Grammy for Fran Walsh
From playing bass in 80s Wellington band Naked Spots Dance via a film or two, Wellington muse Fran Walsh wins a Grammy for Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media:…
News of New Zealanders via Global Media
Rann – Global Warming “Frightening”
Mike Rann, the Auckland University-educated and former NZBC journalist and now, Labor Premier of South Australia, writes in The Australian that “the world should make no mistake: in 2005, global warming is a real…
Christopher Shaw leads motor neuron research
Professor Christopher Shaw, Professor of Neurology at Kings College London and Otago University graduate in Medicine (1984), is to co-lead a team to clone embryos to study motor neuron disease, in particular those patients whose condition cannot…
Miles Makes Leap to Big Pond
Managing Director of Vodafone NZ, Tim Miles, is to head the $12 billion UK branch from April 2005. According to the NZ Herald, Vodafone went from 1.8 million mobile subscribers in late 2001 to…
Home Turf Heroics
NZ went to the top of the IRB Rugby Sevens table after their third straight victory in the Wellington tournament. The Kiwis beat Argentina 31-7, giving them 52 points in total, ahead of traditional rivals Fiji…
My Favourite Ape
Compared with his work as an Oscar-winning director and the filmmaker behind the most popular trilogy in movie history, Peter Jackson’s first attempt to remake King Kong was by any measure amateurish. Jackson painted…
Taylor-made in New York
Empire waists, lace trim, pinafores and velvet jackets featured in Rebecca Taylor’s www.rebeccataylor.com collection in her runway show at New York Fashion Week. The New York-based Wellingtonian has also added the Bush…
SurfAid International Races Aid to Tsunami Areas
SurfAid International a non-profit organization founded by New Zealander Dr Dave Jenkins dedicated to the alleviation of human suffering through community-based health programs, has secured $500,000 worth of medical supplies and equipment, including 10,000 mosquito nets,…
Science’s Conscience
John Ziman, NZ-born scientist and humanist, has died aged 79. “After a brilliant youthful career in physics research he turned increasingly to reflection on the values and societal entanglements of the scientific endeavour as a whole ……
Reaching New Lows
A NZ ship has set a new world record for the southern-most point attained by water. The Spirit of Enderby, a polar research ship exploring NZ and Australia’s sub-Antarctic islands, reached a latitude of 78deg 40min and…
Biotech Baby Steps
NZ’s recently altered stance on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) is the subject of an in-depth Technology Reviewfeature. “NZ, of all places, may have found a solution , proving once again that…
Kiwis on Both Sides of the Camera
Fresh on the heels of her international success with Whale Rider, Niki Caro is to direct an as yet untitled feature for Warner Bros. Starring Charlize Theron, Woody Harrelson, Sissy Spacek and Sean Bean,…
Top Five Twice-over
In a Lonely Planet poll conducted in early December, NZ was voted fourth most popular future destination and fourth favourite place already visited. The exhaustive survey drew nearly 20,000 respondents from 167 different countries.
Wild about Buddha
Anna Wilding’s feature length documentary Buddha Wild sold out its sneak preview sessions at Rialto Cinemas as well as in Thailand, with all proceeds going to the tsunami appeal. Expect big things on the…
Godley’s Own Country
Godley Lake, NZ, features amongst the Observer‘s crème de la crème of international ski touring routes. “Described as a ‘Symphony on Skis’, this tour involves a traverse of the Southern Alps from east to west via some…
Angler’s Paradise
NYT writer travels to NZ to experience the “trout-fishing paradise” of Rotorua first hand. “Visitors fish in streams so clear that the fish can see you. Crouching behind a bush, out of a target’s line of…
From the Ashes
Air NZ was announced the winner of Air Transport World magazine’s annual Phoenix Award in January. The award is given to an airline which “achieves a commercial rebirth through a life-changing transformation.” After its “near-death experience”…
National Symbol Under Question
NZ’s growing movement in support of a new national flag featured in the Daily Telegraph. Wellington businessman Lloyd Morrison officially launched the campaign in January, with the support of numerous high profile sporting, political, and entertainment industry…
The Taste of Success
42 Below Manuka Honey Vodka is the main ingredient in star bartender Loren “Lola” Dunsworth’s current favourite cocktail – The Taste of Honey – which gets an impressive plug, complete with recipe, in the…
Google Gets Goodger
Google has hired one of the top programmers who worked on the Firefox project, fueling new speculation that the search giant may enter the browser business. The Mountain View, California-based search company hired 24 year old Auckland…
Make No Bones About It
NZ has again opened a new path in medicine, this time in the field of bone reconstruction. Dr George Dias of Otago University’s anatomy and structural biology department struck on the idea of using a material based…
Long-haul Rivalry
Australian-born Guardian columnist, Andrew Mueller, can’t understand the ongoing attraction of NZ to British holidaymakers. “Australia is worth spending 30 hours in a plane for,” he says. “NZ is Wales with more sheep.”
