Business | Australian (The)
19 July 2003
NZ’s 2003 “Rich List” is headed by billionaire businessman Graeme Hart, who last year accomplished a daring takeover of Australian food giant, Goodman Fielder. Hart was the subject of the Australian headline; ‘Once were panelbeaters, now cashed-up Kiwis.’…
Opera | Australian (The)
19 July 2003
Kiwi baritone Teddy Tahu Rhodes is the Weekend Australian’s cover-boy for his lead role in opera Dead Man Walking, which opens shortly at Adelaide’s Festival Theatre. The opera is based on the story of…
Rugby | Australian (The)
30 June 2003
NZ’s “baby blacks” won the Under-21 Rugby World Cup in Oxford, beating Australia 21-10. Said captain Sam Tuitupou (above); “We knew it was our last game as a team and we pulled through. This is very special for…
War & Peace | Sydney Morning Herald (The)
29 June 2003
The Turkish government is seeking World Heritage listing for Anzac Cove – where the WW1 battle of Gallipoli took place. Turkey believes the site to be of lasting moral value, in that it embodies a unique bond…
Obituaries | Guardian (The)
25 June 2003
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…
Motorsports | mcnews.com.au
15 June 2003
Australian-based NZer, Stefan Merriman, earned his third motorcycle world title at the World Enduro Championship in Skovda, Sweden. It was his second world title win in the 250cc two-stroke class. Merriman now ranks as Australia’s second most…
Science/Tech | Age (The) | CBC News
9 June 2003
A month-long exploration of the Tasman Sea by NZ and Australian scientists has uncovered hundreds of new species of fish and invertebrates. Previously unknown critters trawling the depths include gelatinous sea cucumbers, fish resembling globs of mucous…
Business | Los Angeles Times
30 May 2003
The smelly brainchild of Lower Hutt physicist Andrew Rakich has become an indispensable item for the LA Police Department. SkunkShot gel, originally sold in NZ to keep marauding dogs away from rubbish bags, is now being used…
Business | Sydney Morning Herald (The)
30 May 2003
NZ’s Meridian Energy is poised to spend up to $600 million on developing wind energy facilities in Australia over the next 5 years. The project depends on the federal government’s renewal of its mandated renewable energy…
Medicine/Health | Australian (The)
19 May 2003
In a world first, surgical teams in NZ and Australia have successfully completed a trans-Tasman kidney operation using state-of-the -art digital conferencing technology. The procedure itself took place in Christchurch, where a team of doctors led by…
Wine | Belfast Telegraph
18 May 2003
British wine writer, John Hunter, educates his readers in the (remarkably brief) history of NZ wine. Urging them to cast aside any lingering associations with Australia – “it’s a darn sight closer to Antarctica” – Hunter recommends…
Politics and Economics | Foreign Policy
1 May 2003
New Zealand ranks near the top in an international index ‘Ranking the Rich’, published by Foreign Policy and the Centre for Global Development, gauging how rich nations help out poorer nations. NZ toppped the list with The…
Fashion | Sydney Morning Herald (The)
29 April 2003
Pavement regular, fashion and portrait photographer Derek Henderson, is showing at Sydney’s 2010 gallery. The images in the collection, entitled with sweet melancholy, I Don’t Feel Alone, are described as, “contemporary landscapes and cultural…
War & Peace | Age (The) | CNN News
18 April 2003
Due to the current world climate, ANZAC services in Australian and NZ this year carried particular emotional resonance CNN remembers an event “marked by both countries as a tragic turning point in their national development.” The Age: “In…
Media | Independent News Limited | Star (The)
15 April 2003
Australia’s John Fairfax Holdings Ltd has bought NZ’s top media group – Independent News Limited (INL) – for NZ$1.19 billion. The package includes more than 80 major newspapers and magazines, and means that over…
Design | Sydney Morning Herald (The)
13 April 2003
NZ company Potatopak, which produces edible fast-food packaging, plans to have its product on Australian shelves by 2004. The eco-friendly invention has been selling through organic shops and catering companies in NZ since 1999, and already…
Education | Ahmedabad Newsline
12 April 2003
“Out US and UK, in Australia and New Zealand.” Indian emigrants and students are favouring a move Down Under over the traditional destinations of old, thanks to easier entry procedures and cheaper education facilities.
Writers | Australian (The)
29 March 2003
Lloyd Jones’ The Book of Fame has won the $40,000 biennial Tasmania Pacific Fiction Prize, Australia’s most lucrative literary award. The Book of Fame is a poetic national myth-making account of the 1905 All…
Opera | Australian (The)
15 March 2003
Front page Weekend Australian feature on “Kiwi heart-throb” Teddy Tahu Rhodes hails the former accountant from Christchurch as “Australian opera’s new lead.” “While his body, all 192cm of it, caused titters in the audience…
Business | Sydney Morning Herald (The)
10 March 2003
Graeme Hart, edge entrepreneur and controlling stakeholder at Burns Philip, has completed his $2 billion takeover of Australian food group Goodman Fielder. Burns Philip is now a certified trans-Tasman superpower, with such iconic Aussie brands as Uncle…
Science/Tech | Age (The)
8 March 2003
The Hyperfactory continue their good work at the forefront of SMS technology. Australian and British buyers are showing great interest in the company’s SMSJukeBox application, which has already gained over 70,000 members in New Zealand through ClubZM.
