George Silk, LIFE
photographer, dies, 87
Born Levin 1916, educated Auckland Grammar, George Silk became a combat photographer for Australian Ministry of Information, covering the battles at close hand in the Middle East, North Africa, Greece and New Guinea. He joined LIFE magazine as a war correspondent in 1944. Captured, escaped, wounded during the war, he took the first pictures of Nagasaki after the atomic bomb had been dropped. Silk stayed with LIFE for 34 years, specializing in adventure, exploration and sports photography, including the Olympics and America's Cup. He was named US Magazine Photographer of the Year four times. He pioneered the use of a special camera for depicting athletes in motion. Using an adapted racetrack photo-finish camera to take sequential stills of the athletes, the "strip" camera exposed the film as it rolled past a hole. He had lived in Westport, Connecticut. The NGA in Canberra had a retrospective exhibition of his work in 2000.
(25 October 2004)

Inline edge
NZ athletes excelled at the world inline speed skating championships in Italy, racking up six bronze medals, a silver, and a gold. Shane Dobbin won gold in the 5000m men's points road race, with brother Kalon taking silver in the 300m track time trial, bronze in the 200m track time trial, and another bronze in the 500m track sprint. Nicole Begg won four bronze medals in junior women’s track events, namely the 300m and 500m time trials, the 1000m race and the 10,000m points contest. See NZ Herald for details.
(9 September 2004)
   

Lives on the edge
National Geographic report details NZ’s world-leading conservation programmes, set up to preserve and protect our “virtual Noah's Ark of bizarre animals.” NZ is considered a pioneering force in the establishment of animal sanctuaries, with 198 translocation projects involving 34 bird species to 75 offshore islands taking place since the 1890s. Success stories such as the black robin, takahe, saddleback, and kakapo continue to inspire conservation workers in their painstaking work.
(21 September 2004)
    

 
A weighty story
A feature-length biopic of NZ sporting icon Precious McKenzie is in the works, with London-based Precious UK Ltd and South Africa’s Unital Films International already on board. The screenplay, written by Tauranga’s Lance and James Morcan, was promoted at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, earning widespread interest from investors. McKenzie was born in South Africa but won weightlifting medals for England and NZ at the Olympic and Commonwealth Games respectively. He currently lives in Auckland. See Scoop story for further details.
(1 September 2004)
    

Great Southern Land
Atlanta Journal writer takes in the sights down south, comparing the stunning vistas to precious works of art. “There's a time for visiting hushed museums filled with masterpieces … But getting to know a new destination by walking its trails, skipping rocks across its lakes, gawking at its mountain ranges, that has its place, too. Maybe no country makes that point as powerfully as NZ … Leaving, we felt a little like the art lover who only gets one afternoon at the Louvre: So much of NZ to see, not nearly enough time.”
(26 August 2004)
    

Passing of a pioneer
NZ’s first women’s Test cricket captain, Ruth Martin, died in Christchurch aged 90. Martin (then Ruth Symons) led NZ in their inaugural Test match, against England 1934-5. The Ruth Martin Cup is presented annually to the season’s outstanding female batter.
(14 September 2004)
     

Scene stealer
Star feature on veteran US stuntwoman Jeannie Epper makes mention of her NZ protégé, Zoë Bell. Bell’s career to date includes doubling for Lucy Lawless in Xena, Uma Thurman in Kill Bill, and Halle Berry in Catwoman. She specializes in fights and harness work, and has experience with air rams, fire burns and high falls.
(19 September 2004)
   

Campaigning at the source
In innovative anti-drink driving campaign in NZ has made headlines around the world. Produced by the NZ Land Transport Safety Authority, the large, heat-activated ads are located in urinals in 260 pubs around the country. “What you'll see is essentially a black silhouette of two cars, side by side, underneath the phrase ‘Which car will you piss off in tonight?’”, explains LTSA representative Amy Knackstedt. “[T]he ads are heat activated, so when the heat affects them they unveil two different images – one of which is a badly crashed car, on top of the words ‘if you drink and drive you're a bloody idiot.’ And the other one is a nice, pristine, un-crashed taxi that says ‘If you drink then don't drive, you're a bloody legend.’”
(16 September 2004)
     

Hot stuff
Alice Goulter, Wellington fashion grad and newly appointed womenswear designer for Mossimo Australia, makes Cleo’s monthly hot list. “Expect to see a difference when her designs hit stores in October.”
(September 2004)
    