Location Long-drop
A new archaeology site has been opened in Wellington, on the site of the proposed city bypass. A group of 30 of NZ’s leading archaeologists, led by Rick McGovern Wilson, are examining the remains…
Lovely Bones
Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Phillipa Boyens are to develop the Alice Sebold novel The Lovely Bones as their next film after King Kong. Though “The Lovely Bones” is not on the order of…
New Zealand Riviera
To entice buyers to a resort development, Pip Cheshire and Terry Hunziker designed a rustic guest lodge Bay of Islands, a remote spot about 150 miles northeast of Auckland. Located in a part of…
Waiheke Out-Bordeauxs Bordeaux
The Turkish Weekly featured NZ’s premiere boutique wine event, the Waiheke Wine Festival. Waiheke reds have become increasingly popular internationally in recent years, with viticultural studies hailing the region’s weather as “more like Bordeaux than Bordeaux.” …
Three-pronged Aid Effort
As well as donating $10 million to the tsunami stricken Indian Ocean countries, the NZ government provided Thailand with a state-of-the-art victim identification software package, developed by NZ’s Environmental Science and Research Ltd (ESR)….
Seaside Hideaway
A Guardian travel special on remote retreats features Bethell’s Beach Cottages, run by Trude and John Bethell-Plaice. “The cottages have decking for alfresco dining, private gardens and sea views. A short walk away is Bethell’s beach: huge,…
Tales of the Heart
Colonel John Blashford Snell tells of “losing his heart in NZ” in a Guardian travel feature: “We are so overcrowded here but they have the most beautiful empty country with scenery that is stunning, like a high-altitude…
Handled with Care
Mansfield, C.K Stead’s fictional account of the life of Katherine Mansfield, received warmly in the Independent. “Any novelisation of this kind is a daunting task, with readers either knowing too much, or too little….
Our History and Future in Global Spotlight
Otago University graduate Chris Ford penned an in-depth three part overview on NZ race politics for the Global Politician. The first provides a historical backdrop to the events of 2004 when, in Ford’s words, NZ’s widely…
The Real Big Bird
Joint research by Oxford (UK) and Canterbury (NZ) Universities has uncovered startling new facts about NZ’s native Haast’s eagle. With a weight of 10kg, the Haast’s eagle was 30-40% heavier than the largest living bird of…
Memorable Moves
The Royal NZ Ballet’s performance of Javier Frutos’ Milagros made the Observer‘s top ten dance moments of 2004. The piece toured the UK in May as part of an RNZB triple bill.
