Oamaru’s Underpass for March of the Penguins
A group of Little Blue Penguins have had their own underpass built between their nests and the sea at Oamaru Harbour to protect them from traffic and give them privacy from tourists keen to…
Tag Archives: Guardian (The)
Downside to NZ’s Booming Manuka Honey Industry
The global craze for manuka, highly valued for its medicinal properties, has created a gold rush in rural New Zealand that some believe is rapidly spiralling out of control, Eleanor Ainge Roy reports in…
Connan Mockasin’s Soft Hair Swampy Psychedelia
Connan Mockasin “a recluse from New Zealand” and Sam Eastgate of UK band Late of the Pier have teamed up to form Soft Hair, “a reverie of swampy psychedelia”, writes NME journalist Ben Homewood in a…
How to Dad Jordan Watson Recommends Chilling
On the How to Dad YouTube channel, shaggy-haired, bearded and bare foot 28-year-old Aucklander Jordan Watson offers “instructional” videos on how to be a parent – with the help of his two young daughters,…
ABs Beat Wallabies Again at Eden Park 37-10
Australia had the ball but New Zealand scored the tries as they set a new record for consecutive Test victories by a Tier 1 nation, reaching 18 but having come of age long before,…
What A Nation Chooses To Remember And Forget
“Early in 2014 a group of school students from a small town in rural New Zealand took a trip to some nearby historical sites. Guided by local Māori elders, the students from Otorohanga College…
Lawrence Arabia’s Breezy Absolute Truth
Included in a roundup of the best Australian LPs that might have passed you by in the past months, (the Guardian includes a caveat) is Christchurch-born Lawrence Arabia’s latest, Absolute Truth. “The lyrics of musician
Ohau We Love to Ski Here
The tiny Mackenzie High Country ski resort of Ohau has just one lift, but the snow in August and September is brilliant – and, if you pick your week, it can feel like your…
Why 2016’s Exciting New Americana is Antipodean
New Zealanders Nadia Reid and Marlon Williams are part of “a bold young Oceanic Americana cohort” according to the Guardian’s Laura Snapes. A new wave of young New Zealand and Australian-based artists are giving Nashville’s…
Elderly New Zealanders Building Their Own Caskets
Quilting, lawn bowls and bridge it is not. Elderly people in New Zealand are enthusiastically embracing a new pastime: coffin construction, providing retirees with new friends and, ultimately, cheaper funerals, Eleanor Ainge Roy reports…
Actor Terence Bayler Was Brian and so Was His Wife
Whanganui-born film, stage and television actor Terence Bayler, known notably for his collaborations with the Monty Python team, has died aged 86. Bayler played Gregory (and other roles) in the controversial Life of Brian –…
The World’s Only Alpine Parrot Faces Extinction
The New Zealand kea, the world’s only alpine parrot “is at threat of extinction in New Zealand as numbers plummet in the face of threats from non-native predators and human development,” writes Eleanor Ainge…
Lyall Bay’s Unique Time Cinema For Sale
Movie buff John Bell has decided to sell up one of Wellington’s best kept secrets: the Time Cinema in the suburb of Lyall Bay, a fully fledged 38-seat picture theatre where he lovingly screens…
New Zealand’s Most Exciting Young Poet
Hera Lindsay Bird, who “has become a cult favourite for her explicit, cutting and often funny writing” was “catapulted from respected but anonymous graduate writer to semi-cult status” after publishing her first book of…
Dayna Grant on Life As A Stuntwoman
Kiwi stuntwoman Dayna Grant has “worked as a double for A-list actors including Charlize Theron and Tilda Swinton during her thrilling 20-year career, but to the easy-going Kiwi, it’s all in a day’s work,”…
Simon Denny Explains Blockchain with Pokémon
New Zealand-born artist Simon Denny’s forthcoming exhibition – Blockchain Future States – opens on 8 September at Petzel Gallery in New York City. The exhibition tells the story of blockchain visionaries, bitcoin and the…
This Is the Castle That Dot Smith Built
As a child New Zealander Dot Smith dreamed of living in a castle. Growing up on an isolated farm in the 1960s entertainment was scarce – so Dot read, and planned her escape. Five…
US Brands Head to NZ for All-Wool Footwear
As demand for all-wool shoes grows, a number of US footwear brands are heading directly to the source: the sheep pastures of New Zealand. San Francisco-based Allbirds, established by former New Zealand soccer player…
Tonic for Brits Seeking to Cure Brexit Blues
