News of New Zealanders via Global Media

Comic Genius

Comic Genius

20 March 2004 – Martin Emond, internationally renowned comic-book artist, illustrator, and tattooist, died in LA on March 19 aged 34. Emond created the popular character Switchblade (star of NZ clothing brand Illicit) and…

“The New Zealand Native Who Helped Open the Door to the Stars”

“The New Zealand Native Who Helped Open the Door to the Stars”

17 March 2004 – William Pickering, one of the leading figures in US space exploration, died of pneumonia in California aged 92.  A graduate of Canterbury University and the California Institute of Technology, Wellington-born…

A Voice to Remember

A Voice to Remember

A Stanford University obituary paid tribute to Susan Okin, the Auckland-born author, lecturer, and activist described by a Stanford University colleague as “perhaps the best feminist political philosopher in the world.” The author of three acclaimed books – Women…

End of a Long Innings

End of a Long Innings

Gordon Lindsay Weir, the world’s oldest surviving Test cricketer, died in Auckland on October 31 aged 95 years and 151 days. Known in cricketing circles as ‘Dad,’ the right-hand batsman and medium-pace bowler played 11 Tests for…

A World in Pictures

A World in Pictures

British photojournalist, Joan Wakelin, died on September 23 aged 75. Wakelin is best known for her images of Sri Lankan boat-people, Australian Aboriginal and NZ Maori communities; the latter with which she had a special connection. She…

A Life Lived by the Sea

A Life Lived by the Sea

NZ-born WW2 hero, Sir William Crawford, has died in England aged 95. Crawford was gunnery officer and lieutenant-commander aboard the Rodney during the sinking of Germany’s great battleship, the Bismarck. His distinguished naval career also saw him…

A Bridge Over Troubled Water

A Bridge Over Troubled Water

Judith Piepe – social activist and cultural icon – has died in Levin aged 83. Famous for her mysterious origins and friendships with the likes of Cat Stevens and Paul Simon (she was his agent), Piepe’s door was…

Reconstructionist

Reconstructionist

Esteemed facial surgeon and dental safety innovator, David Poswillo, has died aged 76. Born in Gisborne, Poswillo’s career took him to Australia, England, Wales, Canada, and the US. As well as his role as a surgeon, Poswillo…

Possum Bourne Mourned

Possum Bourne Mourned

Rally champion Peter “Possum” Bourne, who died April 30th (aged 47), has been praised as “a humble man with rare ability, a relentless competitor who inspired a new generation of drivers.” “The most successful rally driver in…

Byow! Cartoonist With Cut Through Remembered

Byow! Cartoonist With Cut Through Remembered

John Kent, well-known political cartoonist, lecturer and illustrator, died on April 13 aged 65. Born in Oamaru, Kent’s work was a familiar feature in Private Eye,  Guardian, Daily Mail, The Sun and, finally, The…

“A Life Set to Music”

“A Life Set to Music”

Edwin “Ted” Carr – “grand old man of NZ music” – has died aged 76. At times a conductor, teacher, dancer and animator, Carr achieved his greatest fame late in life as a composer….

Epilogue Written to a Life of Words

Epilogue Written to a Life of Words

NZ lost one of its edgiest inhabitants with the death of Janet Frame from acute myeloid leukemia on January 29. Frame, the author of 11 novels, 5 collections of short stories, a poetry collection,…

“The Boot” Remembered

“The Boot” Remembered

Rugby fans around the world farewell Don “the Boot” Clarke, an incomparable All Black legend. Business Day calls him “an icon for a generation of NZers,” while The Australian remembers his match-winning conversion against France at Athletic Park…

Scholarly Send-off

Scholarly Send-off

The Times pays tribute to W.J.B Owen, academia’s pre-eminent Wordsworth scholar. Born in NZ in 1916, Owen forged a distinguished career in England and Canada. “Owen was a scholar’s scholar – meticulous, exact, exhaustive and always reliable…

Farewell to Leading Lady

Farewell to Leading Lady

The death of NZ’s acting doyenne Davina Whitehouse has been mourned at home and abroad, with obituaries appearing in The Boston Globe and The Independent. Her prolific career spanned stage, film, and television, and…

Giovanni Intra Remembered

Giovanni Intra Remembered

We are diminished to report the death of Giovanni Intra in New York City on December 17th 2002. Giovanni, artist, critic, gallerist  went east to stir up the LA art scene and established the gallery,  China…

IE (International Exploration) Browser

IE (International Exploration) Browser

“David Lewis was the most wonderfully fantastic scallywag I have ever met. His love for the ocean can only be balanced by the love of beautiful women for him” (Dick Smith). David Lewis -…

Intrepid Botanist Remembered

Intrepid Botanist Remembered

NZer Betty Molesworth Allen, OBE-awarded botanist and explorer, has died aged 89. Allen made her career in some of the harshest regions in the world; from the rainforests of Borneo, to the cliff-faces of southern Spain….