Sport General | Australian (The)
4 March 2003
NZ’s Carol Owens has taken over as women’s squash world No.1 after the retirement of Australia’s Sarah Fitzgerald. The Women’s International Squash Players’ Association announced the new rankings after Owen’s win at February’s Arader & O’Rourke Tournament…
Opera | Sydney Morning Herald (The)
26 February 2003
“I’m moving away from opera performance … I like to make a big occasion of it when I sing. I have performed in exotic and marvellous situations in Turkey and Korea, and in the…
Sport General | Australian (The)
17 February 2003
NZ’s Carol Owens has won her sixth Kuala Lumpur Open Squash Championship, taking her world title count to an impressive 21. Owens crushed Australian rival Natalie Grinham 9-3 9-0 9-2 in the women’s final in Malaysia.
Business | Sydney Morning Herald (The)
23 January 2003
Trans-Tasman rivalry entered the field of telecommunication last month, as Australian Telstra and NZ Telecom battled for recognition as the best performer in their field for 2001-02. British consultants, IR Group, awarded top honours to NZ Telecom…
New Zealand | Detroit Free Press
5 January 2003
NZ was voted third most popular holiday destination in the NFO Plog 2002 American Travel Survey of over 9,000 U.S households. The report gages the most rewarding vacation experiences, as opposed to a head-count of visitors. The…
Opera | Sydney Morning Herald (The)
3 January 2003
NZ baritone Teddy Tahu-Rhodes is receiving great acclaim as the Don to Opera Australia’s Don Giovanni. “He sings like an angel but there the resemblance ends. He does a nice line in depravity …
Opera | Sydney Morning Herald (The)
1 January 2003
Fresh out of London’s Royal College of Music, NZ-born Samoan Jonathan Lemalu is being widely touted as “the next big thing in opera.” A qualified lawyer and accomplished (former) rugby player – “I kind…
New Zealand | Sydney Morning Herald (The)
30 December 2002
SMH‘s summary of Australia and her people for the year 2002 notes a 14% rise in holidays across the Tasman. The dramatically increased figure made NZ the most popular travel destination for the year, ahead of…
New Zealand | Sydney Morning Herald (The)
14 December 2002
Confessions of a (former) one-eyed Aussie: “Abandon all those negative clichés. NZ has changed To go to a country so deeply etched in the Australian consciousness by cliché and misinformation is to spend most of…
Business | Sydney Morning Herald (The)
14 December 2002
Businessman Graeme Hart – “the New Zealander with aspirations to take on the world” – has joined the bidding war for Australia’s major food group, Goodman Fielder. If successful, he will helm a $4.3 billion combined…
Nature | Sydney Morning Herald (The)
10 December 2002
“Somewhere east of New Zealand, where Gondwana’s break-up may have started some 130 million years ago, with New Zealand splitting from Australia, ‘the last resources of mankind’ could be awaiting discovery. So say a crew of German…
Fashion | I-D Magazine
1 December 2002
“It’s not just about the Datsun’s, you know …” Style bible i-D devotes a section of its Cruise Issue to Kiwi creativity. As well as the obvious candidates – Karen Walker, The D4, Natalija…
Theatre | Australian (The)
30 November 2002
Wellington-born Kristian Fredrikson, Australia’s leading set and costume designer, interviewed in Weekend Australian. A designer “whose name is synonymous with opulence,” Fredrikson is currently taking his third crack at creating “the perfect Swan Lake.”…
Media | Hoovers
4 November 2002
“New Zealanders watching the latest batch of car advertisements on Australian television could be excused for thinking they were back at home.” Rugged and diverse, NZ terrain is the showcase of choice for the…
Sport General | Sunline | Sydney Morning Herald (The)
26 October 2002
NZ mare Sunline, Australasia’s grand lady of racing and a champion that uniquely inspired anthromomorphic devotion, ended her five-year domination of Australian tracks with a brave final run at October’s Cox Cup. The winner of 32…
Fashion | Stars Online
22 October 2002
Are you looking at us? Rebecca Weinberg, Emmy-Award winning stylist from Sex and the City, was a headlining guest at New Zealand Fashion Week. Weinberg crossed the Tasman in search of The Next Big…
Media | Sydney Morning Herald (The)
21 October 2002
Brian “Hendo” Henderson, Channel 9 Australia’s “stalwart newsreader” for the last 46 years, has announced his retirement. Born and bred in Southland, NZ, Henderson started out on Dunedin radio. Moving to Sydney in the…
Film & TV | Boston Herald
13 October 2002
Captain Cook is the inspiration behind America’s latest hit reality TV show. The Ship follows a group of ordinary folks in their bid to sail a replica of the Endeavour from Australia to Indonesia….
