News of New Zealanders via Global Media

Killing Joke’s Jaz Coleman Loves NZ for Quiet

Killing Joke’s Jaz Coleman Loves NZ for Quiet

Adopted New Zealander, lead singer of post-punk English band Killing Joke, Jaz Coleman tells Billboard about his average day, which involves catching fish. Coleman has a home on a secret island in the Hauraki Gulf,…

New Zealanders Leading the Way in London Cafés

New Zealanders Leading the Way in London Cafés

New Zealand-owned cafés, Ozone Coffee Roasters and Nude Espresso, are included in a Malay Mail Online feature about London’s “underground” coffee spots. “Opened in 2012, Ozone Coffee Roasters London was originally founded by Kiwis…

Justin Bieber calls upon Parris Goebel

Justin Bieber calls upon Parris Goebel

Popstar Justin Bieber’s latest dance music video “Sorry” features some “totally kickass dancers” led by New Zealand choreographer Parris Goebel. “Sure, they aren’t a former teen heartthrob turned bona fide artist that even grown-ass adults…

Jennifer Flay Banks on the Seine for Art Fair

Jennifer Flay Banks on the Seine for Art Fair

New Zealand-born Parisian Jennifer Flay, general director since 2010 of the venerable event known as Foire Internationale d’Art Contemporain (FIAC), said she thought “long and hard” about how to top the fair’s recent successes…

The Top 10 Countries – Average Wealth Per Person

The Top 10 Countries – Average Wealth Per Person

New Zealand has been ranked the country with the second highest average wealth per adult in mid-2015 according to the Credit Suisse Research Institute’s (CSRI) sixth annual Global Wealth Report. The…

New Zealand All Blacks Join English Footballers For UNICEF

New Zealand All Blacks Join English Footballers For UNICEF

Popular sports stars including England footballers Harry Kane and Chris Smalling and All Blacks players Dan Carter, Ben Franks and Charlie Faumuina have been given a masterclass in how to play board games by a…

3rd Spaceflight Ground Station in Invercargill

3rd Spaceflight Ground Station in Invercargill

Spaceflight’s third ground station in Invercargill, New Zealand is now fully operational, according to an article in Space Daily. “Bringing the ground station online in New Zealand is another step in executing on…

Virtual Reality Start-up Attracts NZ$20 Million in Funding

Virtual Reality Start-up Attracts NZ$20 Million in Funding

8i, a Wellington-founded virtual reality start-up has raised NZ$20 million (US$13.65 million) from technology investors including Samsung Ventures, Dolby Family Ventures and Sound Ventures, a fund owned by actor Ashton Kutcher. The virtual reality venture wants…

All Blacks Edge Boks for Finals Showdown with Australia

All Blacks Edge Boks for Finals Showdown with Australia

The New Zealand All Blacks have beaten South Africa’s Springboks 20-18 in the Rugby World Cup semi-final in England on Saturday. “In an atmosphere thick with tension at Twickenham, the All Blacks clung to their…

Del Toro’s Crimson Peak Inspired by Night in Haunted Kiwi Hotel

Del Toro’s Crimson Peak Inspired by Night in Haunted Kiwi Hotel

Guillermo Del Toro’s newest movie Crimson Peak reportedly is inspired by nights he spent in haunted hotels – one of them a New Zealand hotel, where he stayed while scouting locations for The Hobbit films. When he…

Bringing Māori Culture to Rio

Bringing Māori Culture to Rio

“The ‘Tuku Iho | Legado Vivo Māori’, an exhibition and festival that celebrates the art and culture of New Zealand’s Māori people” have been held throughout October in various locations in Rio de Janeiro. Highlights…

All Blacks Own Rugby in a Way No Other Sports Team Ever Could

All Blacks Own Rugby in a Way No Other Sports Team Ever Could

“New Zealand are not only the world’s leading rugby nation. They also own the game,” writes Simon Barnes in an article on ESPN. “On Saturday night the All Blacks beat France so completely…

5 Unbelievable Day Hikes In New Zealand

5 Unbelievable Day Hikes In New Zealand

“New Zealand is home to some of the most rugged and stunning landscapes on the planet”, as reported in an article on The Huffington Post that lists five unbelievable day hikes in…

