Toddler’s Golf Swing a Match for Tiger’s
A New Zealand toddler has just placed third in an international competition for junior golf swings. William Tye, who modelled his golf swing on Tiger Woods after watching a video of the famous athlete,…
News of New Zealanders via Global Media
Frigate Deployed for Anti-Piracy Exercise in Gulf of Aden
New Zealand will become the second non-member state to join a NATO anti-piracy exercise in the Gulf of Aden, with navy frigate HMNZS Te Mana participating in Operation Ocean Shield for three weeks from…
Large Numbers of Australians Flocking to NZ to Wed
31 January 2014 – More than a quarter of all same-sex marriages in New Zealand are couples from Australia, according to the Registrar of Births Deaths and Marriages’ first release of statistics since same-sex marriage…
Kiwi Doctor Has the Best Fisherman’s Tale
A medical degree and a typical ‘South Island’ kiwi attitude has come in handy for one New Zealand doctor who fought off an attacking shark with a knife and stitched his own wounds before…
Clark Tipped for Top UN Job
Introducing UN Secretary General … Helen Clark? The Guardian is tipping the former prime minister is the prime candidate to replace incumbent Ban Ki-Moon when he steps down in two years. Clark was New…
NZ and UK Leading the Public Sector Digital Revolution
At the Open Government Partnership (OGP) summit in London in November 2013, New Zealand became the 61st member of a rapidly expanding global movement. The OGP is all about making governments more transparent, accountable…
Ancient Seabird Fossil Found Dating Back 58 Million Years
A fossil of one of the world’s oldest flying seabirds, named Australornis lovei, has been found in in greensand deposits in North Canterbury, linking New Zealand to Antarctica when it was still being formed,…
Dotcom Has His Own Party, and Dance Moves
New Zealand-based Megaupload.com entrepreneur Kim Dotcom, 40, is launching two ventures this month: a new political party to contest in the country’s next general election and a debut dance album, Good Times, to be…
New Zealand Outpaces Crawling World Economy
In a world still limping its way out of the global financial crisis, The Wall Street Journal has written that New Zealand’s economy is looking remarkably zippy – and even outdoing our much larger…
Nebraskan Children Get Tortoise Buffett Savings Tips
Children’s author New Zealander Lucas Remmerswaal took his Warren Buffett-inspired financial literacy campaign to Nebraska recently as part of an international promotion which has taken the Whangarei man to the Frankfurt Book Fair, Turkey,…
From Amidst Highland Heather to Paparata Farmland
This week, as part of the Highland News’ “Friends Around the World” series, the newspaper meets Min Walker, who emigrated to New Zealand in the 1960s to work as a nurse and gain experience…
Auckland Zoo Achieves Circle of Life with Flamingo Chicks
Auckland Zoo is claiming a world first after the hatching of two flamingo chicks, the first flamingos ever bred in Australasia and the first successfully bred from an entirely hand-reared flock anywhere in the…
19th Century Plate Depicts Extraordinary Set of Birds
“No country on the globe can offer such an extraordinary set of birds as are here depicted,” wrote British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace of “the peculiar Ornithology of New Zealand” in The Geographical Distribution…
New Zealand’s Warm Weather Patterns to Continue
The year 2013 was New Zealand’s second hottest year on record according to Auckland University climate scientist Dr Jim Salinger, with the winter season found to be the warmest and temperatures hitting 1.3 degrees…
New Zealand a Multicultural Model for the EU
January 13, 2014 – Multicultural policies, like those adopted by the immigrant countries of New Zealand and Canada, may be exactly what European Union countries need, according to journalist Kait Bolongaro, writing for Al…
Travelling the Inked Map of Her Father’s Life
A coloured butterfly, a pseudo-celtic armband, a giant spiral: the tattoos on New Zealander Nell Frizzell’s father are an inky historical record of his lifetime’s journey through continents, relationships, families, marriages and deaths. Ahead…
New Zealanders Living Life in Berlin
“When a German realises you’re a New Zealander … they often can’t quite seem to believe it, the implication of the questioning being ‘You’re from New Zealand! Why would you ever want to leave?…
Plenty of Scope for More Art and Enterprise
The disaster that reduced Christchurch to rubble has given rise to a spirit of art and enterprise, writes Tijana Jaksic for the Herald Sun, and the city is “embracing the change” she says. The
US President Obama and PM John Key enjoy golf game in Hawaii
