New Zealand | Independent (The)
19 February 2015
Over the coming six weeks, the world’s greatest cricketers will be zig-zagging across New Zealand. So for the cricket fan the Independent’s David Whitley suggests, that’s a fine excuse to disappear to the other…
Writers | Independent (The)
12 February 2015
New Zealand poet Anna Smaill’s debut novel The Chimes, reviewed in the Independent, is “dystopian fiction but not quite as we know it.”
“Smaill draws on her training as a classical violinist to create a…
New Zealand | Independent (The)
1 February 2015
Before Peter Jackson and his film crew rolled into town, Mount Doom went by the humble name of Mount Ngauruhoe, the fearsome volcano which forms the centrepiece of New Zealand’s Tongariro Alpine Crossing, the…
Writers | Independent (The)
12 January 2015
New Zealand author Peter Walker’s latest novel Some Here Among Us is “an absorbing, ethereal meditation into how the passage of time opens us up”, Peter Carty writes in a review of the book…
Film & TV | Guardian (The) | Independent (The) | Telegraph (The)
16 December 2014
Upon its release in Britain, Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies was met with great enthusiasm, with UK newspapers agreeing the New Zealand director has completed his trilogy with verve.
“Jackson’s…
Theatre | Independent (The)
8 December 2014
The sequel to cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show is set to be adapted for the London stage.
Director Benji Sperring will bring Richard O’Brien’s Shock Treatment to the King’s Head Theatre in spring 2015, which will include…
Film & TV | Independent (The)
5 December 2014
Seventeen years after Sir Peter Jackson won the rights to film The Lord Of The Rings, he is finally taking leave of JRR Tolkien and Middle-earth with the conclusion of The Hobbit. The new film marks a magnificent,…
Rugby | Independent (The)
11 November 2014
The All Blacks gained a fifth consecutive win over England, after the home side led 14-11 at half time.
But the English side made error upon error and suffered a long, slow black death in…
New Zealand | Independent (The)
3 November 2014
With less than a fortnight to spend on the other side of the world, the Independent’s Kate Simon used planes, trains, automobiles … and a bike to make every second count on a trip…
General | Independent (The)
10 October 2014
New Zealand is one of the best countries in the world to grow old in, coming 10th in the Global AgeWatch Index which ranks countries by how well their older populations are faring.
Norway topped the…
Rugby | Independent (The)
12 September 2014
Former All Black forward Brad Thorne, 39, has pitched up at Leicester at the tail-end of a colourful career that’s taken him from Dunedin to Leinster via Japan. But, he tells the Independent’s Chris…
New Zealand | CNN | Conde Nast Traveler | Independent (The)
19 August 2014
It’s great to be a tourist down under, with travellers naming New Zealand and Australia among the best vacation destinations – the cities of Auckland and Melbourne are the friendliest in the world.
Kiwis and…
Sport General | CNBC | FIFA | Independent (The) | National Business Review | Sydney Morning Herald (The)
10 July 2014
A New Zealander who bet $2 on the exact score between FIFA World Cup Semi-finalists Brazil and Germany has made global headlines.
The semi-final, which ended 7-1 to Germany and has been called “Brazil’s worst…
Taste | Independent (The)
28 June 2014
Owner of London restaurant The Begging Bowl, New Zealand chef Jane Alty has it “sussed” according to Independent reviewer Lisa Markwell.
“We’ve got in just under the wire, as lunch is served till…
New Zealand | Independent (The)
20 May 2014
“New Zealand is a great country to witness by bicycle,” says the Independent’s Christopher Wakling. “The government wants you to ride there. At a cost of more than $75m it recently completed
Fashion | Independent (The)
19 May 2014
High-end sunglasses used to be about the logo, but now designers, like New Zealander Karen Walker, are making them an integral part of their seasons’ collections, the Independent reports.
