Tag Archives: Sydney Morning Herald (The)

Photonz Edges Out Global Competitors

Photonz Edges Out Global Competitors

A tiny Henderson-based company is reportedly leading the global race to extract a brain acid from algae which may offer a cure for depression. Photonz is growing micro-organisms which produce eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), one of…

Queen Mourned, King Crowned

Queen Mourned, King Crowned

The Maori Queen, Dame Te Atairangikaahu died on Tuesday 15 August aged 75 after a 40-year reign. Dame Te Atairangikaahu was the sixth monarch of the North Island tribes who formed the King movement…

Double Dose of Glacial Magic

Double Dose of Glacial Magic

A Sydney Morning Herald travel writer takes in equal parts local history and jaw-dropping natural scenery at the Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers. “Tramping, walking and hiking have long been popular pastimes in this wildly picturesque region…

Epic in More Ways than One

Epic in More Ways than One

NZ director Vincent Ward relates the harrowing experience of filming River Queen in a candid interview with the Sydney Morning Herald. Weather, illness and car crashes aside, it was lead actress Samantha Morton who…

Power Couple

Power Couple

Hamilton-born Nicole Colovos has been appointed joint design director of Helmut Lang with husband Michael, making her the first Australasian designer in history to head a major international fashion label. After fashion editing at…

Career ready for take off

Career ready for take off

Departure Lounge, the latest novel by Auckland writer Chad Taylor, has garnered praise abroad for its cool, noir aesthetics. The Sydney Morning Herald calls Taylor “impressive,” while the review by Washington Post senior critic,…

Starlet with Edge

Starlet with Edge

Kiwi actress Emily Barclay (In My Father’s Den) has the starring role in Suburban Mayhem, an Australian film currently screening at Cannes. A very black comedy, Suburban Mayhem revolves around an amoral young…

The case for the code

The case for the code

The man behind international best-seller The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown, will face a High Court action brought by the authors of the non-fictional work The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail (1982). The…

The people’s Campion

The people’s Campion

Jane Campion has been lured out of self-imposed retirement for a very worthy cause. She joins fellow directing luminaries Robert Altman, Jodie Foster and Gaspar Noe in contributing to an 8-part feature film outlining…

Keeping Up With the Kiwis 1

Keeping Up With the Kiwis 1

New Zealanders may have long been the butt of “fush and chups,” but according to Paola Totaro there are more than a few reasons New Zealand has got one over on Australia. Totaro gives several including…

Cinematic Landmark

Cinematic Landmark

Rowan Woods’ Little Fish has been dubbed “the most important film in a year that’s looking like a dramatic turnaround for Australian movies.” Kiwi actors Martin Henderson, Sam Neill and Joel Tobeck…

Kyoto Protocol a “Feelgood Gimmick”

Kyoto Protocol a “Feelgood Gimmick”

Meanwhile, SMH columnist Miranda Devine says “Our Kiwi neighbours, once smug about ecological superiority, face a cost blow-out from the treaty exceeding $NZ1 billion ($900 million). The farcical result is that even though the country produces only…

Shark Attack

Shark Attack

“More than 14,000 fans screamed along to anthems from the Split Enz and Crowded House song books. There was no doubting the brothers’ enduring relevance with songs from their latest album Everyone is Here…

Norris Ready for Take Off

Norris Ready for Take Off

Ralph Norris is leaving the helm at Air NZ to return to banking as managing director and CEO of Australia’s Commonwealth Bank. Norris is credited with turning Air NZ’s fortunes around. “Air NZ’s financial position has never…

Heavenly Creatures

Heavenly Creatures

The Royal NZ Ballet impresses critics with its first foray into Sydney. The Herald reviewer is particularly taken with the show’s titular piece, A Million Kisses to My Skin. “I suspect that the…

Frock Stars

Frock Stars

NZ designers made one of their strongest showings yet at this year’s Mercedes Australian Fashion Week. Sales for NZ’s top brands were well up, with Kate Sylvester now believed to be Myer’s highest designer…

War at Gallipoli Re-activated

War at Gallipoli Re-activated

Peter Jackson and Wellington special effects edge-busters Weta Digital have used their expertise to restore the only film taken of the Anzacs at Gallipoli. The Lord of the Rings director has restored the film to the original…

Forecast: International Sales

Forecast: International Sales

Raglan’s ASR Marine Consulting and Research has created a new computer-based program to predict long wave conditions, in what the company claims is a world first. The forecasting system was developed to help client Port Taranaki better…

