Jack Body Leaves Us with His Asia-Inspired Music
Te Aroha-born composer and music academic Jack Body, whose work was influenced by the music of Asia, has died in Wellington at the age of 70. Body studied at Auckland University and in Germany and…
News of New Zealanders via Global Media
New Zealand – One of the World’s Most Peaceful, Least Corrupt Countries
New Zealand has repeatedly been ranked as one of the Top 4 most peaceful countries in the world by the Global Peace Index as well as the second least corrupt country by…
New Zealand International Film Festival Reveals First Titles
The first five titles of the New Zealand International Film Festival Line-up have been released, which include “a whole raft” of “films emerging from Sundance”. Umrika, written and directed by Prashant Nair won…
Michael Fassbender Channels Clint Eastwood in Slow West
Michael Fassbender channels his favourite cowboy Clint Eastwood in his performance in the newly released action western thriller Slow West, which was filmed in New Zealand’s South Island. While filming in New Zealand Fassbender took…
Open Water Swim Accolade for Adventurer Charlotte Brynn
New Zealander Charlotte Brynn has been included on the 2015 list of the world’s 50 most adventurous open water women by the World Open Water Swim Association. Brynn, a New Zealander who lives…
Prince Harry Charms New Zealand Crowds
Prince Harry has been warmly welcomed throughout New Zealand on his first ever visit to the country after a month-long deployment with the Australian military. Arriving in Wellington in a Royal New Zealand Air Force…
Jacob Tomuri – More Than Tom Hardy’s Mad Max Stunt Double
“Mad Max Fury Road spends two hours denying audiences the chance to catch their breath. Much of that is thanks to the work of star Tom Hardy and his stunt double, Jacob Tomuri”, proclaims Kim…
Ethan Hawke Stars in New Zealand Directed Movie Good Kill
New Zealand director and screenwriter Andrew Niccol’s new film Good Kill explores the post-traumatic stress experienced by drone operating military pilots. The movie, which is set in 2010, stars Ethan Hawke as Tom Egan, a…
New Zealand Listed As One Of The Hardest Countries to Invade
New Zealand, alongside Switzerland and Russia, has been listed as one of the hardest countries in the world to invade. The humorous article in The Independent cited New Zealand’s geographic inaccessibility as the…
The Most Photographed Pub in New Zealand
The Cadrona Hotel, which is the most photographed pub in New Zealand, “could probably tell a tale or two”, according to Mogens Johansen in the West Australian. Standing in front of the…
Luxury Holiday in New Zealand the Perfect Gift
The best present you could give your mother would be a “trip of a lifetime” to New Zealand, Los Angeles Times correspondent Amanda Jones recommends in an article featuring “über-luxe lodge” Kauri Cliffs, the…
David Clarkson’s Encoded Opens New Canberra Festival
New Zealander David Clarkson, artistic director of Australian company Stalker Theatre, opened the inaugural SEGUE festival in Canberra with a work called, Encoded. Clarkson says the piece – which combines physical theatre, dance theatre and…
Fjords Crucial to Carbon Burial
An Otago University study, published in the journal Nature Geoscience, has found fjords could play a very important role as a driver of atmospheric CO2 levels at times when ice sheets are…
Why Grand Designs Kevin McCloud Loves NZ Homes
Presenter of popular UK television show Grand Designs Kevin McCloud has visited New Zealand four times because of his involvement in a competition to build a new residential quarter in Christchurch as part of…
Rugby Convert Paul Lasike Lands NFL Contract
Auckland-born Paul Lasike, 24, a former Chiefs back, has signed a contract with NFL team Arizona Cardinals. Branded a “violent” ball-runner, Lasike was picked up by the Cardinals after impressing as a running back in…
18 Instagram Accounts for Everyone Who Loves New Zealand
New Zealand is known worldwide for its natural beauty and stunning beachscapes. Buzzfeed has published a list of 17 Instagram accounts, which “will give you an overwhelming desire to book a one-way…
Doyle Sails New Zealand Revolutionises Sail Art
Industry-leading New Zealand production facility Doyle Sails Auckland Stratis has launched Stratis Sail Art, which allows photo quality printing on sails for the first time ever. ‘Stratis Sail Art is the next generation…
Luatua to Skipper Blues after Kaino Injury
Steven Luatua has been named skipper of the Auckland Blues for the remainder of the season after a broken finger ended the Super Rugby season for All Blacks loose forward Jerome Kaino. “I was a…
New Zealand Property Boom Attracts Overseas Buyers
Auckland’s beaches, clean air and environmentally friendly image are clear selling points for foreign property investors. There is no stamp duty or capital gains tax in New Zealand, which makes the country’s property market a…