The Chills Release First New Album in 19 Years

The Chills Release First New Album in 19 Years

The Chills spearheaded by Martin Phillipps will release their first full length album – Silver Bullets, in 19 years on October 30. A full band tour is planned for 2016 and Martin Phillipps reportedly…

Adrian Orr on New Zealand’s  Super Fund

Adrian Orr on New Zealand’s Super Fund

“The sovereign wealth funds of Australia and New Zealand have much in common but the underlying holdings reveal a chasm greater than the Tasman Sea”, writes James Frost for the Australian Financial Review…

Phil Keoghan’s Road to Adventure

Phil Keoghan’s Road to Adventure

Now in its 27th season, The Amazing Race continues to push people to do extraordinary things at all ends of the earth and New Zealand-born host Phil Keoghan, 48, loves to see people out…

Dean Barker and the Sharing of a Rivalry

Dean Barker and the Sharing of a Rivalry

As Oracle Team USA polished off one of the greatest comebacks in any sport in the last America’s Cup, even eye contact became difficult for Jimmy Spithill, Oracle’s skipper, and Dean Barker, his counterpart…

Martin Jetpacks Cleared for Takeoff

Martin Jetpacks Cleared for Takeoff

The Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand has approved Martin Aircraft’s latest model jetpack, the Prototype 12, for manned flight, Business Insider reports. Martin Jetpacks, the world’s first commercial jetpacks with their distinctive mid-mounted fan…

Kathleen O’Connor’s Artistic Legacy Lives On

Kathleen O’Connor’s Artistic Legacy Lives On

When New Zealand-born artist Kathleen O’Connor returned to Western Australia from France mid-century, she threw many of her paintings into the ocean to avoid import tax. O’Connor died in 1968 and her ashes were…

Obviously Deathgasm Is a Family Film

Obviously Deathgasm Is a Family Film

“Making his feature directing debut after several years on the FX teams of such films as The Avengers and The Hobbit, New Zealander Jason Lei Howden delivers a pic that will play very well…

Jane Campion One of Cinema’s Most Powerful Women

Jane Campion One of Cinema’s Most Powerful Women

“From Golden Age trailblazers to modern-day ass-kickers,” the Telegraph introduces its readers to Hollywood’s 34 “most influential, inventive and important women,” including our very own Jane Campion. A director, writer and producer, Campion is best…

Wrestling with Wellington’s Wild Weather

Wrestling with Wellington’s Wild Weather

The wind speed in this breeziest of cities Wellington once hit 247kmph at Hawkins Hill in 1962, but it’s not as bad as it sounds – 62 turbines generate the city’s electricity, while air…

Organist Thomas Gaynor Wins Huge Prize

Organist Thomas Gaynor Wins Huge Prize

Wellington’s Thomas Gaynor, 24, who is currently studying in the United States, has won the prestigious 3rd Bach Liszt Organ competition, held in Weimar, Germany. The Wellington College graduate won the organ prize over 18…

Splatstick Done the Ash Vs. Evil Dead Way

Splatstick Done the Ash Vs. Evil Dead Way

Roger Murray, on the phone to the Los Angeles Times from the Auckland set of Ash vs. Evil Dead, has one simple way to describe his job as the show’s prosthetics designer and props…

Natalie Lin Does Away with the Conductor

Natalie Lin Does Away with the Conductor

New Zealand violinist Natalie Lin, 26, has created a 16-piece string ensemble called Kinetic, an unconducted chamber orchestra which recently made its debut at First Evangelical Lutheran Church in Houston. “I lead the ensemble with…

Marlon Williams Smoulders in TV Debut

Marlon Williams Smoulders in TV Debut

With 24-year-old New Zealand singer Marlon Williams making his Australian television debut – in ABC’s seductive new miniseries, The Beautiful Lie – both his vocal ability and screen charisma should convince viewers of this…

17 Stunning Spots In New Zealand

17 Stunning Spots In New Zealand

17 spots in New Zealand have been featured in a post on Buzzfeed as places that you will want to visit. 1. Lake Tekapo, McKenzie Country: “New Zealand’s highest peaks provide a beautiful backdrop to…