New Zealand Riveria
To entice buyers to a resort development, Pip Cheshire and Terry Hunziker designed a rustic guest lodge Bay of Islands, a remote spot about 15 miles northeast of Auckland. Located in a part of the country…
Hunt Fights for Our Rights
Waikato University graduate Paul Hunt has built a high profile international career as a human rights lawyer and independent expert. Hunt was elected to serve on the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in…
World Class Vision
A shoot by Meer Zuiderwyk featured in London’s cutting edge independent photography bi-annual, 125. A truly all-Kiwi production, the Pin-Up series showcased NZ models Penny Pickard and Ngahuia wearing local fashion, with hair by…
Powerful Proposition
NZ utility TrustPower plans to construct what will be the southern hemisphere’s most technologically advanced wind farm in the Tararua Ranges this year. By adding 40 latest model turbines to its facility’s existing 103, TrustPower will increase…
The Real Deal
A year on and Rings-related tourist stories still crop up in US papers. This one, originally published in the Washington Post, attempts to find the “real NZ, the part still untouched by the ubiquitous cinema hype.”…
Man-made Marvel
Peregrine Winery in Gibbston Valley, Central Otago, was one of five winners of the world’s biggest and best architectural award – the Architectural Review’s ar+d Emerging Architecture prize – for 2004. The London-based award…
Sheep Ranch Deluxe
Wairarapa’s Wharekauhau Country Estate is given a rapturous write-up in the IHT. “A temple to order and calm, the Estate is located on the southern tip of the North Island of NZ, where the prevailing winds…
Paradise for Polo Players
Polo-playing Indian MP, Navin Jindal, recommends NZ as a destination for players and holiday makers alike. For obvious reasons, Clevedon in South Auckland (NZ’s polo centre) is given particular attention. “Although it hasn’t to date been a destination…
Old School Meets New
Laird Blackwell, Chair of Humanities at Sierra Nevada College (US), his wife Melinda, and a small group from the institution are the first ever non-Waitaha students to be invited to study at the sacred Whare Wananga O…
Janet Frame An International Loss
Janet Frame featured in the New York Times as one of many international art world notables to die in 2004, together with Marlon Brando, Ray Charles, Richard Avedon, Julia Child and more. Frame died of cancer on…
Martian Rocks get Maori Names
The American space agency NASA has given Maori names to rocks on Mars, thanks to the influence of the film Whale Rider. The Mars robotic rover Opportunity is exploring near a cliff named after the late…
Connolly lost for words?
Billy Connolly’s World Tour of New Zealand screened in Scotland over December, to widespread appreciation. “Driving his three-wheeled motorbike through some of the world’s most dramatic scenery with the sun blazing overhead, Connolly looks…
Best in show
Te Vaka is the critic’s pick of the bunch in a review of new international music compilation, South Pacific Islands (Putumayo World Music). “The best tracks come from Te Vaka (which means canoe), a…
Black Grace “a revelation”
The US debut of Black Grace was one of the New York Times’ dance highlights of 2004. Says reviewer Jennifer Dunning; “The audience was filled with Berkshires vacationers of all ages and degrees of…
Poles Apart, Like Minded
The NZ and Austrian governments have formally agreed to cooperate on the implementation of emission reduction projects, in accordance with the Kyoto Protocol. “NZ’s pro-active, pro-business approach to climate change is good news for the economy and…
Deluxe Innovation
Douglas Creek Ltd (Bay of Plenty) has spent the last five years developing Cervelt, a groundbreaking luxury fibre made from the down of NZ deer. Cervelt is a strong light-weight textile with a fibre diameter of…
Treading a different path
Not only has Natasha Bedingfield gone double platinum in the UK, been voted Hot New Talent of 2004 by Smash Hits, and secured a million pound recording contract in the US, she also managed…
Wine Double Feature
A Malaysian Star story on the NZ wine industry takes as its focus the award winning Villa Maria winery. According to the writer, NZ “has developed a unique niche on the world wine stage, with wines characterised…
Citizen Baker
World record holding British swimmer Zoe Baker has switched allegiance to NZ, where she has lived and held citizenship since 1999. “I’m hoping to swim for NZ at the Berlin leg of the World Cup in January,”…
Healer of Body, Mind and Soul
The Guardian pays tribute to Duncan Forrest, NZ born surgeon and renowned anti-torture campaigner. An “outstanding and innovative paediatric surgeon,” Forrest spent his career at the vanguard of surgical developments in spina bifida, hydrocephalus and cleft palate….
Farewell to Snow
Legendary NZ trainer Snow Lupton has died aged 84. Lupton will be best remembered for saddling Kiwi to victory in the 1983 Melbourne Cup. ” an outstanding figure in NZ racing,” said Thoroughbred…
A Task of Biblical Proportions
David Norton, associate professor at Wellington’s Victoria University, recently completed the decade-long task of re-editing the English speaking world’s most important religious text: the King James Bible. The New Cambridge Paragraph Bible is accompanied…
Adventure tourism for the tastebuds
The Malaysian Star interviews NZ born Wendy Hutton, an intrepid food and travel writer who is “practically a household name in South-East Asia.” Hutton has published numerous cook books, including Singapore Food and A…