Pass the Watties?
1988 NZ Chef of the Year and Elton John’s former cook, Clive Hitchens, has returned to his roots, opening a meat pie shop in Alameda, California. Hitchens and partner, Donna, had been successfully selling gourmet pies at farmers markets since early 2003, before deciding to open their own restaurant, The New Zealander, this year. “The pies are dressed up for sure in his restaurant. Hitchens … uses gourmet quality ingredients - imported and free-range meats and his own curries - and wraps the meats in a pastry shell so delicate it defies the dish's reputation of being hearty. But they are still meat pies he's serving, a food that's gobbled up with grubby hands everywhere in NZ, at rugby matches, gas stations, corner stores, you name it.”
(25 September 2004)
     

A kiwifruit a day…
Eating kiwifruit can help ward off heart disease, according to new research undertaken in Norway. Polyphenolic compounds in the fruit cut the amount of fat platelets being pumped around the body and thin the blood, thus reducing the risk of potentially fatal clots. Zespri NZ supplied the kiwifruit used in the study, and hope their global sales will increase as a result of its findings.
(30 September 2004)
   

Underground exposure
A music video by Auckland band The Mint Chicks featured on the inaugural CD sampler by Australian Vice. A free street magazine, Vice originated in the US and has a cult following all over the world.
(17 August 2004)
      

Good gut feeling
The Kahurangi Maori Dance Theatre enthralled Boston audiences, according to the Village Voice. “From rapid finger flutters to haka warrior poses, thrusts, and vocal outbursts so strong you feel them in your gut, Tama Huata's troupe of six kept us riveted as they unfolded a Maori creation myth in a dozen sections.”
(20 September 2004)
    

The wonders of technology
77-year-old Aroha Pearless used the internet to track down her first crush, a US marine stationed in NZ during WW2. Pearless had found photos of her former flame, Carl Leary, while cleaning out an old album. Remembering Leary came from Flint, Michigan, she set her grandchildren to work online. “I hadn't forgot about her,” said 81-year-old Leary. “As soon as I heard her voice, I knew who she was.”
(27 September 2004)
    

Quick legs, quicker wit
Former All Black Eric Rush interviewed by the Gulf News at the launch of the 35th Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby 7s tournament. Rush joined Dan Crowley and John Bentley as key note speakers for the event. “I've played against both Dan and John,” he said. “You'll have to check with them, but I think we won.”
(25 September 2004)
    

God of the air axe
NZ’s Tarquin ‘The Tarkness’ Keys was named joint winner of the world air guitar championship at the ninth annual Oulu Music Video Festival. Miri "Sonyk-Rok" Park of Finland was initially crowned the victor before “an Olympics-style scoring controversy” forced the judges to reassess.
(30 August 2004)
    

Just don’t ask him to assume the brace position
Auckland armour maker, Warren Ormsby-Green, made Web India’s ‘What in the Weird’ equivalent with his air travel exploits. Ormsby-Green, who created pieces for LotR and The Last Samurai, wears a full set of armour when travelling by plane to avoid excess baggage charges. “The reactions I get can be pretty amusing,” he says. “Some people are very interested, some people laugh and some people can't even look at me.”
(30 September 2004)
   

Edge hero remembered
The science world - and the Edge community - lost one of its brightest stars with the death of Maurice Wilkins on October 5. Born in NZ in 1916, Wilkins was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1962 for the pivotal role he played in the discovery of DNA. Colleague and fellow Laureate James Watson: "Wilkins was a very intelligent scientist with a very deep personal concern that science be used to benefit society. This started in his early days, when he witnessed the atrocities of war, and continued through his life. He will be sorely missed." Tributes from all over the world praised Wilkins' compassionate and self-effacing nature, as well as his inspiring intellectual legacy. Obituaries appeared in almost every major publication, including the LA Times, Guardian, Nature, and the Telegraph. Read Wilkins' NZ Edge Hero biography here.
(6 October 2004)
     