New Wave Jazz

New Wave Jazz

Acclaimed Kiwi pianist Aron Ottignon launched his debut album, Culture Tunnels, with band Aronas in April. Inspired by Pacific log drumming, the Aronas sound is an innovative take on acoustic jazz. Sydney Morning Herald:…

Woolly Windfall

Woolly Windfall

The NZ Merino Wool Company has won a 7 year contract valued at approximately $NZ40 million to supply U.S apparel manufacturers SmartWool. SmartWool, whose chief business is in outdoor clothing and accessories, recently signed a deal with…

Gallipoli: All Guts, No Glory

Gallipoli: All Guts, No Glory

Chief of the New Zealand Defence Force, Air Marshal Bruce Ferguson, in his address at Anzac Cove marking the 90th anniversary of the landing there of New Zealand and Australian soldiers, said that there was no glory in…

A House Less Crowded

A House Less Crowded

March 26 saw the tragic death by suicide of drummer Paul Hester,  Melbourne-born member of seminal NZ bands Split Enz and Crowded House. “We all knew him as an effervescent, vivacious fireball of talent,” said soul singer Renee…

WORLD Comes to Sydney

WORLD Comes to Sydney

WORLD is set to bring a splash of their trademark colour to Sydney’s Oxford Street, with the opening of a new flagship store there in March.

Headlining Act

Headlining Act

Neil Dawson’s Fanfare sculpture provided the focal point for Sydney’s famous New Year celebrations. The 20m steel sphere, studded with more than 300 light reflective pinwheels, was suspended from the Harbour Bridge in the…

Signed and Sealed

Signed and Sealed

The passing of the Civil Union Bill, giving gay and lesbian couples legal recognition in NZ, made headlines around the world. “It is just a fantastic day for us,” said Christians for Civil Union member Margaret Mayman…

Shoo Fly, Don’t Bother Me

Shoo Fly, Don’t Bother Me

Massey University scientists have teamed up with the Centre for Environmental Stress and Adaptation Research at the University of Melbourne to decipher the genetic code of the dreaded Aussie blowfly. The study hopes to find a successful…

Battle of the Titans

Battle of the Titans

Fonterra has made a formal takeover bid for Australian conglomerate, National Foods, earning it the title “NZ moo-nopolist” in the Sydney Morning Herald. The super-company already owns Australian brands Bega, Western Star, Bodalla, Perfect Italiano and Peters…

Down Under cowboy

Down Under cowboy

Keith Urban took out the Best Male Vocalist category at this year’s Country Music Association awards in Nashville. Urban was the surprise winner in an all-star American field, which included Alan Jackson, George…

Melancholy Masterpiece

Melancholy Masterpiece

The Australian mainstream release of In My Father’s Den has seen writer/director Brad McGann dubbed “NZ’s answer to Ken Loach.” Features in the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age focus on…

Mane attraction

Mane attraction

Turanga Merito has officially assumed the lead in Sydney’s The Lion King, taking over from close friend and fellow Kiwi, Vincent Harder. The 20-year-old from Rotorua studied for a Bachelor of Performing Arts at…

Mind the Gap

Mind the Gap

The Herald ran a lengthy feature on trans-Tasman cultural differences prior to the Australian elections, claiming that “geologically, the land masses are creeping together again. However, all other evidence points the other way.” According to the writer,…

A Kiwifruit a Day…

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…

Is This Mike On?

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…

Riding High

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…

Chisholm to Packer

Chisholm to Packer

New Zealand-born media supremo Sam Chisholm has resigned as a Director of Telstra to join Kerry Packer’s media group PBL. Chisholm, 64, retains his chairmanship of Foxtel. He was head of Nine in Australia…

Back from the Brink and Here to Stay

Back from the Brink and Here to Stay

The Herald profiles NZ’s master business tactician, Burns Philip head Graeme Hart. “Were it not for Mr Hart’s charm and reputation for ego-free business dealings, it would be easy to mistake that supreme confidence for arrogance. He…

Ferns End 15-year Drought

Ferns End 15-year Drought

The Silver Ferns crushed traditional rivals Australia in a historic 3-0 series win – their first clean sweep against Australia since 1989. The Ferns won the final match 53-46, after trailing for much of the game. Australian…

Fashion’s High Fliers

Fashion’s High Fliers

Air NZ has launched a much-needed overhaul of its flight attendants’ uniforms (last updated in 1991), with Elisabeth and Neville Findlay of Zambesi at the helm. The airline was recently announced as the new…