Walker has shown her eyewear…
Obituaries | Independent (The) | NME
7 April 2014
The life of Houston Wells, sixties country singer, is celebrated in the Independent this month. Wells, born Andrew Smith in 1932 north of Newcastle upon Tyne, lived on the shores of Lake Taupo until…
Architecture | Independent (The)
10 February 2014
“Nobody was building town centres during the Depression, so Napier is rare,” says Robert McGregor, Independent journalist John Lee’s guide and the author of several books on the city. “South Beach and Napier are…
Nature | Independent (The)
28 December 2013
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…
Visual Arts | Independent (The)
13 December 2013
“I am sitting at a long antique wooden school table, burning capital letters onto the surface: ‘B****,’” the Independent’s Zoe Pilger describes from exhibition rooms HQ, London. “Other words swarm all over it: ‘Vagina…
Rugby | Independent (The)
19 November 2013
Ahead of the All Blacks-England test, Independent rugby correspondent Chris Hewett proposed that “Richie McCaw and his team are beginning to look like something more than merely the best rugby union team…
Fashion | Independent (The)
11 November 2013
New Zealand fashion designer and royal favourite, Emilia Wickstead was one of four nominated for the fourth annual Dorchester Collection Fashion Prize, established by the hotel group in 2010 to discover and support emerging…
Taste | Independent (The)
5 November 2013
Founder of Kent’s Moons Green Charcuterie, New Zealander John Doig, agrees with London delicatessen owner, the trend-setting Antonio Cardoso about promoting British farmers and too that charcuterie is a slow-pace, long-term income for them.
Doig,…
Film & TV | Independent (The)
25 October 2013
Bret McKenzie, 37, one half of the comedy duo Flight of the Conchords, stars opposite Jane Seymour in the new romantic-comedy Austenland, which opened in the UK in September.
“I’m not a crazy Jane Austen…
America’s Cup | Independent (The)
13 September 2013
Even the British and Irish are rooting for New Zealand, in what The Independent is billing as a David versus Goliath fight for the America’s Cup, the world’s oldest sporting competition. “The New Zealanders…
Science/Tech | Independent (The)
19 June 2013
Google has launched a balloon over Christchurch emitting an internet connection, which could connect to remote parts of the world to the web. “Project Loon” came to fruition in the South Island, where the…
Taste | Independent (The)
13 June 2013
New Zealand chef Monica Galetti moved across the world for the chance to work with world-renowned Michel Roux Jnr at London’s Le Gavroche. Galetti has now been there for 10 years and…
Business | Guardian (The) | Independent (The)
11 June 2013
Departing Virgin Media chief executive New Zealander Neil Berkett has been named chairman of Guardian Media Group (GMG). During his six-year tenure in the same role at Virgin Media, New Zealand-born Berkett focused on…
Taste | Independent (The)
25 February 2013
New Zealand lamb took center-stage in The Independent’s ‘food and drink’ section recently. Kiwi chef Peter Gordon featured, with a video on cooking lamb fajitas. ‘Since the first delivery in 1882, New Zealand Lamb…
Education | Independent (The)
20 February 2013
A New Zealand toy, The Snow Globe, is one of the world’s top ten ‘best creative toys’, according to Britain’s Independent newspaper. The ‘Snow Globe’ is made by Seedlings, founded in 2006 by Phoebe…
New Zealand | Independent (The)
15 February 2013
The romantic Kokohuia retreat in Hokianga is one of six New Zealand lodges recommended in Britain’s Independent newspaper. “This off-grid B&B opened above a scenic swathe of Hokianga Harbour a year…
Business | Independent (The)
28 January 2013
London bookies Ladbrokes have named Tim Groser, New Zealand’s Trade Minister, ‘joint favourite’ to be the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) new Director-General. Mr Groser is at 3:1 to take out the top job, along…
Taste | Independent (The)
26 January 2013
Kiwi chef Tyler Martin hails from New Plymouth. His Fulham restaurant is called Manuka Kitchen. The name is entirely apt, according to Independent food writer John Walsh. Martin and his partner Joseph Antippa’s food…
Rugby | Independent (The)
26 November 2012
Captain “fantastic” Richie McCaw has led the “all-conquering All Blacks” to a 20th successive match without defeat beating Wales 33-10 at the Millenium Stadium in Cardiff. No player in world rugby is better in…
Music | Independent (The)
12 October 2012
With his signature laid-back New Zealand-accented rambles often breaking into unintelligible hysterics and high-pitched impersonations, 39-year-old BBC 1 radio DJ-come-presenter-come-live-DJ-come-producer-come-general-music-guru Zane Lowe has attracted skepticism from those who find it hard…
Writers | Independent (The)
23 July 2012
Four previously unknown stories written more than a century ago by Katherine Mansfield have been discovered by Chris Mourant, 23, a PhD student at King’s College London. Any new material by Mansfield, who had…
Rugby | Independent (The)
9 June 2012
The All Blacks trounced Ireland 42-10 at Eden Park in the first test since winning last year’s World Cup, with 21-year-old winger Julian Savea scoring three tries in his debut for New…
Taste | Independent (The)
3 June 2012
New Zealand chef Anna Hansen, owner of London’s The Modern Pantry, was one of “six food-and-drink creatives” invited by The Independent “to dazzle ” with a commemorative Queen’s Diamond Jubilee offering….