“Musician Who Revitalized Maori Culture”

“Musician Who Revitalized Maori Culture”

Dalvanius Prime, pioneer of Polynesian soul and hip-hop, has died aged 54. Prime developed his own take on American soul by merging its ballad form with traditional Maori vocal harmonies. In the early 70s…

Sir Garfield Todd “A Legend in His Lifetime”

Sir Garfield Todd “A Legend in His Lifetime”

Tributes continue to flow for NZ-born former PM of Southern Rhodesia, Sir Garfield Todd. The Washington Post obituary remembers his “rugged good looks, fluent oratory and lucid memory,” and The Guardian calls him “an internationally…

Life and Legacy

Life and Legacy

An in-depth look at Peter Blake’s life and (controversial) death makes some interesting observations about NZ society. The article surverys Blake’s mana: “a figure of clear-cut grace and stature” yet reflects on criticisms of…

A Believer in the Green Light

A Believer in the Green Light

“Without a doubt one of the most brilliant journalists and columnists of his generation.” Neal Travis, the “brash, swashbuckling New Zealand import”, legendary editor of The New York Post’s in/famous Page Six gossip column, as well as…

Alan Brunton: Mystic Gold From the Edge

Alan Brunton: Mystic Gold From the Edge

NZ performance artist Alan Brunton (57) died while touring Europe with his Red Mole theatre troupe, ” NZ letters of its one truly iconic radical figure.” Coming to prominence in the late 70s as…

Bryan Drake Remembered

Bryan Drake Remembered

New Zealand-born baritone Bryan Drake has died in London aged 76. A “fine musician with an equable temperament and warm personality”, Drake will be particularly remembered for his long association with Benjamin Britten and his…

NZ Founding Father of British Anthropology

NZ Founding Father of British Anthropology

Sir Raymond Firth, one of the world’s most prominent anthropologists, emeritus professor at London University, Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, and recipient of first Leverhulme medal (given to scholars of exceptional…

Kevin Smith Farewelled

Kevin Smith Farewelled

One of New Zealand’s best loved screen stars, Kevin Smith, dies aged 38, in a Beijing Hospital. Best known for playing Ares in the hit series Xena:Warrior Princess, Smith suffered head injuries in a…

An Iron Wool

An Iron Wool

John Milner, a New Zealander noted for successfully opening the Eastern Bloc to the international wool trade, dies aged 84. During the cold war, a period when bureaucracy and suspicion were rife, Milner’s “exceptional charm and approachability”…

“Gale From the Sea” Laid to Rest

“Gale From the Sea” Laid to Rest

More than 6ft tall, handsome and with the build of a rugby lock forward (which he was), John Platts-Mills blew into the English House of Commons as Labour MP in 1945 “like a gale…

“For You to See Our World the Right Way Round”

“For You to See Our World the Right Way Round”

Allen Curnow, one of New Zealand’s great 20th-century writers and poets, has died in Auckland. Daily Telegraph: “regarded by many as New Zealand’s greatest poet” Curnow helped define a separate NZ identity in verse,…

Native Art Expert

Native Art Expert

Noted Maori and Polynesian art expert Terence Tui A Tane Barrow, 78, died Aug. 31 at his Honolulu home. “He was very famous — anyone who wanted to authenticate Polynesian art would call…  from…

Advice to Note

Advice to Note

Icon of NZ music remembered. Composer Douglas Lilburn, 85, found a “distinctive voice from his native New Zealand.” The Guardian praises the “strong emotional appeal” of his music, noting that Lilburn  took to heart…

Historian Remembered

Historian Remembered

Professor Neville Phillips – erudite, open-minded “sometimes spiky”. One of New Zealand’s leading historians, remembered for the day he stood up to Rob Muldoon in defence of the university and intellectual freedom. Neville Phillips: Died July 2001