Far and Away

Far and Away

A team of NZ and Japanese astronomers at Mount John Observatory have discovered Earth’s most distant planetary neighbour. The planet – which is about the size of Jupiter – was located 17,000 light years away, in the…

Lest We Forget

Lest We Forget

Russell Crowe provided the narration for a “ground-breaking” documentary series on Anzac soldiers, recently aired on NZ television and screening in Australia later this year. The series celebrates the bond between NZ and Australian soldiers, from WW1 to…

Star on the rise

Star on the rise

14-year-old Wellington performer Letitia Forbes has a starring role in the latest production by Cirque de Soleil – Quidam. An accomplished singer and actress, Forbes plays the central character of Zoe. The show is…

Down Under Distillery on Top

Down Under Distillery on Top

The international success of NZ’s 42BELOW vodka has dealt big brand owners “a hard lesson in what not to do when wooing a global consumer tribe of super groovers with money to burn.” 42BELOW has joined Grey…

World Gender Role

World Gender Role

Amanda Ellis –  formerly head of women’s banking for Westpac Australia – now has a global role leading the World Bank’s work on gender in Private Sector Development. Ms Ellis also serves on the OECD’s international…

“The New Zealand Native Who Helped Open the Door to the Stars”

“The New Zealand Native Who Helped Open the Door to the Stars”

17 March 2004 – William Pickering, one of the leading figures in US space exploration, died of pneumonia in California aged 92.  A graduate of Canterbury University and the California Institute of Technology, Wellington-born…

Belated Honour for White Mouse

Belated Honour for White Mouse

3 March 2004 – Nancy Wake, the most decorated female veteran of WW2, was made a Companion of the Order of Australia on March 3. Born in NZ and raised in Australia, Wake was a leading…

Kiwi Content for Oscars Loot

Kiwi Content for Oscars Loot

This year’s official Oscars goodie-bag – handed out to every presenter, performer and nominee – included a trip for two to NZ, with accommodation at Treetops Luxury Lodge & Estate in Rotorua. With recipients including Julia Roberts,…

Just in Case You Missed That One..

Just in Case You Missed That One..

The Return of the King picked up yet another prize en route to the Oscars; Best International Film at the inaugural Directors Guild of Great Britain awards.  

Talking Turkey

Talking Turkey

Evolutionary biologists at Auckland University have made ivory tower headlines by providing compelling evidence of the origins of the Indo-European language family. Associate Professor Russell Gray and PhD student Quentin Atkinson applied a complex computer program modelled…

More Glowing PJ Praise

More Glowing PJ Praise

Sydney Morning Herald awestruck by the premiere, wonders how PJ managed to pull off “the trilogy of a lifetime” Operatic high praise from The New Yorker who credits the trilogy with reviving “the…

Metal, Opera, and All that Jaz

Metal, Opera, and All that Jaz

Jaz Coleman – the legendary “madman” behind British industrial rock band, Killing Joke, and a recently naturalised Kiwi (“It’s not safe to have a British or Australian passport, anyway, these days.”) – held court…

McCahon’s Edgy New-world Modernism

McCahon’s Edgy New-world Modernism

Peter Hill’s review of the Stedilijk Museum’s Colin McCahon exhibition – now showing in Sydney – perfectly encapsulates the New Zealand Edge. “Enough time has passed for a shift between the centre and the…

A day like no other

A day like no other

Alone It Stands, John Breen’s play about the infamous 1978 All Black loss to Irish club Munster, ran at Sydney’s Opera House Drama Theatre during the Rugby World Cup – not on match nights,…

Beware the Shaky Isles

Beware the Shaky Isles

The grim travel warning issued for NZ by Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has caused derision on both sides of the Tasman. According to the DFAT, NZ is a terrorist target located on a hot-bed…

Get Real

Get Real

Brent Hansen, NZ-born MTV Europe chief executive, criticises the current obsession with ready-made pop stars epitomised by hit reality Television show, American/Australian Idol: “These programs make good TV but from a musical point of…

Gracious in their Success

Gracious in their Success

As their compatriots continue to climb the ranks in Hollywood  think Nicole Kidman, Geoffrey Rush, Naomi Watts, and Hugh Jackman  the Australian public has decided to toss a few honorary countrymen back…

Kiwis Tie Down Kangaroos

Kiwis Tie Down Kangaroos

The Kiwis convincingly defeated the Australian Kangaroos with a rousing 30-16 victory in a rugby league test at North Harbour Stadium in Auckland. Led by the hat-trick of tries by Clinton Toopi (a trans-Tasman record) and another…