All Blacks Demolish France in RWC Quarterfinal

All Blacks Demolish France in RWC Quarterfinal

The New Zealand All Blacks have beaten France 62-13 with a record-breaking nine try performance – the biggest victory in World Cup quarter-final history. Many French fans had hoped for a repeat of the 2007…

New Zealand is the King of Comedy Horror

New Zealand is the King of Comedy Horror

Kiwis “certainly seem to have a killer knack for comedy horror – gleefully creating tongue-in-cheek shockers that have the ability to make us both giggle and scream”, writes Mark Butler for WOW. Below…

New Zealand Fur Seal Still Squatting on Opera House Stairs

New Zealand Fur Seal Still Squatting on Opera House Stairs

A young New Zealand fur seal has made the steps of Sydney’s Opera House his permanent home. The New Zealand seal was first spotted on the stairs in October 2014. “The Opera House may not have…

Meet the New Moana Princess

Meet the New Moana Princess

14-year old Hawaiian Auli’i Cravalho has been selected to voice the lead in Disney’s new princess movie Moana. “From baby time to now, I wanted to be a Disney princess and then I wanted to…

New Zealand’s Valley of the Trolls

New Zealand’s Valley of the Trolls

“On a hike across New Zealand’s Southern Alps, we find the kind of beauty fit for myths and legends”, writes Laura Dannen Redman in an article on Condé Nast Traveler. “We had sweat and…

Banshee’ Releases Final  Season Trailer

Banshee’ Releases Final Season Trailer

The trailer for the fourth and final season of small-town crime drama Banshee has been released. January 29 has been set as the show’s premiere date. New Zealand actor Antony Starr is starring as Lucas…

‘The Shannara Chronicles’ New Trailer Released

‘The Shannara Chronicles’ New Trailer Released

A new trailer for fantasy series The Shannara Chronicles, which will debut on January 5, has been released at New York’s Comic Con. The show has been filmed in New Zealand. The series produced by…

Surprise Ash Vs. Evil Dead Premiere

Surprise Ash Vs. Evil Dead Premiere

The audience at the Ash Vs. Evil Dead panel at New York’s Comic Con was surprised with a surprise premiere of the entire first episode, which according to Eric Goldman in an article on…

Jennifer Flay Awarded France’s Legion of Honour

Jennifer Flay Awarded France’s Legion of Honour

Jennifer Flay, who has been director of Paris’s premiere art fair Foire Internationale d’Art Contemporain (FIAC) since 2003, has been awarded the Legion of Honour. On receiving France’s highest decoration, the Auckland-born Flay, 56, gave…

Luis Esteves Making His Mark as a Johnny in US

Luis Esteves Making His Mark as a Johnny in US

Auckland-born Luis Esteves is making a name for himself playing soccer as a senior midfielder for St. John’s University in New York. While he looks towards the future, it’s impossible to overlook his incredible…

Kapa Haka Tale a Piece of NZ for Oxford

Kapa Haka Tale a Piece of NZ for Oxford

As part of Oxford’s Family Dance Week there is a one-off opportunity to see the haka live in a show performed by Corey Baker’s dance company, as part of a stunning new show called…

Celebrating Our Ties to Korea

Celebrating Our Ties to Korea

“The New Zealand Embassy has kicked off a month-long festival in October to celebrate growing commercial and cultural links with Korea, expected to expand further after the free trade agreement likely comes into force…

Callum Millward Ups the Ironman Ante

Callum Millward Ups the Ironman Ante

One year ago, New Zealand-born Callum Millward was showing off cupcakes and interviewing triathletes preparing for the Ironman World Championships, Hawaiian news site Big Island Now reports. This month, he got his first taste…

Lili Sumner Joins Saint Laurent Model Girl Gang

Lili Sumner Joins Saint Laurent Model Girl Gang

Originally from Auckland, 21-year-old model Lili Sumner, who took to the catwalk at Paris Fashion Week this month, is one of the “Saint Laurent model girl gang”, according to Vogue. “The Saint Laurent model crew…

Silver Fern Stars Aim to Motivate in Singapore

Silver Fern Stars Aim to Motivate in Singapore

Two of the most storied names in netball, New Zealand’s Irene van Dyk, who recently retired from international netball, and current captain Casey Kopua, will travel to Singapore in November on a week-long visit…