In a rare vacation encounter with a foreign official, US President Barack Obama played golf in Hawaii with a new partner, Prime Minister John Key also on vacation, along with Key’s teenage son Max…
Two weeks off the grid
Newly-former Mayor of New York City Michael Bloomberg and his companion Diana Taylor will spend two weeks holidaying in New Zealand and Hawaii at the commencement of 2014, after 12 years helming the western…
Mutual Interest Means Increase in India-NZ Study Numbers
Indian studies is attracting more and more students in New Zealand, where seven out of the eight universities offer these courses, according to Sekhar Bandyopadhyay, director of the New Zealand India Research Institute (NZIRI)…
Tree Traditions for a New Mexico Christmas
New Zealander Aly Hyder lives in Arroyo Hondo, New Mexico and has a very different Christmas experience to the “barbeque Christmas” of the southern hemisphere. Hyder goes out to the forest for a Christmas tree…
Flying Australian Kiwis Could Put Paid to Moa Ancestry
New fossil research suggests the flightless kiwi and emu share a common ancestor able to fly, which travelled over to New Zealand from Australia millions of years ago. Experts have long assumed that the kiwi…
Shipwreck Find Could Alter Our History
Timbers from a shipwreck found in Kaipara Harbour have been dated to some 70 years before Captain Cook, identified as having originated in Southeast Asia as early as 1700. Captain Cook’s Endeavour encountered New…
One Small Step for New Plymouth Student
New Plymouth engineering student Hamish Fagg, 21, is preparing to become the first New Zealander in space having won a prize organized by Unilever-owned men’s product LYNX and endorsed by the world’s most famous…
Decorated Lifetime of Service at Sea
Rear-Admiral Ted Thorne, who has died aged 89, was a New Zealander who was on hand when female naval personnel suffered their greatest loss of the Second World War. Wellington-born Thorne was under training in…
Oamaru-Made Gingerbread Cathedral Pleases Exeter Locals
Owners of Oamaru’s Pen-y-bryn Lodge, James Glucksman and James Boussy have built a gingerbread Exeter Cathedral to commemorate the 125th anniversary of the lodge next year. Glucksman explains: “In a nutshell we always make a…
Maori Added to Google Translate
Google has added Maori to the list of languages supported by its online translation service. From today, converting a Maori phrase into English – or vice versa – is as simple as cut-and-pasting it into…
NZ Public Institutions Trustworthy
New Zealand has been declared the least corrupt nation on earth, equal with Denmark. Rounding out the top four are usual Scandinavian suspects Finland and Sweden, according to Transparency International’s 2013 Corruption Perceptions Index….
Island Paradise Enticing Auckland Urbanites
“Waiheke Island is now the go-to holiday home destination for wealthy New Zealand urbanites … with the west coast draw the most punters, in particular the beaches near the island’s main town Oneroa and…
Enabling Teens to Learn Through Responsibility
Fulbright scholar and Victoria University senior lecturer Dr Barrie Gordon was in DeKalb, Illinois this month giving a presentation to students at Northern Illinois University on a teaching model, which is aimed at helping…
Marathon a Day Keeps the Doctor Away
Twelve years ago, New Zealand-born endurance athlete Janette Murray-Wakelin was told she had six months to live after being diagnosed with breast cancer. Now, she’s in the midst of running a marathon every day…
Maori to NY: Let our People Sleep the Sweet Slumber
Pressure will be mounting on the American Museum of Natural History in New York to return sacred Maori remains to New Zealand after USA Today gave prominence to the issue of toi moko (tattooed…
New Zealand Continues to Beat Australia with Smarts
25 November 2013 – Auckland is the only New Zealand city, and the first of four cities from Australia and New Zealand, to make Fast Company’s list of ‘The 10 Smartest Asia/Pacific Cities’. To decide…
New Zealanders Stand Up to Rape Culture
Over the past weekend, thousands of people in New Zealand took to the streets to protest a culture that doesn’t take rape seriously. The public backlash has intensified over the past few weeks since…
Kennedy’s Last Seconds Captured by NZer
A Kiwi’s photographs capturing the last second before the assassination of President John F Kennedy in Dallas have been discovered in storage in New Zealand – and are now gracing the front cover of…
New Zealand to Phase in Shark Fin Ban
The New Zealand government has agreed to a full ban on shark finning, though fill implementation of the ban won’t happen for another three years. The Wall Street Journal reports that it is already illegal…
Driving the Kiwi Economy