Dissecting the Edge
Outside Online writer, Stephanie Pearson, takes a month-long tour of NZ, in a bid to discover "why everyone wants a piece of the Kiwi magic." After interviewing a slew of overachievers, including Icebreaker's Jeremy Moon, Peter Jackson, and Adventure Philosophy co-founder Graham Charles, Pearson concludes that in NZ "resourcefulness starts at birth." "Kiwis are game to give virtually anything a go," she says, "whether it's perfecting a grape varietal, climbing Everest, or taking a two-year OE hiatus in their twenties to see how the rest of the planet lives. From sport and travel to business and culture, NZ's traditional strengths have been infused with 21st-century verve and advertised with a global reach ... But to boil the country's essence down to statistics would be like describing Manhattan solely in terms of the height and breadth of its skyscrapers. Factor in the triple play of the current zeitgeist - bungee jumping, Hollywood hobbits, and sauvignon blanc - and you've only accounted for half the spirit of NZ."
(1 September 2004) 
   

Taking care of business
NZ ranked first overall in the World Bank’s ‘Doing Business’ report for 2004, ahead of the US, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Australia. The annual survey decides which countries are best for doing business in based on seven key areas; starting a business, hiring and firing workers, enforcing contracts, getting credit, closing a business, registering a property and protecting investors. 
(9 September 2004)
     

Luna Rendezvous
New Zealand born, Harvard educated and New York resident Dean Wareham and his band Luna track through Japan promoting their final album Rendevous. “Where the last half of Luna's career flirted with edgier tempos and sun-splashed pop, "Rendezvous" returns to the languid, hypnotic feel of their early work. This music is reflective yet buoyant, like post-party floating in the pool, stargazing after everyone has gone to sleep. The album retains the energy of their live shows by avoiding overdubs and gadgetry, instead putting the band in one room together and keeping the best take. That may be why "Rendezvous" translates so well onstage. As they sink into the first chords of opener, "Malibu Love Nest" -- the yawn of Eden's guitar fills curling over a fluid bass line -- I realize that they aren't solemn, they're just under the spell of their own music. And judging by the capacity crowd, the spell is contagious.”
(24 October 2004)

    


“Star for the future”
20-year-old Ben Townley won his first motocross world title (and NZ’s second) with a double victory in the MX2 class at the Grand Prix of Ireland. “On the last lap of the first race, my mechanic, Craig Behl showed me a pit board that said, 'Your dreams have come true', and I just went cold,” said Townley in the NZ Herald. Townley’s NZ team-mate and best friend, Josh Coppins, came third in the MX1 class. Coppins is the reigning British champion.
(12 September 2004)
     

Good things take time
An Australian Rolling Stone feature examines the intimate and lengthy process behind the making of Everyone Is Here, the first collaborative album by Neil and Tim Finn in nearly a decade. “Hyperbole can’t do [the album] justice. It’s folk, it’s rock, it’s got some of the biggest choruses either brother has conceived. Lyrically, it’s both intimate and epic, direct yet deeply poetic. It’s music overbrimming with life … [For] over a generation, these Finn voices have provided many of us with an alternative conscience, invited us to join in and sing along. Theirs are voices for the ages, only improving with age.”
(October 2004)
   

Global edge-sposure
Premier NZ vodka label, 42 Below, has made further inroads to the global market, acquiring a key distributor in Australia with Carlton and United Beverages (CUB) and purchasing the US direct sales company Collinsville Securities Limited for US$1.296m. In other news, 42 Below was recently announced as principal sponsor of the Creative NZ commissioned exhibition, ‘The Fundamental Practice’ by et al., for the 2005 Venice Biennale.
(13 September 2004)
    

Riding high
Sydney Morning Herald profiles 20-year-old Kiwi, Michael Walker; “the best jockey to emerge from across the Tasman since Jim Cassidy and Shane Dye.” Since his 1999 debut, Walker has ridden more than 100 winners in each of his five NZ seasons. He has already chalked up over 50 wins in his first four months on Australian tracks. “I've set myself the goal of winning the premiership in Melbourne within four years,” says Walker. “That’s a major goal for me.”
(4 September 2004)
    

Elegance with edge
Karen Walker and Zambesi turned many a well-coiffed head at last month’s London Fashion Week. Guardian critic, Jess Cartner-Morley, picked Walker’s show one of the highlights of the week: “[Walker] … took as her inspiration the 1930s aviatrix Amelia Earhart – ‘one of the first great 'pants' girls.’ The result was a nice balance of elegance and kookiness - Chloë-meets-Hoxton, if you will.” The Telegraph mentioned both Walker and Zambesi as “names to watch” and, in a second article, included them as part of the “fresh, feminine, and thoroughly cosmopolitan” onslaught of Australasian talent currently hitting British shores.
(24 September 2004)