It boasts spectacular scenery, a temperate climate and a labour shortage in key areas, but New Zealand’s most appealing attribute, according to the New Zealand Herald, may be that it is “18,000km from Boris…
McLaren Back at Scene of Triumphs
If Formula One belongs anywhere, it is in Spa-Francorchamps and if one team belong there then they are McLaren, who approached the past weekend with optimism, if not so much for that race as…
David Farrier Uncovers Surprise Turns in Tickled
Squarely of the “truth is stranger than fiction” category, New Zealand journalist David Farrier’s debut documentary Tickled has touches about it of thriller, mystery, and true-crime genres – even, at times, horror, the Guardian’s…
Top Beach Hotels on NZ’s South Island
New Zealand’s South Island is known for its “dramatic scenery, captivating wildlife and splendid isolation.” “Beach resorts and retreats on New Zealand’s South Island make the most of dramatic views, as well as offering…
DJ Zane Lowe Queues Up His Summer Faves
From a moody duet to a Mac Miller joyful four-on-the-floor groove, Auckland-born DJ, producer and poptimist Zane Lowe shares the songs he’s got queued up this summer for the Guardian’s regular column, The Playlist. Lowe,…
Aaradhna: Brown Girl Review
Sometimes you hear a song and “you feel the passion, dance the groove and, for a split second, the world makes glorious sense. Affirmation, validation; that’s all many of us are seeking.” Among “the…
Poet Hera Lyndsay Bird Speaks to a Generation
Millions are turning to poetry in response to a year of troubling news stories – with previously excluded voices, like Thames-born writer Hera Lyndsay Bird, in the field now going viral, the Guardian’s Rhiannon…
Margot Henderson’s Rochelle Canteen Seduces
New Zealand-born Margot Henderson’s London café Rochelle Canteen “wears its fabulousness lightly.” It is “nourishing for body and soul, and huge fun”, according to Guardian reviewer Marina O’Loughlin. “This canteen may come on…
New Zealand to Exterminate All Introduced Predators
The New Zealand Government has announced a “world-first” project to make our country predator free by 2050, aiming to wipe out all introduced species of rats, stoats and possums. According to the government, introduced species…
NZ Retirement Home Residents Shake It Off
A group of 50 New Zealand retirees have “done their own take on Taylor Swift’s Shake It Off video, adding only the occasional local, and age-appropriate, touches such as frenetic cupcake dusting,”…
Nine Wonders of New Zealand
“With natural splendours that include stunning marine wildlife and geothermal springs, to culinary adventures taking in cutting-edge restaurants and tours of award-winning vineyards, New Zealand is a country that knows how to amaze the…
RBS CEO Ross McEwan Still Optimistic Despite Brexit
While the Royal Bank of Scotland share price did sink to levels reminiscent of the 2008 crisis, when the bank ran out of cash and only survived because of a £45bn taxpayer bailout, New…
Andy Bearpark Re-emerges As Yogi in New Zealand
Andy Bearpark, who was once known as Margaret Thatcher’s closest ally, “has re-emerged in the unlikeliest of places and in the unlikeliest of roles,” writes Jack Barlow for The Guardian. “Bearpark, one…
How New Zealand’s Knack for ‘P’ Turned into a Homebaked Disaster
“New Zealand is 10,000km (6,00o miles) from Bangkok, 18,000km from Amsterdam and surrounded by sea. Hard drugs rarely make it into the country – and when they do prices are high and quality is…
Te Reo Hit Topples Justin Timberlake
Pop tune Maimoatia, sung entirely in Te reo and released for Maori Language Week, shot straight to the top of the iTunes chart in New Zealand, knocking Justin Timberlake’s Can’t Stop the Feeling from…
Kaitangata Launches Drive to Recruit Outsiders
The tiny picturesque town of Kaitangata in the South Island has a unique problem – too many jobs, too many affordable houses and not enough people to fill them, the Guardian reports. So the…
NZ Thrash Wales to Seal Series Whitewash
New Zealand has beaten Wales 46-6 to seal the three-Test series at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin. This win was the 29th in a row for the All Blacks over the Welsh who not…
Ladyhawke Back with Vibrantly Glam Wild Things
“In 2016, when pop has never sounded moodier or more austere, Ladyhawke an unabashed explosion of colour and…
Auckland Start-Up Cleans Up Post Part Mess
New Zealand founded start-up Morning-After Maids, “has been inundated with requests for their services, from home and abroad,” as reported in an article in The Guardian. The cleaning service that picks…
Connan Mockasin Joins Big Lineup at Meltdown