Many strange things are used to measure economic growth and decline: the lipstick economy, the horse-trading economy, the Playboy economy (curves in recession, skinny in boom times) and even underwear, as Fed chairman Alan Greenspan…
New Zealand a Great Place to Start-Up
New Zealand is sitting amongst the top ten most prosperous nations globally, according to the Legatum Institute’s 2013 Prosperity Index rankings. Placing fifth, on a list otherwise heavily populated by Scandinavians countries, New Zealand sits…
Lorde and Lydia Ko Named Time’s Most Influential Teens
Kate Sheppard would be proud. 120 years after New Zealand women gained the right to vote before any other country, two young New Zealand women have become the top two most influential youths in…
Cold, Hard Cash Works Better than Welfare
Giving money directly to the poor is one of the best ways to raise education levels and lift people out of poverty, a study by the University of Otago shows. Development economist Dr Sarah…
Portrait of a Leader
Maori Party co-leader Pita Sharples features in a photographic exhibition featuring portraits of Tangata whenua, including Sharples. Sharples was stunningly captured on film by British photographer Jimmy Nelson, who was touring the world recording…
Responsible for the Rights of Children in Indonesia
UNICEF representative in Indonesia, New Zealander Angela Kearney is responsible for leading a staff of 150 to carry out the duty of realizing the rights of every child in the country. Besides Jakarta, UNICEF also…
Don’t Beat the Currency War Drums Yet
The drums of war have been beating for two years now. With America, Britain and Japan printing money and the Euro zone considering unprecedented zero interest rates, the other tradable currencies – especially New…
Adventurer’s African Queen Back on the Nile
The boat thought to be the original African Queen used in the film starring Humphrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn has been restored by owner, New Zealander Cam McLeay. There’s no sign of the 2000 cigarettes…
Sweet News for NZ Winemakers
Global demand for wine is outstripping supply, meaning prices for New Zealand wine in export markets are likely to increase, according to a new report by US financial services firm, Morgan Stanley. Production of…
Life on Board Ship a Daily Adventure into the Wild
For the past 24 years, New Zealand mountain climber Greg Landreth and Canadian photographer Keri Pashuk have been living on a sailboat, travelling thousands of nautical miles into some of the coldest and most…
We’ll Never be Royals – Clark
Former Prime Minister Helen Clark appears to have taken teenage pop sensation Lorde’s lyrical sentiment – “We’ll never be royals” – to heart. In comments following a meeting at Clarence House in London with…
Rare Chinese Carved Rhino Horns Sale Makes Auction Records
A pair of very rare 19th century Chinese carved rhinoceros horns has sold for a record $797,300 Auckland-based auction house Webb’s – 454 per cent above the estimate of $125,000 – $150,000. The…
Postal Service to Reduce Deliveries from 2015
With more people emailing their correspondence rather than popping it in the mailbox, New Zealand Post will deliver mail as infrequently as three days a week to most customers from June 2015. The…
Repatriation of Lost Ancestral Remains
A tattooed preserved Maori head, or toi moko, and skeletal remains, koiwi tangata, discovered in the anatomy department at the University of Birmingham, are being returned to New Zealand. University staff said the ancestral items…
Nearly Naked Aussies Almost Pull One Over Nude Blacks
New Zealand blushes were spared in Dunedin, as the Nude Blacks narrowly edged an invitational Australian side in the annual naked rugby contest in the country’s southern-most city. To coincide with the Bledisloe test…
Degrees Available in Healing with Humour
New Zealanders considering a career as a professional clown will now be able to earn a certificate, diploma or full Bachelor of Arts in Medical Clowning. The qualifications are scheduled to be launched in…
Happiness: Voting With Your Feet
New Zealand, allegedly, is the third happiest place on earth. Happiness is a subjective subject. Couples, for instance, routinely report higher relationship satisfaction when they are able to favourably compare themselves to other less…
NZ Pinot Beats Burgundy
A wine-tasting of international Pinot Noir – 18 wines from six different regions, including Burgundy – by more than 100 experts has seen New Zealand deemed best by value. Influential business magazine Forbes positively…
Fifty Thousand Kilometre Journey Peddling for the Heart
After two years and 43,000km, New Zealander Jeremy Scott is almost home having been riding his bike from London since 5 October 2011, heading to his final destination, Auckland, by March next year. He made…