   

Mr President
Dr George Barton QC of Wellington was elected President of the United Bible Societies (UBS) at its World Assembly in Newport, Wales. Barton led the NZ Bible Society from 1966 to 1998, and was vice-president of the UBS prior to assuming the presidency last month. It is the first time a NZ native has ever been elected to head the global organization. He will serve as president for six years.
(14 September 2004)
   

Britain loves Lucie
Another half-Kiwi is making an assault on the British pop charts: 24-year-old Lucie Silvas. Born in Glasgow to a Scots mother and NZ father, Silvas grew up in NZ before moving to Leicester, where she is now based. With a successful career penning hits for the likes of Liberty X, Gareth Gates, and Michelle McManus already under her belt, she is about to launch her own album, Breathe In, in the UK. Silvas’ voice has been compared to Christina Aguilera and she counts Lionel Ritchie, Burt Bacharach, and Coldplay’s Chris Martin among her biggest fans.
(20 September 2004)
    

Triumph for edge adventurers
NZ team Seagate and US team Nike were joint winners of the Subaru Primal Quest adventure race, held in Washington. The event involved six days of trekking, mountaineering, biking, running, orienteering and kayaking. It was shortened from its original length of 400 miles after the death of veteran Australian competitor, Nigel Aylott. Seagate team-mates Nathan Fa'ave, Kristina Anglem, Hadyn Key and Richard Ussher took home US$100,000 in prize money between them.
(25 September 2004)
    

Top spot
Martinborough Hotel features on the Observer’s list of top retreats for wine lovers. “If you're looking for a nice drop of Kiwi class, character and convenience, this is just the job … The bistro serves excellent food alongside a superb list of local wines, including the region's highly acclaimed Pinot Noirs. It's also smack in the middle of Martinborough Village, from which the vineyards are just a stroll away.”
(5 September 2004)
    

No vanity project
Observer reviews Other Ways of Speaking, the latest offering from Russell Crowe’s band Twenty Odd Foot of Grunts, and is pleasantly surprised. “[W]hat should be an easy target and, on the face of it, bellows 'vanity project', largely isn't either … Crowe has a really good voice. His admiration for Johnny Cash is clear in his beautiful, low tones on near-neighbours 'Same Person' and 'Other Ways of Speaking' … He sounds just like Elvis Costello on the pleasingly percussive 'Inside Her Eyes', and he and Chrissie Hynde swap tendernesses to great effect in close harmony on the duet 'Never Be Alone Again.’”
(22 August 2004)
   

White knuckle Christmas
The Independent lists Queenstown as one of 25 top Christmas holiday destinations. “Work up an appetite for a festive roast lamb dinner by getting the adrenalin flowing among NZ's stunning mountain scenery … On any day of the year - except 25 December - you can take a jet-boat ride down the Shotover River, brave a 134-metre bungy jump, take a helicopter flight and do some white-water rafting.”
(25 September 2004)
    

Top 6 for Black Sticks
The NZ women’s hockey team’s strong showing at the Athens Olympics earned them the final place in November’s six-team Champions Trophy in Argentina. The Black Sticks went to Athens ranked ninth in the world and finished in sixth position.
(24 August 2004)
   

Is this mike on?
Thai artist Seepphum Srisopa won the Bizarre Bra section of the annual World of Wearable Arts competition in Nelson. His winning creation - a bra with multiple microphones attached and pointing at the wearer – was inspired by PM Helen Clarke in press conference mode.
(15 September 2004)
     

Precious metal keeps on coming
NZ athletes did us proud at the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens, netting a total of six gold medals, one silver, and three bronze. The Wheel Blacks won gold in the wheelchair rugby final against Canada, Matt Slade won gold in the 200m sprint, Peter Martin dominated the men’s field events, winning gold in both javelin and shot put and bronze in discus, Tim Prendergast won gold in the 800m, Michael Johnson gold in the standing air rifle, Paul Jesson bronze in the LC3 road race/time trial, Daniel Sharp bronze in the 100m breaststroke, and the BC1-2 team won silver in the boccia final against Portugal.
(22 September 2004)
   

