Tag Archives: Australia

Once Were Panelbeaters

Once Were Panelbeaters

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.’…

Ted Man Walking

Ted Man Walking

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…

Waiting in the Wings

Waiting in the Wings

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…

Brothers in Arms

Brothers in Arms

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…

Reconstructionist

Reconstructionist

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…

Merriman Buries Them

Merriman Buries Them

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…

What Lies Beneath…

What Lies Beneath…

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…

You Have the Right to Remain Nauseous

You Have the Right to Remain Nauseous

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…

Meridian Puts the Wind up Australians

Meridian Puts the Wind up Australians

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…

Via Satellite

Via Satellite

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…

A Toast to the “New Classics”

A Toast to the “New Classics”

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…

Little Brother

Little Brother

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…

Street Eyes

Street Eyes

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…

Lest We Forget in Troubled Times

Lest We Forget in Troubled Times

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…

Hey big spender

Hey big spender

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…

Let Them Eat Plate

Let Them Eat Plate

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…

Australasian Appeal

Australasian Appeal

“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.

The Book of Fame (and fortune) for Lloyd Jones

The Book of Fame (and fortune) for Lloyd Jones

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…

The singing accountant

The singing accountant

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…

Hart Food

Hart Food

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…

Believe the Hype

Believe the Hype

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.

Owens Takes Top Title

Owens Takes Top Title

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…

Songbird flees her cage

Songbird flees her cage

“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…

Owens Squashes the Competition

Owens Squashes the Competition

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.

Telecom Top Performer

Telecom Top Performer

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…

Satisfaction Guaranteed

Satisfaction Guaranteed

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…

Big Ted gets bigger

Big Ted gets bigger

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 …

In high demand

In high demand

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…

Trans-Tasman Trippers

Trans-Tasman Trippers

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…

“What a Beauty”

“What a Beauty”

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…

Corporate Edge Makes Global Player

Corporate Edge Makes Global Player

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…

The Big Break-up

The Big Break-up

“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…

“Great Things Come Out of Splendid Isolation.”

“Great Things Come Out of Splendid Isolation.”

“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…

Behind the scenes

Behind the scenes

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.”…

Scene-stealing scenery

Scene-stealing scenery

“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…

Sun Sets on “The People’s Horse”

Sun Sets on “The People’s Horse”

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…

Sex in the City (of Sails)

Sex in the City (of Sails)

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…

“That’s the way it is:” broadcast legend bows out

“That’s the way it is:” broadcast legend bows out

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…

Cook Sails into Prime Time

Cook Sails into Prime Time

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….

Warriors

Warriors

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…

Branson to Fly NZ’s Friendly Skies?

Branson to Fly NZ’s Friendly Skies?

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…

Land of the Great Big Tout

Land of the Great Big Tout

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…

History Resurfaces

History Resurfaces

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…

A Believer in the Green Light

A Believer in the Green Light

“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…

Karen Walker: Back Yard High Casual

Karen Walker: Back Yard High Casual

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…

Guilt-free Fur

Guilt-free Fur

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…

“Land of the Long White Run”

“Land of the Long White Run”

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.

Ashes to Ashes

Ashes to Ashes

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…

Gold, Silver and Bronze Fern

Gold, Silver and Bronze Fern

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…

Pacific Protest

Pacific Protest

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,…

NZ Press-ganged In The Australian

NZ Press-ganged In The Australian

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…

Gondwanaland Farming Co.

Gondwanaland Farming Co.

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…

Where Are the Kingswoods?

Where Are the Kingswoods?

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…

iEdge

iEdge

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…

Dial M for Mambo

Dial M for Mambo

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…

Poi Eh?

Poi Eh?

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….