Tag Archives: Guardian (The)

Professor Roy Crawford

Professor Roy Crawford

The Guardian attributes Professor Roy Crawford leaving Queen’s University Belfast to take up the post of Vice Chancellor at Waikato University to NZ’s current It status: “Oh, Australia must be annoyed. For centuries it’s been top dog…

Overnight Express to the Edge

Overnight Express to the Edge

NZ was named Favourite Long-haul Destination in the Guardian and Observer’s annual People’s Choice Awards, for the third time in the past four years. NZ topped the poll with 96.8% of the vote, beating Peru, Australia, and…

Grant Works His Magic

Grant Works His Magic

Malcolm Grant – former Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge University, now Provost of University College London – profiled in the Guardian. UCL’s retiring professor of English, John Sutherland, noted his ‘impeccable academic pedigree’ (Grant is a lawyer and…

RNZB Romances Britain

RNZB Romances Britain

The Royal NZ Ballet production of Romeo and Juliet – helmed by star British choreographer Christopher Hampson – has received glowing reviews in the UK press. Guardian: “The NZ dancers are terrifically…

Up Close and Personal

Up Close and Personal

Kaikoura features in the Guardian‘s top ten whale-watching tours around the world. “Head to for an excellent chance of seeing 66-foot sperm whales … humpbacks whales, killer whales (orca), and the small Hectors dolphin, a…

The Wright Stuff

The Wright Stuff

John Wright led India to a historic Test series win against traditional rivals Pakistan – the side’s first on Pakistani soil. The former NZ player is the first non-Indian to coach the national cricket team. …

“the Most Influential American Criminologist of His Time”

“the Most Influential American Criminologist of His Time”

Pioneering criminologist and novelist, Norval Morris, has died in Chicago aged 80. Born in Auckland, Morris studied in Australia, France, and England before embarking on his 30-year academic career at the University of Chicago…

A Sporting Life

A Sporting Life

NZ-born BBC sports producer and director, Malcolm Kemp, has died aged 57 of cancer. Kemp’s illustrious career saw him executive produce seven Grand Nationals, the 1994 football World Cup and 1996 European Cup, and…

Giant Kauri Tragically Felled

Giant Kauri Tragically Felled

NZ mourns the loss of its preeminent cultural historian, Michael King. The author of 34 books – including the groundbreaking autobiographical work Being Pakeha and acclaimed biographies of Dame Whina Cooper, Hone Tuwhare, and…

Brothers in arts

Brothers in arts

An opinion piece in the Age asks: “Why don’t Australian and New Zealand arts sectors cooperate more?” The lengthy article examines the difference between the two nations in regards to arts funding, profiles the…

“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…

Edge Hero Brought to Life

Edge Hero Brought to Life

Ernest Rutherford takes centre stage in Irish writer Brian Cathcart’s latest book, The Fly in the Cathedral: How a small group of Cambridge scientists won the race to split the atom. Rutherford is described…

Perkins on Gee

Perkins on Gee

Regular Guardian contributor, Emily Perkins, gives a glowing review of compatriot Maurice Gee’s latest novel, The Scornful Moon. Perkins describes the tale of a struggling detective fiction writer working during the political upheaval of…

Edge Adventuress

Edge Adventuress

NZer Natalie McComb is the only woman in a crew of seven rafters aiming to sail the length of the Nile – a 4,200-mile journey from Uganda’s Lake Victoria to the Mediterranean which has never before…

The High Life

The High Life

The opening in March of NZ’s first and only luxury alpine retreat – the Whare Kea Chalet – rates a mention in both the Guardian and  Observer. Guests reach the chalet via a “dazzling” 15…

Beyond the humble bach

Beyond the humble bach

The Guardian explores NZ’s high-end bach culture, with profiles of such luxurious rentals as the Glasshouse on Waiheke Island, Oceania II and Villa Toscana Lodge on the Coromandel Peninsula, and the Hawke’s Bay’s Tom’s…

How Much do I Love Thee? Let Me Count the Ways…

How Much do I Love Thee? Let Me Count the Ways…

The Guardian asks LotR cast members to explain their widely publicised admiration for NZ. Billy Boyd (Pippin): “The land feels new; it feels like what Scotland might have been like a few million years…

Sleeping Outside the Square

Sleeping Outside the Square

The Hotel off the Square in Christchurch featured in the Guardian‘s ‘What’s Hot’ travel section. “The Hotel off the Square … proclaims itself a ‘hotel with attitude’ with 38 rooms decorated in a quirky style. The most quirky…

Rings-led Revolution

Rings-led Revolution

“New Zealand has had a day like no other”. The world premiere of The Return of the King in Wellington outshone all expectations, with a 100,000+ crowd lining the route of the spectacular…

Colonial bad girl

Colonial bad girl

Claire Tomalin reminisces about the fascinating subject of her 1987 biography, Katherine Mansfield: A Secret Life. “Mansfield has often been seen as one of the bad girls of literature. And it’s true that she…

Armchair kayaking

Armchair kayaking

Chris Duff won the history/biography section of Britain’s National Outdoor Book Awards with Southern Exposure: A Solo Sea Kayaking Journey Around New Zealand’s South Island.