Legacy in letters
Acclaimed author Maurice Shadbolt (72) also passed away this October. Shadbolt burst onto the international scene in 1959 with the publication of his short story collection, The New Zealanders, and is widely regarded as one of the country's most treasured and influential writers. His key works include Strangers and Journeys, The Lovelock Version, and Once on Chunuk Bair.  PM Helen Clark: "It is a sad day for NZ literature. He was a wonderful, wonderful writer." Times On Line: "Shadbolt made a major and lasting contribution to New Zealand literature, to New Zealanders understanding of themselves, to others understanding of New Zealand and its people, and to New Zealand's literary and artistic community [...] He was clever, vibrant, opinionated and larger than life."
(17 October 2004)

   

Haven for holiday-makers
NZ was voted the UK's Favourite Holiday Destination in the annual Telegraph Travel Awards, ahead of the Maldives, South Africa, and Italy. "The Awards are based on the genuine opinions and experiences of the UK's most affluent travellers and holidaymakers," said Travel Editor Graham Boynton. "Our Awards have been established to reward the very best service across the UK and international travel industry." 25,000 readers participated in the poll.
(12 October 2004)
   

For the Love of India
Bollywood heartthrob Shah Rukh Khan - recently hailed by Time magazine as the biggest superstar in the world, with an audience share of 3.6 billion people – launched Kevin’s Roberts’ book Lovemarks: The Future Beyond Brands at a glittering gala in Mumbai. After reading passages from the book, King Khan equated love with acting. ‘‘Acting is all about magnanimity. It’s about giving, not taking. I have only one fundamental in life: that you can’t win an audience unless you give. And it has worked for me.’’ With French, Brazilian, Hungarian, Bulgarian, Chinese and Japanese editions in the works, Lovemarks is becoming one the most widely published books by a New Zealander. The HinduBusinessLine: “Kevin Roberts has authored a well-written, delightfully produced, eminently readable book. It makes a case for going into an emotional realm that transcends mere brands. A realm where emotion rules, and to quote a neurologist, "the essential difference between emotion and reason is that emotion leads to action while reason leads to conclusions."
(15 October 2004)

Grand Slam thank you ma’am
Rising Kiwi tennis star Marina Erakovic has added two major titles to her belt, winning both the Canadian and US Open’s junior girls’ doubles event with Dutch partner Michaella Krajicek. Earlier this year the pair made the Australian Open semifinals and the final at Wimbledon. 16-year-old Erakovic is only the second NZ woman in history to win a Grand Slam title; Judy Chaloner won the Australian Open senior women's doubles title in 1979.
(5 September 2004)
    

Jolly green giant
It’s official: Shrek 2 is the third highest-grossing film of all time, behind Titanic and the first Star Wars. Directed by Kiwi Andrew Adamson, Shrek 2 was the surprise hit of the US summer, beating out heavyweight competition from Spiderman 2 and Troy.
(5 September 2004)
     

On top of the Down Under world
Is It?, a co-production by Emily Ansell (NZ) and Leonie Blignaut (SAF), won first prize at the UpOverDownUnder film festival in London. The annual event promotes independent film making in Britain's Antipodean and South African community. The festival website describes Is It? as "a dream-like journey through London that explores the question every visitor has to ask: is the grass really greener on the other side?" Ansell and Blignaut won £500 and a 4-week 16mm film course at the New York Film Academy.
(4 October 2004)
     

New findings, new hope
Doctors at NZ’s Liggins Institute have made a crucial breakthrough in the study of breast cancer. Researchers have discovered a growth hormone in breast cancer cells which determines how quickly the cancer spreads. “We have found a switch which determines whether the breast cancer cells stays where it's made or can spread throughout the body,” says Institute Director Professor Peter Gluckman. “We are using this research to design some new therapies which we think will be even more effective.” See NZ Herald story for more details.
(8 September 2004)

     

Champs on surf and turf
NZ finished second overall in the world lifesaving championships at Viareggio, Italy, behind Australia and ahead of South Africa. The Kiwis won 17 medals in total, including gold in the men’s beach flags event (Morgan Foster), gold in the women’s surf race (Rachael Anderson), silver in the 50m mannequin carry and 100m medley rescue (Georgina Toomey), silver in the 50-54 age group ski race (Ian Ferguson), and gold in the 55-59 year age group ski (Brett Leask).
(21 September 2004)


    