Golden Shooter’s Last Shot

Golden Shooter’s Last Shot

Malcolm Cooper started his small-bore rifle career in New Zealander and went on to shoot double Olympic gold for Britain, but lost the battle with cancer. Malcolm Cooper: 20 December 1947 – 9 June 2001

Edge Composer

Edge Composer

Douglas Lilburn “gave the music of New Zealand its own distinctive voice”. His fine work brought him international recognition as a significant composer. Douglas Lilburn: 2 November 1915 – 6 June 2001

Lost at Sea

Lost at Sea

June 8 is the anniversary of the death by drowning of Richard Seddon, Prime Minister of New Zealand 1893-1906.

No Time Limit on Retrieving the Dead

No Time Limit on Retrieving the Dead

In May 1941, a Fairey Battle bomber crashed in remote Iceland. New Zealand Flying Officer Arthur Round’s body, and the bodies of the three other casualties, have just been retrieved from the glacier and returned to England…

Legendary Kiwi Credited with Giving Great Journalist His Start

Legendary Kiwi Credited with Giving Great Journalist His Start

Rex Lopez died late last month, ending an illustrious career as a journalist and critic. Lopez spent much of his life in Australia, but legendary Kiwi journalist, radio commentator, war correspondent, novelist and television personality Eric Baume…

Obituary: Sir Peter Platt, Musicologist

Obituary: Sir Peter Platt, Musicologist

Sir Peter Platt was born in Sheffield but spent a lifetime merging the music of the edges in the antipodes: he regarded an understanding of the music of the regions as crucial and guided his students…

Te Rangi Hiroa/Sir Peter Buck Remembered

Te Rangi Hiroa/Sir Peter Buck Remembered

The Sunday Times remembers the birthday of Sir Peter Buck – a pioneering and internationally renowned anthropologist, the first Maori medical doctor, a politician, administrator, soldier, and leader of the Maori people. Born in…

Kiwi Killer Lady of Kingairloch

Kiwi Killer Lady of Kingairloch

In a shooting career from 1930 to 1999 the huntress of the highlands Patricia Strutt shot more than 2000 stags. With her death, aged 89, the Scottish highlands lost one of its most formidable…

Frozen Tomb of Kiwi War Pilot Uncovered

Frozen Tomb of Kiwi War Pilot Uncovered

The RAF has never forgotten a Kiwi pilot, flight officer Arthur Round, and his crew who died when their aircraft crashed in a glacier in northern Iceland during a World War Two mission. An…

David Young, CEO of World’s Largest Air Tour Operation

David Young, CEO of World’s Largest Air Tour Operation

Young, 58, a transplanted New Zealander, died of cancer in Las Vegas. He was CEO of Scenic Airlines. David Young: died 2000

Muse behind Watership Down

Muse behind Watership Down

Ronald Lockley, internationally renowned naturalist, died in New Zealand on April 12, aged 96. The Economist obituary dryly notes that “New Zealanders liked Ronald Lockley, admired his reputation as a protector of nature, and…

Naturalist, Author, Rabbit Expert

Naturalist, Author, Rabbit Expert

Ronald Lockley, 96, naturalist and expert on islands, birds and rabbits who provided factual data for the imaginative Watership Down, died this week in New Zealand, where he has lived since 1977. Ronald Lockley: 8…

High-flyer Who Went Over the Edge

High-flyer Who Went Over the Edge

Mike Bastion was a high-flyer. Few flew higher or faster than the bright, brash young man who rose from nowhere to carve his initials in two of the chanciest games of all: stockbroking and…

Famed Wartime Pilot Irving “Black” Smith

Famed Wartime Pilot Irving “Black” Smith

Invercargill born Group Captain Irving Smith, famed for his courage and low-level precision bombing raids during WWII, died on Feb 16. Irving Smith: May 21 1917 – February 16 2000

Austrian Painter, Architect, Hundertwasser Leaves Unusual Legacy to NZ

Austrian Painter, Architect, Hundertwasser Leaves Unusual Legacy to NZ

Hundertwasser, who died last week aged 71, has left New Zealand with two vivid legacies — a flag design and a magnificent toilet. Friedensreich Hundertwasser: December 15 1928 – February 19 2000