatic Need, for which Oscar-winning film director Danny Boyle has served as a trustee since 2007. The charity’s South African flagship,…

Alaskan Rugby Grounds Impress Mangatainoka Team

Hamish Clentworth, the chairman of the visiting Mangatainoka Barbarians Rugby Club of New Zealand, was almost at a loss for words when he came upon the Alaska Mountain Rugby Grounds. Overlooking Anchorage is a rugby…

Charlotte Brynn Swims from Quebec to Vermont

New Zealander Charlotte Brynn recently swam the 40.2km distance between Lake Memphremagog Magog, Quebec and Newport, Vermont in 13 hours and 28 minutes, the second time she has completed the swim. Brynn lives in Stowe,…

Jane Campion is a Clever Person Doing TV

From Sweetie to The Piano, New Zealander Jane Campion has made some of cinema’s strangest, strongest films. So why has she switched to the small screen? The Guardian investigates. It is eight years since Campion,…

Duchess Of Cambridge Wears Wickstead on Europe Tour

On the final day of her recent European tour, the Duchess of Cambridge took the chance to fly the flag for British-based fashion as she headed to Hamburg, wearing a dress designed by one…

Lost Gustav Holst Scores Turn Up in Tauranga

No one is sure how the handwritten scores of English composer Gustav Holst ended up in the archives of Tauranga’s Bay of Plenty Symphonia, Jason Daley writes for the Smithsonian magazine. A couple of years…

Amber Doig Appointed Head Chef at The Butler

New Zealand-born chef Amber Doig has taken the reins of Sydney’s Potts Point venue, The Butler. According to Australia’s Hospitality magazine, “Doig began her career under the watch of Sydney chefs James Viles and Vanessa…

Hoseah Partsch to Tour With Boy George

Eighteen-year-old New Zealand-born Hoseah Partsch, who made it to The Voice Australia grand finale earlier this month, is preparing to tour with his mentor Boy George in Australia later this year. Partsch, who said he’s…

8 Ways to Find Auckland’s Pulse

There’s plenty to do in Auckland, New Zealand, which is situated “between two harbours, Waitemata to the north and Manukau to the south.” An article on Women’s Magazine Femina’s website recommends…

Arma Del Amor Take Back the Sea

New Zealand-born duo Arma Del Amor premiere their latest single Taking Back the Sea, “blending soulful bass with striking visuals,” EDM-culture blog Magnetic Magazine writes in a review. “Arma Del Amor is made up of…

Standing up for Mince on Toast

After American food website Eater published a recipe for good old-fashioned mince on toast, claiming it was a quintessentially British comfort food, Britons cried foul, that it had nothing to…

Bryce Dallas Howard Named Tourism NZ Brand Ambassador

Pete’s Dragon and Jurassic World star “Bryce Dallas Howard is spreading her love for New Zealand as the country’s newest tourism voice in the United States,” as reported in an article on

Gin Wigmore’s Love Hate Relationship With Streaming

The New Zealander with the mighty voice Gin Wigmore is, like so many other recording artists, frustrated by the peanuts, which rain down from the world’s leading streaming service Spotify. Or let’s call it…

Chef Anna Hansen at Home in Her Own Kitchen

New Zealand-born chef Anna Hansen, of London’s The Modern Pantry, finally got to design her own kitchen. The result? She tells the Guardian she likes everything but the kitchen sink. “We didn’t have to do…

Peter Gunn Offers Up Sample Menus to Regulars

Ides chef New Zealander Peter Gunn has been covertly testing the palates of dedicated regulars at his Melbourne fine diner for a few months now with his Sample Tables, Nick Buckley writes for Broadsheet. “The…

Introducing NZ’s Style It Girls

Fashion has long had an obsession with “dressing like a French girl,” but the truth is that Paris isn’t the only city with seriously stylish residents. In their column “International It Girl,” industry news…

Beats 1 DJ Zane Lowe Chats to Highsnobiety

For music fans everywhere, Apple’s Beats 1 radio has become known as the definitive stop for breaking news of the musical variety. And it’s all thanks to the triumphant triumvirate of DJs who make…

John Key Awarded Order of Australia

“Former New Zealand Prime Minister John Key has been awarded Australia’s highest honour in a ceremony in Canberra.” “Sir John, who led his country between 2008 and 2016, was appointed an Honorary Companion in…

New Zealand Poets Taking on the World

If poetry makes you think of stuffy classrooms and impenetrable verse, think again. The BBC’s Holly Williams takes a look at the female poets revolutionising the art form, including New Zealand-based Lang Leav and…

Racer Mitch Evans Hits NY for ePrix

Mitch Evans, the 23-year-old New Zealander racing for Team Jaguar, was a part of New York City ePrix’s inaugural field this year. Formula E is similar to Formula 1 racing, but the cars are electric….