New Zealand Knoll Ridge Cafe: Best Designed Cafe in the World
New Zealand’s Knoll Ridge Cafe has been named the best designed cafe in the world by London-based design website Design Curial. The New Zealand cafe is perched dramatically on Mt Ruapehu, New Zealand’s largest active…
Kiwi Cow Sold for over €13,000
A New Zealand Friesian dairy cow has sold for NZ$20,000 or €13,285 at an auction. “There were four of five bidders on this cow. It was amazing and it kept on going up and we…
FIFA U-20 World Cup to Promote Grassroots Football in New Zealand
“A plan to utilise the FIFA U-20 World Cup as a platform to boost grassroots football in New Zealand is taking shape”, according to Fifa.com. Following Auckland and Christchurch courses, football festivals to…
iZombie Renewed for Second Season on the CW
DC Comics/Vertigo-based series iZombie has been renewed by the CW for a second season. “Scheduling and an episode count have yet to be determined”, according to an article in The Hollywood Reporter. iZombie stars…
Mark Hunt Looking Forward to His Rematch with Fabricio Werdum
UFC Heavyweight contender Mark Hunt is set to face Stipe Miocic this Saturday at UFC Fight Night 65 in Adelaide and cannot wait for his rematch with interim champ
Keisha Castle-Hughes Makes Memorable Debut on Game of Thrones
New Zealand actress Keisha Castle-Hughes “made a memorable debut on Sunday’s episode of Game of Thrones – The Sons of the Harpy, according to the New York Times blog ArtsBeat. Castle-Hughes’ character Obara Sand and…
Nadeesha Godamunne – a Fashion Illustrator with Many Styles
An interview with Nadeesha Godamunne, a full time in-house fashion illustrator/colorist at Ralph Lauren in New York has been featured in the Huffington Post. The fashion illustrator from New Zealand constantly reminds herself “to keep…
Australia Needs to Follow New Zealand’s Example
The New Zealand Dollar is in sight of reaching the same value as the Australian Dollar. While New Zealand has developed structural reforms to secure future economic growth, Australia “is still operating on the…
Wet Dogs Dry Dogs Captured by Serenah Hodson
New Zealand-born photographer Serenah Hodson’s Wet Dog Dry Dog series captures show dogs in two essential physical and emotional states: dry and pleased, and then wet and oh so grumpy. The idea came about while…
Jess Johnson’s Parallel Realm Finds Home in a Book
Tauranga-born visual artist Jess Johnson has drawn inspiration from some lesser-known belief systems like UFO religion Raëlism, to create an art book for the National Gallery of Victoria’s inaugural art book fair. ” movement was…
Simon Denny One of the Top Reasons to Get to Venice
Some exhibitors at the 56th Venice Biennale have a shot at changing the art world and New Zealand representative Simon Denny is one of them, according to Bloomberg, which includes the Aucklander in a…
NZ an Appealing Choice for 30-Something Singaporeans
New Zealand is becoming an ever more popular choice for Singaporeans in their early 30s looking to emigrate, choosing our country for its space, value for money, healthcare and cost of living. Freelance journalist Surekha…
John Bracewell Tasked with Leading Ireland to Test Status
New Zealander John Bracewell has been tasked with leading Ireland on the final leg towards Test status, with his experience of playing and coaching his native country at international level seeing him win out…
Heath Cozens Grapples with Controversial Sport
New Zealand-born filmmaker Heath Cozens, 41, saw his first Japanese disabled pro wrestling match in 2010. At the time, he didn’t know what to think. Cozens, who spent 18 years in Japan as a video…
Canada Going Wild for NZ’s Grassy Fruity Wines
“In New Zealand, wine is in top gear,” Canada’s Globe and Mail reports. “Exports marked a record high of $1.29-billion last year, up 8.2 per cent over the previous 12 months, according to New…
Billboard Gets a Rush on Gin Wigmore’s New Video
New Zealand singer-songwriter Gin Wigmore, 28, is preparing for the release of her third studio album Blood to Bone with the “intense and uninhibited” video, “New Rush,” Billboard reports. “ Wigmore is giving her…
Danielle Cormack an Ambitious Currency Trader in New Play
Award-winning actor New Zealand-born Danielle Cormack, who came to prominence in Australia with her performances in Underbelly and Wentworth, is currently playing an ambitious currency trader in Boys Will Be Boys at
Simon Denny’s The Innovator’s Dilemma – a Young Ironist’s Work
In a review in the prestigious New Yorker magazine, NZ artist Simon Denny’s exhibition The Innovator’s Dilemma is featured as one of the highlights of the New York arts scene. The exhibition, which is being…
New Zealand Thrashes Australia in Anzac Test
New Zealand has downed Australia 26-12 in Sunday’s Anzac test at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane with a performance that marks the Kiwi’s status as rugby world class. In the first half, the Kangaroos led 6-2 when…