Lorde One of Stardom’s Vengeful

Lorde One of Stardom’s Vengeful

Lorde joins the ranks of pop singers joyfully and brutally sidestepping tropes about victimhood in the music video for Disclosure’s “Magnets” which ends with the featured New Zealander tying a guy to a chair,…

Helen Clark Comments on 70 Years of the UN

Helen Clark Comments on 70 Years of the UN

As the UN marks the 70th anniversary of its founding this autumn, those imperfections – and how the UN addresses them – have come to the fore as the organisation struggles to define its…

New Zealand Negotiates Itself into the Future

New Zealand Negotiates Itself into the Future

Why can New Zealand negotiate vast trade deals like the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the largest regional trade accord in history, while Britian continues to argue over markets of the past, the Telegraph’s Harriet Maltby…

New Zealand Sets 99% Connectivity Goal

New Zealand Sets 99% Connectivity Goal

By 2025 the New Zealand government is planning to connect 99% of its population to 50 Mbps broadband or better. The remaining 1% will be equipped with 10 Mbps broadband. “Our use of, and reliance…

Real Life ‘Lord of the Rings’ Locations

Real Life ‘Lord of the Rings’ Locations

In Peter Jackson’s “The Lord of the Rings” J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth is “composed of dozens of incredible locations around New Zealand,” and “the natural beauty of New Zealand’s lush countryside and icy blue…

New Zealand Creates 620,000 Km2 Ocean Sanctuary

New Zealand Creates 620,000 Km2 Ocean Sanctuary

“A vast stretch of New Zealand’s exclusive economic zone is being turned into an ocean sanctuary in a landmark deal to preserve one of the most pristine and unique environments on Earth”, according to…

A Guide to Wine Tasting in New Zealand

A Guide to Wine Tasting in New Zealand

“New Zealand isn’t just a place for thrill-seekers. Over the past 30 years, New Zealand has been earning its place as a tastemaker in the wine world”, writes Jenn Brown for The…

Amazing Grace – Designer Sandra Nunnerley

Amazing Grace – Designer Sandra Nunnerley

“Designer Sandra Nunnerley doesn’t decorate (or live) by rules, bringing a tasteful form-meets-function approach to her Upper East Side apartment”, writes Wendy Goodman for Departures Magazine. The furniture in her own home, a fifth-floor…

Team New Zealand Recruits Italian Skipper Max Sirena

Team New Zealand Recruits Italian Skipper Max Sirena

Team New Zealand has signed Max Sirena, 53, who skippered the Italian challenger team Luna Rossa at the 2013 America’s Cup in San Francisco. “This stresses the sporting and friendly ties of mutual respect that…

Ma’a Nonu to Win 100th Cap

Ma’a Nonu to Win 100th Cap

All Blacks centre Ma’a Nonu will make his 100th international appearance in New Zealand’s Rugby World Cup match against Tonga in Newcastle on Friday (Saturday morning New Zealand time). “On behalf of the All Blacks, we…

Joe Naufahu to Star in ‘Game Of Thrones’

Joe Naufahu to Star in ‘Game Of Thrones’

Joe Naufahu has been cast to star on the sixth season of HBO’s Game Of Thrones. Details on which character the Kiwi will be playing have not yet been released. “He could be the next…

With a Little Help from Sam Neill’s Friends

With a Little Help from Sam Neill’s Friends

Hollywood star Sam Neill may originally hail from Northern Ireland, but he has just confessed to having a little difficulty mastering an Ulster accent for television drama series Peaky Blinders – despite help from…

Jane Campion Casts Gaze over Female-Directed Films

Jane Campion Casts Gaze over Female-Directed Films

Jane Campion contributes to a Sight & Sound magazine special issue, which aims “to write women back into film history by championing 100 female-directed hidden gems that have been forgotten or unfairly overlooked.” “Just because…

Pavlova Makes for an Odd Culinary History

Pavlova Makes for an Odd Culinary History

Some of the sweet things you’ve been eating all your life have a very interesting, contentious history, women’s interest site Bustle reports, listing New Zealand’s very own pavlova in its “Strange History of Five…