Southern Exposure

Southern Exposure

Guardian writer takes one of NZ’s iconic road trips: the State Highway 73 from Christchurch to Greymouth, across the Southern Alps. “The road begins to climb sharply, and in just a few miles, via a series of…

A World in Pictures

A World in Pictures

British photojournalist, Joan Wakelin, died on September 23 aged 75. Wakelin is best known for her images of Sri Lankan boat-people, Australian Aboriginal and NZ Maori communities; the latter with which she had a special connection. She…

Seeds of Discontent

Seeds of Discontent

The controversial lifting of a 2-year moratorium on genetically modified crop trials in NZ has been covered extensively by the Guardian, BBC, and Wired. The issue is a divisive one in a country reliant…

Let’s Talk About Sex

Let’s Talk About Sex

“Jane Campion has made an incredibly sexy movie, and she knows it.” Further cinematic exploration along the edge of the erotic, In the Cut debuted at September’s Toronto Film Festival, stirring up as much…

Suffr-edge-ettes Applauded

Suffr-edge-ettes Applauded

Guardian feature on the campaign for women’s suffrage in Kuwait notes NZ’s status as the first country in the world to grant their female citizens the right to vote – in 1893. Australian women waited until…

No worries for Wunderkid

No worries for Wunderkid

Dunedin-born baritone, Jonathan Lemalu, is soon to make his Royal Opera House debut as Zoroastro in Handel’s Orlando. Described by the Guardian as “ the next Bryn Terfel,” his career has skyrocketed since graduating…

Sweet as

Sweet as

NZ soprano Hayley Westenra is the voice behind the fastest selling debut classical record of all time in UK history. Pure has outstripped albums by Pavarotti, Charlotte Church and Andrea Bocelli, with nearly 20,000…

Brian Bows Out

Brian Bows Out

BBC stalwart, Brian Perkins, has resigned from his post at Radio 4, ending a news-reading career spanning 4 decades. The Guardian describes the resignation of NZ-born broadcaster as a loss: “Perkins’ voice has come…

Pacific Powerhouse

Pacific Powerhouse

NZ’s Pacific Retail Group has purchased PowerHouse, the third largest electrical retailer in Britain. PRG is NZ’s major player in electrical appliances, with Noel Leeming, Big Byte and Bond & Bond all operating under its umbrella….

Aquada, Bond Aquada, 0064

Aquada, Bond Aquada, 0064

International media attention was lavished on The Thames, London, for the launch of NZ-entrepreneur Alan Gibb’s revolutionary Aquada (inspired by inventor Terry Roycroft’s design innovations). The James Bond-style sports vehicle with the amphibian edge can reach up to…

Move over Norah

Move over Norah

Guardian critic has an “utterly magical” experience watching Bic Runga perform live in London. ” she is desperately beautiful and has a…

“Kiwi Babe-magnet” Gets Top Billing

“Kiwi Babe-magnet” Gets Top Billing

New Zealander Zane Lowe is to host one of Britain’s highest rating shows – the evening slot on BBC‘s Radio One. Radio One controller Andy Parfitt: “Zane is one of the most exciting presenters…

Scoop: the hard news

Scoop: the hard news

Wellington independent new-media news agency Scoop again makes international headlines for its principled media coverage. The Guardian applauds the “fiercely independent news agency’s” boldness during the recent Iraq war: “For several months, Scoop…

Wellington wordsmiths mash it up

Wellington wordsmiths mash it up

Wellington authors Damien Wilkins and Elizabeth Knox have been nominated for the 2004 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. Their novels, Chemistry and Billie’s Kiss, are both in the running for a NZ$196,000 prize,…

Living Large

Living Large

New research undertaken at Auckland University suggests that the tendency towards obesity occurs in the womb, rather than as a result of our remote-control society. The findings – recently published in the American Physiological Society journal -…

Neill Keeps it Real

Neill Keeps it Real

Sam Neill features alongside Sting, Cliff Richard, and Francis Ford Coppola in a Guardian story on celebrity vineyard-owners. Neill is described as one of the more down-to-earth of the bunch, who takes an active role in the…

Edge Meets Fringe

Edge Meets Fringe

Kiwi comedy act, Flight of the Conchords, was dubbed the “unlikely hit” of this year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival by the Guardian, and narrowly missed out on the event’s prestigious top award. The satirical folk…

The everyman of pop

The everyman of pop

NZ-born pop star, Daniel Bedingfeld, shares his thoughts on friends, family, and musical inspiration in an interview with the Guardian. An artist of chameleon-like musical abilities, Bedingfeld has been likened to everyone from Craig…

Third Way Talking Points

Third Way Talking Points

PM Helen Clark discusses republicanism, Iraq, same-sex marriages, prostitution reform, and The Lord of the Rings in a forum with BBC News Online’s Talking Point. Clark was in London attending Tony Blair’s ‘Third Way’ summit – a gathering…

Return of the Native?