Punk lives
Guardian names Selfish Cunt (made up of singer Martin Tomlinson and Kiwi guitarist Patrick Constable) one of the top 40 bands in Britain today, alongside Franz Ferdinand, Blur, The Darkness, and Radiohead. “Dividing the nervous few who have heard or seen them, art/punk duo Selfish Cunt aren't simply an in-joke too far perpetrated by the denizens of London's trendy Hoxton - more a malignancy at the heart of the fashionable life. [Tomlinson and Constable] create unruly anti-songs, angry unravellings of beatbox stuffer, garage noise and invective … [Their] genuinely menacing debut double A-side single Britain is Shit /Fuck the Poor is the most brutal state-of-the-national address since the Sex Pistols' God Save the Queen.”
(19 September 2004)

      

A change forecast
Metra, the commercial sector of NZ’s government-owned meteorological service, is helping the BBC propel its TV weather reports into the 21st century. Thanks to cutting edge technology used in video games and the LotR trilogy, viewers will be able to watch realistic 3D computer graphic versions of current weather or meteorological predictions. BBC Weather Centre project director, Colin Tregear: “We will keep our hallmarks of accuracy and authority. But we hope this will be more engaging and therefore informative for viewers. Snow will look like snow, cloud like cloud and so on.”
(24 August 2004)
    

Rhodes beats the heat
Brian Rhodes won the men’s open category of the Desaru International Triathlon in sweltering Malaysian conditions, beating last year’s winner Jason Shortis of Australia by nearly five minutes. Fellow Kiwi Stephen Sheldrake finished third. The annual event comprises a 2km swim, 90km cycle and 21km run.
(19 September 2004)
    

Doomed for fame
After high-profile supporting roles in The Bourne Supremacy, The Chronicles of Riddick, and the LotR trilogy, actor Karl Urban has won his first leading role in a major Hollywood film. Urban is to star as John Grimm in Universal Pictures’ multimillion dollar adaptation of cult video game Doom.
(20 September 2004)
    

Strong contenders
Two NZ books have been shortlisted for the AU$25,000 Tasmania Pacific Bicentenary History Prize. Phillip Temple’s A Sort of Conscience: The Wakefields and Anne Salmond’s The Trial of the Cannibal Dog: Captain Cook in the South Seas made the final six out of a field of 82 entries. The winner will be announced November 21.
(1 October 2004)

   

One-stop provocation shop
Denis Dutton’s Arts & Letters Daily website received a generous write-up in the Voice of America. A&L Daily is a collection of links to interesting (and often incendiary) articles available online, sourced from all over the political spectrum. “I want to have left-wingers, who are devoted to their left-wing publications, by mistake clicking on right-wing publications and broadening their horizons,” says Dutton. “I want to have right-wingers click on the more and find that they're at Dissent or The Nation and reading the left-wing view. I think it's much more interesting to be surprised.” In its six years of operation, monthly readership of A&L Daily has jumped from 300 to 300,000.
(12 September 2004)
    

Four in twenty ain’t bad
Four NZ estates made the top 20 international accommodation list in Andrew Harper’s annual Hideaway Report; Blanket Bay (Queenstown), Huka Lodge (Taupo), Wharekauhau (Wairarapa), and Kauri Cliffs (Bay of Islands). “[This] is proof that the quality of what we have to offer matches the best in the world,” said Tourism NZ acting CEO David Wilks in the NZ Herald, adding that the Hideaway Report was considered “the ultimate travel guide.”
(4 September 2004)
   

Wellywood in the spotlight
The world’s eyes are on Wellington once again as production steps up on Peter Jackson’s King Kong remake. Jackson promises to make a “wonderful, mysterious adventure film” worthy of the iconic 1933 original, which he claims “inspired [him] to want to become a film-maker” when he first saw it as an 8-year-old.
(3 September 2004)
   

One step at a time
Jonah Lomu is making a strong recovery from his July kidney transplant and has already named next year’s rugby sevens world cup as his comeback date. “That's great news because sevens can provide him with the perfect avenue back to top-class rugby,” says sevens coach Gordon Tietjens. “The special environment in the NZ sevens side would be good for him. No-one would put any pressure on him - we'd support him.” Lomu’s long-term goal is to play for the All Blacks in the 2007 World Cup in France.
(12 September 2004)
    