Golf Champion Michael Campbell Calls It Quits
Former US Open Champion New Zealander Michael Campbell, 46, is retiring from golf to concentrate on running his golf academy in Malaga, Spain. Campbell, who won the Open at Pinehurst in 2005, told New Zealand’s…
Sam Smith’s New Zealand Adventure
This is the “best day of my life”, English singer Sam Smith proclaimed on Instagram following his visit to Hobbiton, the real-life movie set of Lord of the Rings located on the North Island…
Paul Ding Signs Mega Deal with S Korean Online Shopping Giant
New Zealand home shopping channel, Auckland-based Yes Shop, has signed a groundbreaking supply agreement with online shopping giant HMall of South Korea, which will see more goods being traded directly between the two countries. HMall…
Air New Zealand Celebrates 75 Years of Flying
Air New Zealand, turns back the clock to the 1940s and is taking passengers back to where it all began to celebrate their 75 years of flying. “Air New Zealand’s first flight (on…
New Zealand Emissions Cut Breakthrough
New Zealand scientists have made a breakthrough in methane inhibitors that could reduce greenhouse gas emissions from sheep and cattle drastically without cutting production. “If successfully developed and commercialized, the new findings offer the potential…
Lydia Ko to Donate Winnings to Disaster-Struck Nepal
New Zealand golfer Lydia Ko is planning to donate all her winnings from this week’s LPGA tournament to the relief effort in quake-hit Nepal. The winner of this week’s tournament will receive $A 243,400. The golfing…
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck – Future Rugby League Star
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck has the potential to become “one of New Zealand’s greatest ever players” proclaims David Long in the Sydney Morning Herald. The New Zealander, who grew up in South Auckland said he never wanted…
Rotoroa Island a Bold Wildlife Experiment
Rotoroa Island in the Hauraki Gulf is tiny, at just 82 hectares, but don’t let its diminutiveness fool you: big things are happening here. Over the past few years the island has become the…
Peter Jackson Celebrates Life of Friend Andrew Lesnie
Peter Jackson has taken to Facebook to celebrate the life of Andrew Lesnie – his friend, ‘brother’ and frequent collaborator, who suffered a fatal heart attack this week. “I grew up wondering what…
Scrabble Genius Nigel Richards’ Talent Helping Science
The boardgame Scrabble is giving psychologists a better understanding of the underpinnings of complex skill and a clearer picture of the origins of greatness. New Zealander Nigel Richards is widely regarded as the best…
For the Sake of Britain James Cook Amended NZ Map
In an extract from a paper called, “Political Captain Cook” by Australian lawyer Margaret Cameron-Ash, Cook’s decision in 1770 to misrepresent Stuart Island as a peninsula is discussed. “Like every military man, Cook knew that…
Jess Cornelius Releases New Track Ahead of Courtney Barnett Tour
“New Zealand-born, Melbourne-based singer-songwriter Jess Cornelius is the tour de force behind Teeth & Tongue, and returns with a rollicking new track ‘Cupcake’,” Monica Tan writes for the Guardian’s weekly “Mixtape” column. “Although recorded in…
Country Star Marlon Williams Takes to the Road
New Zealand-born, Melbourne-based singer-songwriter Marlon Williams will tour Australia and his home country in support of his just-released, critically acclaimed self-titled debut album. “A free-ranging complement to the assured country weirdness of last year’s Sad…
Chilli Head Chris Cullen Concocts New Sauce for NY Expo
New Zealand chef-turned-entrepreneur Chris Cullen seems to have hot sauce running in his veins, judging from the passionate way he speaks about one of America’s hottest food trends, the New York Times reports. “I had…
Louis Baker Takes Flight with New EP Birds
The “impressive” New Zealand-born songwriter Louis Baker’s new EP Birds will be released in the United Kingdom on 29 June. Clash magazine premieres the title track. Continually observing the world around him, Baker…
Kimbra Plays at California’s Coachella
Singer Kimbra was a headline act at this year’s Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in California, included alongside big names like Florence and the Machine, Caribou, FKA Twigs and Father John Misty. For the…
Google Doodle Honours Detective Novelist Ngaio Marsh
New Zealand-born crime writer and theatre director Dame Ngaio Marsh who wrote during the “golden age” of detective novels was celebrated on 23 April 2015 with a Google Doodle. Marsh, born in Christchurch, would have…
Russell Crowe’s Water Diviner a Story Only He Could Tell
Growing up a New Zealander-Australian, Russell Crowe, 51, was intimately familiar with the Dardanelles Campaign, a veritable slaughterhouse battle over a tiny Turkish peninsula also known as Gallipoli. In his latest film, The Water…