Return of the Native?

As Whale Rider premieres in the UK, the Guardian ponders its impact as NZ and Maori cinema, and the cultural factors at play. “longside the celebration in New Zealand’s film industry, there has also…

A Life Lived by the Sea

A Life Lived by the Sea

NZ-born WW2 hero, Sir William Crawford, has died in England aged 95. Crawford was gunnery officer and lieutenant-commander aboard the Rodney during the sinking of Germany’s great battleship, the Bismarck. His distinguished naval career also saw him…

The Magus and His Protégés

The Magus and His Protégés

“Do creative writing courses work? Judge for yourselves.” The Guardian’s literary gossip column reports on the findings of a recent NZ Listener poll naming the country’s top 10 authors under 40. Six of them…

Tried and true formula with a new direction

Tried and true formula with a new direction

An impassioned performance by The Datsuns at London’s Shepherds Bush Empire earns them (another) rave review in the Guardian. “Amid the hand-clapping, singing, and Dolf’s stage diving, Christian balances on Matt’s shoulders, both continuing…

Poetry in a Bottle

Poetry in a Bottle

Guardian wine critic, Malcolm Gluck, bestows lyrical praise on the 2002 Neudorf Sauvignon Blanc and 2000 Wither Hills Chardonnay, rating them each 16.5 and 17.5 out of 20 respectively. “Neudorf,” he says, “has the texture of…

Tali tumeke

Tali tumeke

MC Tali, Roni Size’s edge in the machine, profiled in Guardian review of the dance tent at mud/music fest Glastonbury: “The most notable is Tali, the female hotshot from New Zealand who rose to…

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…

Birkenhead Revisited?

Birkenhead Revisited?

From Sky Tower to dreaming spires: Oxford University today nominated NZer John Hood as its next vice-chancellor – the first to be chosen from outside the esteemed university in its 900-year history. Dr Hood gained an Engineering…

James treatment for Kiwi ‘boys together’ tale

James treatment for Kiwi ‘boys together’ tale

The latest play by renowned British actor and writer Lennie James – The Sons of Charlie Paora – features a group of NZ actors telling a quintessentially NZ story. Charlie Paora explores the lives…

Kiwi Wine Puts a Cork in Critics

Kiwi Wine Puts a Cork in Critics

“The idea that screw-caps are not socially acceptable is absolute nonsense. People should go by their senses, palate, and nose.” The trend-setting move by NZ winemakers in favour of screw-caps over corks is applauded by Guardian wine…

Bone people a modern classic

Bone people a modern classic

Keri Hulme’s the bone people featured in a Guardian poll of the Top 50 novels by women writers. The NZ Booker Prize winner sits alongside Alice Walker’s The Color Purple in the list of…

Third Culture Kiwi Guides Lodestar

Third Culture Kiwi Guides Lodestar

New Zealander Tim Radford (the “doyen” of UK science editors) is the Guardian‘s science editor and recently introduced their new weekly science supplement, Life. Radford has been the paper’s general science editor since 1988, as well as…

NZ Firm on Pacific Principles

NZ Firm on Pacific Principles

Drawing on NZ’s historical role in the setting up of the UN charter and as an advocate of multilateralism, Helen Clark (described as “one of Tony Blair’s closest foreign political allies”) told the Guardian that the…

Boyd baffles in London

Boyd baffles in London

The Guardian art critic admits defeat in his attempts to explain Boyd Webb’s short film – Horse and Dog – currently on show at London’s Estorick Collection. Adrian Searle: “Immune to Webb’s enigmas and…

Pavlova Paradise?

Pavlova Paradise?

Observer offers a how-to guide to buying property in NZ in its assessment of the global property market’s latest hot spot. According to their sources, “screen gods and goddesses are buying up idyllic island…

Byow! Cartoonist With Cut Through Remembered

Byow! Cartoonist With Cut Through Remembered

John Kent, well-known political cartoonist, lecturer and illustrator, died on April 13 aged 65. Born in Oamaru, Kent’s work was a familiar feature in Private Eye,  Guardian, Daily Mail, The Sun and, finally, The…