Aotearoa in vogue
The November issue of Australian Vogue contains a sumptuous 30-page spread on NZ. Topics include our "so hot right now" film industry, the best places to eat and drink in Wellington, Auckland, and Dunedin, fresh Kiwi beauty products, and the cream of our ever-growing crop of luxury retreats. Also featured are furniture designer David Trubridge, artist Peter Stichbury, musicians Scribe, Brooke Fraser, and The Veils, and fashion luminaries Marilyn Sainty, Karen Walker, Kate Sylvester, Zambesi, and Tanya Carlson. Read PDF of New Zealand Explored here.
(November 2004)
       

Next stop Nobel?
Professor Paul Callaghan of Wellington has won the prestigious Ampere Prize. The biannual award - one of the most esteemed in the international science community - recognises outstanding work in the field of magnetic resonance. It is the first time the prize has been awarded to a scientist outside of Europe. Callaghan is the Alan MacDiarmid Professor of Physical Sciences and Director of the MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology at Victoria University.  "We are lucky to have someone with the originality and expertise of Professor Callaghan on our staff," says Vice-Chancellor Professor Stuart McCutcheon in Scoop. "Not only is he exceptionally talented but he has a great knack of explaining his research, and other science, to a general audience and is in great demand as a guest speaker and commentator around the world."
(6 September 2004)
     

Hat-trick plus one
"Not only do Kiwis like winning our major horse race, they are also becoming fond of winning our major car race." Greg Murphy took top honours for Holden with his fourth Bathurst victory at Mt Panorama. He now ranks sixth on the all-time winners' list behind legends Peter Brock, Jim Richards and Larry Perkins.
(11 October 2004)

International acclaim for national story
NZ/British co-production In My Father’s Den won the prestigious Fédération Internationale de la Presse Cinématographique (FIPRESCI) award at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival. Directed by NZer Brad McGann and based on the novel by Maurice Gee, festival judges praised the film for its “emotional maturity, striking performances, and visual grace.”
(19 September 2004)
    

Wyatt makes it four
Jonathan Wyatt won his fourth mountain running world title at Sauze d'Oulx in northern Italy only a week after competing at the Athens Games. His previous victories were in France (1998), Germany (2000), and Austria (2002). Next year’s championship will be held on Wyatt’s home soil: Mt Victoria, Wellington.
(6 September 2004)
    

Big Chief Fletcher
Christchurch man Ian Fletcher holds a key position in British government as Director of the International Trade Development Group for the British High Commission. Fletcher oversees the promotion of British business around the world; a massive job considering that 25% of the British economy is generated externally. In an interview with NZ City Fletcher says his NZ nationality coupled with his close personal ties to Britain has helped him greatly in his new role, as he has “'looked through the telescope from both ends.”
(15 September 2004)
     

Still the place to be
NZ is the world’s third most desirable holiday destination, according to Condé Nast Traveler’s annual Readers’ Awards. Australia, Thailand, Singapore, and Italy complete the top five.
(30 August 2004)
   

Need for speed
NZ claimed two world titles at the mountain bike world championships in Le Gets, France, with Vanessa Quin (26) winning the open women’s downhill race and Scarlett Hagen (17) the junior women’s. Hagen’s time was second only to Quin’s overall.
(14 September 2004)
     

National treasure in good hands
China Daily features the Kiwi Recovery Programme, a government sponsored initiative to save the national icon from extinction. “NZ has a history of making refuges for wildlife ... saying, these things are in trouble, we'll scatter them around a few islands and we'll have some in reserve,” says Programme Director Paul Jansen. “I think we've got enough technology and ability to be able to hold on to a few fragments. None of the species of kiwi will go extinct - we will not let that happen.”
(22 September 2004)
       

On the road again
Fresh from working with ex-Led Zeppelin John Paul Jones on their second album, Outta Sight/Outta Mind, the Datsuns are hooking up with another set of rock legends: The Pixies. The Cambridge-bred quartet will open 17 shows around North America for the iconic band in November/December. This comes after a typically busy month of touring in September, with concerts in Japan, New Zealand, and Australia.
(8 September 2004)
    

Textile success
Promenade by Clare Plug won the Marianne Kor Award for Distinguished International Entry at the 2004 Fibreart International exhibition in Pittsburgh. Two of Plug’s pieces were selected out of 1,600 US and international entries for the prestigious 62-work exhibition.
(August 2004)
    