New Zealand musician Connan Mockasin joins Elbow frontman Guy Garvey’s Meltdown festival – in a lineup which includes Femi Kuti, Laura Marling and Howe Gelb – playing at the Royal Festival Hall on 15…
Surprising Volcano Discovery Beneath Matata
Scientists say they have discovered a magma buildup near the town of Matata that could signal the beginnings of a new volcano – although they’re not expecting an eruption any time soon. Geophysicist Ian Hamling…
Sam Neill Cuts to the Chase
In a Q&A with the Guardian, New Zealand actor Sam Neill talks about his father’s war medals, the Fifa film and a secret about his real name. Born in Northern Ireland, Neill, 68, grew up…
US Returns Remains of 54 Indigenous People to NZ
Four mummified Maori heads have been returned to New Zealand, following five years of negotiations with the Smithsonian Institution in the United States. The objects are part of the second-largest repatriation of indigenous remains…
Sam Neill Says NZ Cinema like Nothing Else on Earth
In a career of almost unparalleled versatility, Sam Neill’s latest role in Taika Waititi’s Hunt for the Wilderpeople finds him returning to his roots. Elle Hunt tracks the New Zealander down in Sydney for…
Helen Clark Launches Campaign to Lead UN
New Zealand’s former prime minister Helen Clark has begun her campaign to become the first woman to lead the United Nations, saying in Paris that, “peace really matters to women”. Clark has led the…
NZ Police Officers Release ‘Running Man’ Video
“The New Zealand police force has released a video of officers doing the “running man” dance and issued a challenge to other forces around the world to do the same in an unorthodox recruitment drive,” as…
Book Returned to Epsom Library 67 Years Late
A woman has brought back Myths and Legends of Maoriland by AW Reed to an Auckland library 67 years after it was due to be returned. The book was checked out by a girl in…
Kakapo Conservationists Celebrate Breeding Success
The kakapo, the world’s heaviest parrot, a critically endangered bird that only lives in a remote part of New Zealand, has had its most successful breeding season since conservation efforts began more than two…
Sound Fossil of the Huia Echoes in Munich
As inhabitants of the Anthropocene age, in which our influence on the planet is so profound and terrifying, the Guardian asks how our writers and artists are responding to this crisis. Included in an…
Peter Bruntnell an Alt-Country Genius
Album after album, the Kingston upon Thames solo artist, Wellington-born Peter Bruntnell produces rich and refined song-craft, yet hardly anyone has heard of him. Could this be his time? The Guardian’s Angus Batey considers…
Simon Denny a Millennial Subversive
Look beyond the traditional spaces and what emerges are a group of Generation Y artists who are arguably more avant garde than ever, like New Zealander Simon Denny, 33. The Guardian enters a world…
David Bowie Saw Lorde As ‘the Future of Music’
David Bowie believed the young New Zealand singer Lorde was “the future of music”. “David really liked Lorde. They had a few wonderful moments together,” said Mike Garson, Bowie’s longtime pianist. Lorde was chosen to perform…
New Zealand Women Cruise to World Twenty20 Success Against Australia
The New Zealand women cruised to victory with 22 balls remaining in the World Twenty20 match against Australia in Nagpur. Australia was hit by a six-wicket defeat. “It was expected to be a tricky…
Top 10 North Island Beach Hotels and Campsites
New Zealand’s North Island “is a rewarding destination for beach lovers” with brilliant blue water and gorgeous stretches of white sand” and offers “many brooding vistas where wild seas meet rocky shores,”
Zero-Hour Contracts Banned in New Zealand
Zero-hour contracts have been outlawed in New Zealand after parliament unanimously passed a bill to ban the controversial practice, which is being hailed as a major victory for minimum wage workers, particularly in the…
Hall Ludlow Gown Exhibited in Melbourne
A 1953 evening gown designed by Otahuhu-born Clarence Hall Ludlow is on display in the 200 Years of Australian Fashion exhibition, included as part of the Melbourne Fashion festival. Hall Ludlow was one of Australia’s earliest…
Scottish Coastal Rowing New Zealand Style
“A fleet of St Ayles skiffs travelled to Motuora Island nature reserve to participate in the most ambitious coastal rowing event to date: a 15-day rowing and sailing expedition exploring the islands, peninsulas and…
New Zealand cricket great Martin Crowe
New Zealand Cricket Great Martin Crowe has died at the age of 53. His family in Auckland announced his death in a statement. “It is with heavy hearts that the family of Martin Crowe, MBE…