Writers | Independent (The)
20 May 2012
“Emily Perkins’ new novel opens with the making of a home movie and retains the feel of one, full of fragmentary impressions; momentary visual clarity mixed with the jumpy blurrings…
Music | Guardian (The) | Independent (The)
2 March 2012
Ladyhawke, a.k.a. Pip Brown, 32, features in the Guardian’s ‘The Week in Music — in pictures’ gallery performing a free in-store gig at Rough Trade, east London. The release of Brown’s highly-anticipated second album Anxiety has been postponed…
New Zealand | Independent (The)
3 February 2012
Auckland-born DJ and BBC Radio 1 presenter Zane Lowe describes his life in travel with the Independent. Lowe’s first holiday memory is driving to the Bay of Islands. “I remember being packed into my dad’s…
Agriculture | Independent (The)
13 January 2012
“What’s small, green, comes from New Zealand and is incredibly popular with Britain’s brewers?” The Independent’s Will Hawkes asks. “No, not Kiwi fruits, although someone will surely make a beer with them sooner or later. The…
Rugby | Independent (The)
4 October 2011
Dannevirke-born Rangi Chase, 25, has been named Super League’s Man of Steel as the competition’s best player, ahead of inclusion in England’s Four Nations train-on squad. The Castleford star has opted to qualify for…
New Zealand | Independent (The)
17 September 2011
“A plan for was laid out on paper in Scotland and given the old Gaelic name for Edinburgh, Dun Eideann,” The Independent’s Adrian Mourby explains. “There were high hopes of this port settlement,…
Nature | Independent (The)
11 September 2011
“Kaikoura is not a name that trips off the tongue when you list those lucky places that offer encounters with nature and a touch of luxury,” The Independent’s Jonathan Lorie reports. “But this township…
Rugby | Independent (The)
24 August 2011
Social media is being used to help ensure the whole planet can keep up to date with Rugby World Cup action. As New Zealand seems like the end of the earth to many people,…
Film & TV | Independent (The)
7 August 2011
“I never intended to become an apologist for Tony Blair’s war,” director Lee Tamahori wails down the phone from his home in Wellington. “I just wanted to show that Uday was a psycho.” He…
Wine | Independent (The)
4 June 2011
Marlborough vineyard Brancott Estate is offering the winner of a Twitter contest two free airline tickets to New Zealand, inviting Tweeps to provide ‘tasting notes’ on one of their wines in condensed,…
Taste | Independent (The)
22 May 2011
New Zealand-raised chef Anna Hansen tells The Independent how she came to meet the chef behind London’s St John Bar and Restaurant, Fergus Henderson. Hansen came to the UK in 1992 and got a…
Film & TV | Independent (The)
29 April 2011
Temuera Morrison stars as Maori seafarer Kereama in the colonial, “pretty much your classic Western,” Tracker, which is reviewed by The Independent. “It is ostensibly the story of a manhunt: Kereama is…
Rugby | Independent (The)
12 March 2011
New Zealand-born Dylan Hartley has received a lot of stick in the Six Nations but, instead of snapping back, England’s hooker tells The Independent’s Chris Hewett how he’s been motivated to hit new heights….
Nature | Independent (The)
12 March 2011
Despite the tragedy of February’s catastrophic earthquake, New Zealand still delivers sublime travel experiences, writes Chris Leadbeater for The Independent. “Since 1884 has played a role as a lone token of man’s…
Taste | Independent (The)
7 March 2011
“You could call it the gastronomic upset of the night,” The Independent said. “New Zealand-born chef Robert Oliver beat out some formidable competition to land the title of best cookbook, which was announced last…
Nature | Independent (The)
23 February 2011
The devastating earthquake that tore through Christchurch on the afternoon of February 22 is the product of a new fault line in the Earth’s crust — an offshoot from the Alpine fault — that…
Te Ao Maori | Independent (The)
19 February 2011
Gisborne hosted as many as 25, spectators and 2 competitors at this year’s National Kapa Haka Festival, Te Matatini o Te Ra, held from16 through 2 February, with Rotorua-based Te Matarae i Orehu taking…
New Zealand | Independent (The)
10 February 2011
With filming on The Hobbit confirmed to begin in March, New Zealand is preparing for another tourism boom. It is expected that Peter Jackson’s latest film creation will drive a renewed bout of Tolkien…