Style Icon Kimbra to Perform at Dior Event

Grammy Award-winning musician Kimbra, 27, will perform amongst a night of luxury food, wine and fashion at this year’s inaugural National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) Gala in Australia to be held on 26 August. “Kimbra…

Footwear Company Allbirds Opens Pop-Up in LA

New Zealander Tim Brown (pictured left), a former professional soccer player, noticed an opportunity in the footwear market for minimalist, nonperformance sneakers. So he reinvented a simple lace-up tennis shoe in soft New Zealand…

Bruce McLaren Tribute at Silverstone Classic

The 2017 Silverstone Classic will pay special tribute to racing legend New Zealander Bruce McLaren, one of the greatest names in motorsport history. Scheduled for 28-30 July at the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit in…

Andrew Nicholson Jumps to Barbury Podium Finish

New Zealand show jumper Andrew Nicholson’s bid to claim a CIC*** class victory at the Barbury Horse Trials for the sixth year in succession came up just short after he had to settle for…

Alan Brough Making the Kids Laugh in Benalla

New Zealand-born comedian and children’s book author Alan Brough, who is best known to Australians as one of the team leaders on television’s Spicks and Specks musical quiz programme, was in Benalla, Victoria recently…

Air New Zealand’s New Safety Video Stars Katie Holmes & Cuba Gooding Jr.

“Air New Zealand has ruled the flight safety video game for years, with films starring Hobbits, Richard Simmons, the All Blacks and famous seniors. But the airline just debuted its most surreal creation to…

Fazerdaze Profile Grows Throughout Europe

Fazerdaze is New Zealand-based singer-songwriter Amelia Murray and her band who weave blissful, echo-drenched and semi-electronic production through bounding bedroom pop songs, Nick Linazasoro writes for Brighton & Hove News. Fazerdaze performs in Brighton…

Artist Hayden Fowler’s Future Distant Australia

Australia’s history is the inspiration for four new exhibitions throughout Sydney in July, including Future Distant History by New Zealand-born, Sydney-based artist Hayden Fowler on at Artereal Gallery. “Fowler is interested in revealing the disparaging…

Singer Nadia Reid Making Her Way to Ireland

New Zealand singer-songwriter Nadia Reid, 25, plays the second performance of her 34-date UK/European tour at Galway venue Róisín Dubh on 10 August. “ released the excellent Preservation this year, and is a name to…

Fat Freddy’s Drop Can’t Seem to Tour Enough

Arguably New Zealand’s most famous band, Fat Freddy’s Drop has just played another sold out show in Amsterdam. Communications strategist New Zealander Lucy von Sturmer talked with the band in the Netherlands’ capital where…

Secret Swims with Karen Walker on Waiheke

Designer and native New Zealander Karen Walker, who spends her holidays on Waiheke Island, gives Condé Nast Traveler her “summer hit list” for the magazine’s weekly edition of Summer Fridays – a weekly series…

Kiwi Receives International Poetry Award In Spain

New Zealand poet Charles Olsen has received the international Xiii Distinction Poetas De Otros Mundos poetry prize, awarded by the Fondo Poético Internacional in Spain in recognition of the high quality of his poetic…

Kaynemaile Forges Link Between Moviemaking And Architecture

Having your name “bestowed upon you by award-winning actor Viggo Mortensen – or if we’re giving him his full title, Aragorn, son of Arathorn – is the coolest origin story I’ve ever heard,” writes…

Earth Live With Phil Keoghan for Nat Geo

Phil Keoghan has seen the world for 29 seasons as host of The Amazing Race. But the New Zealander had never seen the world the way he did on last week’s two-hour National Geographic…

Auckland Girl Chosen to Fly Into Space

“18-year-old Auckland girl Alexia Hilbertidou has been chosen by space agency NASA to ride on-board their 747 jumbo jet aircraft during a special overnight mission,” writes Fiona Connor in an article for

UN Chief Appoints Jan Beagle Of New Zealand As Under-Secretary-General For Management

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed Jan Beagle of New Zealand as the new Under-Secretary-General for Management. She was sworn in on July 13. She “brings to the position more than 35 years of…

Pleasanton Readies for Baritone Hadleigh Adams

Palmerston North-born baritone Hadleigh Adams has been praised by the San Francisco Chronicle for his “poignant,” “expressive” voice, and “beautiful tone with both flexibility and power.” Adams will present “Classical Broadway,” celebrating the songs…