Rugby | Sydney Morning Herald (The)
6 October 2002
The New Zealand Warriors averted an Australian national emergency by falling at the final hurdle in their proud and historic run to the National Rugby League Grand Final, losing to Sydney Roosters 3-8. From ruin two…
Politics and Economics | Independent (The)
8 September 2002
Sir Richard Branson continues his upward trajectory in the world of aviation. Branson’s Australian domestic airline – Virgin Blue – is about to triple its fleet by purchasing 40 new jets. The possibility of extending flights to…
Watersports | Sydney Morning Herald (The)
7 September 2002
Australian fly-fishing convert Margie Blok declares NZ an angler’s paradise. Blok describes her chopper ride into the inaccessible headwaters south-east of Lake Taupo as yielding “the ultimate fly-fishing experience”: “…the hypnotic noise of the river and the…
Education | Guardian (The)
3 September 2002
A letter penned by Captain Cook announcing his return from Australasian waters has been discovered stuck behind a picture frame at Brancaster Hall, England. The 200-year old missive “recalls the grim hardship of what is now considered…
Obituaries | New York Post
31 August 2002
“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…
Fashion | Observer (The)
25 August 2002
6 page Observer spread: Walker uses her distance to advantage, preferring the hilltops of Auckland to the glamour and pace of Europe. “Karen Walker’s lived-in fabrics and homely knits evoke her idyllic New Zealand…
Fashion | Sydney Morning Herald (The)
10 August 2002
Ah, to be able to wear fur without fear of red paint. The possum’s status as NZ’s chief environmental menace has encouraged the fashion industry to use its fur for everything from bags to…
New Zealand | Sydney Morning Herald (The)
10 August 2002
NZ slopes get the thumbs up from Oz ski-buffs. The Southern Alps: “bigger than the Swiss, French and Austrian Alps combined” – are praised for their variety, beauty, and value for the dollar in a comprehensive SMH report.
Rugby | Sydney Morning Herald (The)
6 August 2002
The heart-stopping (breaking?) Bledisloe battles are becoming enshrined in Ocker sporting lore: “Once, Australians could rattle off virtually every ball of an Ashes cricket series. Now it is Bledisloe Cup rugby.” According to Spiro Zavos, the battle…
Sport General | 2009 Manchester | NZ Rugby Sevens
25 July 2002
All-comers finished in the green and gold shadow of Australia, but New Zealand completed a successful Commonwealth Games campaign, finishing a credible 5th on the medal table, with 11 golds in rugby sevens, cycling (Sarah Ulmer…
Politics and Economics | BBC News
22 July 2002
Yachts containing more than 50 protesters from NZ, Australia and Vanuatu confronted a ship carrying nuclear waste through the Tasman Sea from Britain to Japan. According to Greenpeace, the cargo contained enough nuclear material for 50 bombs,…
Politics and Economics | Australian (The)
20 July 2002
Greg Sheridan, using some sobering cliches, gives his views on the trans-Tasman relationship: as well as comparing NZ to Tasmania he invokes ghosts of ANZUS past and our “unreliable” unwillingness to join Australia in Pax-Americana, as reasons…
Business | CNN News
1 July 2002
Trans-Tasman dairy giants Bonlac Foods (AUS) and Fonterra (NZ) have merged consumer food lines to create a new company – Australasian Food Holdings Pty Ltd (AFHL). AFHL will incorporate leading brands including Tip Top, Mainland, Ferndale, and…
Politics and Economics | New Statesman
26 June 2002
The PMs of NZ, Australia and Canada, all of whom look to the Queen as head of state, were (apparently) extended “the minimum of courtesy” at her mother’s funeral. Seating plans, travel arrangements, and entry times…
Science/Tech | Sydney Morning Herald (The)
19 June 2002
The SMH tries to find the code behind the icon-making, convention busting, award winning (but secretive) Apple design team after, for the fourth year running, Apple takes out the British Design and Art Direction Association’s top award…
Fashion | Mambo | Sydney Morning Herald (The)
12 June 2002
Crossing aesthetic borders NZ-born designer Marcelle Lunam leads “a new breed of artists cum designers redefining Australian streetwear”. Lunam is designer for Mambo’s “reverse diffusion” range ‘M’ – merging street and pop culture and…
Te Ao Maori | Village Voice
11 June 2002
New to New York: Village Voice features an “industral performing arts collective” remixing Dante’s Inferno using flaming poi. “Poi are a Maori tradition, and backpackers often try spinning on the beaches of Australia, New Zealand, and Thailand….