Sport swap
NZ U-19 rugby coach, Willy Heretaka, is in talks with Kolkata school leaders about establishing an annual student sporting exchange between NZ and India. “These schools have good sporting facilities,” said Heretaka in the Times. “It will be great if our boys can come here, learn some of the sports that are natural to Indians, and also help Kolkata boys pick up a sport like rugby.” Heretaka has the backing of the NZ Tourism Board.
(28 August 2004)
    

Multilingual, multicultural and multitalented
Haaretz interviews prolific folk and multicultural musician, Jill Rogoff. Born to a Polish Jewish father and NZ mother, Rogoff was born and grew up in Wellington before leaving for Jerusalem in 1979. She sings in English, French, German, Yiddish, Ladino (Sephardi), Arabic, and Persian, as well as over 30 Celtic languages. Her areas of musical interest range from the medieval period and Renaissance, to 18th-century Scotland and the Golden Age of Jews in Spain. “My father and mother really collected friends,” says Rogoff. “They liked to get to know people of different cultures, and they influenced me and my sisters to do the same. One could say that we learned to admire difference. Not to fear difference - but to wonder at it. Until I was 18, I thought that everyone was that way - that they loved the other.”
(13 September 2004)

     

Pastoral bliss
National Post writer Cleo Paskil finds a slice of heaven in the Wairarapa’s best kept secret (until now): Stansborough Farm. “It is perfect. The air, the water, the green are exhilarating and awakening. The odd geography and the odder animals make it impossible not to smile. And the people make it warm … If I had all the money in the world, and I could be anywhere, for however longed I wished, I would like to be at Stansborough Farm, feeding the llamas until I was hot enough to pick some grapes from the vine and head down to the river for a swim.”
(11 September 2004)
    

Comedy with a conscience
The Ball, an Australian spoof of The Piano by Anny Slater, has been nominated by the UN for a Media Peace Prize. According to Canada’s St Johns Film Festival, “The Ball is a hilarious homage to and critique of Jane Campion's The Piano … In a few brilliantly crafted images, The Ball manages to score major laughs of recognition, as the mute heroine, Ada, travels to NZ to meet her new husband with her Scottish terrier and her soccer ball. Mistaking refugee-challenged Australian Prime Minister John Howard for her husband, Ada must deal with his strange demands and the loss of her precious ball.”
(12 September 2004)
    

Mecca for moviegoers
NZ topped the list of holiday destinations inspired by films in a British survey by Thomson Holidays. 40% of voters picked NZ in response to its LotR exposure. Cephalonia (Captain Corelli’s Mandolin), Thailand (The Beach), Malta (Troy), and Kenya (Out of Africa) rounded out the top five. According to the survey, one in five people has visited the location of their favourite film.
(28 September 2004)
   

Tourist hot spot gets edged
NZ’s Marine Tourism Holdings is the latest company to set up shop at Queensland’s Great Barrier Reef, offering daily tours to a 45m pontoon based at Knuckle Reef. The pontoon, which houses an interpretive centre and a waterslide, meets the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority’s strict environmental management plan, and has been developed over a period of three years.
(27 September 2004)
    

Paradise uncovered
Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson’s ode to NZ, Slipping Into Paradise, reviewed in Japan’s Daily Yomiuri. “Part memoir, part philosophical reflection, part travel book, Slipping into Paradise details why Masson picked NZ from the many countries he had visited as the place he wanted to live. A comfortably paced, personal telling of how he stumbled across his slice of paradise and the reasons why he almost instantly fell in love with the place, his narrative offers mostly warm-fuzzy glimpses into the benefits and positive aspects of life in NZ.”
(11 September 2004)
     

Top 40 hit
Cairnbrae ‘The Stones’ Sauvignon Blanc 2003 made Decanter’s list of top 40 wines under ₤10, following a rigorous blind tasting of more than 2,000 offerings. Observer critic Tim Atkin describes the silver medal winner as “lemon, sherbet; pungent and clean.”
(12 September 2004)

    

Shifting mythology
A study of Peter Jackson’s LotR trilogy by the University of Wales has been extended due to an unexpectedly large public response. More than 25,000 people from all over the world have completed the online questionnaire, which centres on the question, ‘Where, in your imagination, is Middle Earth?’
(24 August 2004)