Clement’s Celestial Chevalier
Wellington Conchord Jemaine Clement takes on the role of fantasy novelist Dr Ronald Chevalier in teen comedy Gentlemen Broncos, a film created by Napolean Dynamite’s Jared Hess to be released in 2009. According…
Tag Archives: Wellington
Oriental’s Ohtel
Wellington’s latest accommodation option, the 10-room boutique Ohtel, is ‘Hotel of the Week’ in The Independent on Sunday. Situated on Oriental Parade, a wooden Victorian house was removed to give the Ohtel its central…
21st century renewal
Wellington’s Waitangi Park – transformed in a collaboration between landscape architects Wraight & Associates and Athfield Architects – combines environmentally-sound urban redevelopment with recreation, and includes water purifying ponds, man-made wetlands and a concrete…
Rogue takes orders
Wellington actress Anna Paquin, 25, will star as Sookie Stackhouse in HBO drama True Blood, to air in the US in September. Paquin, who won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in Jane…
Portable stories
Wellington production company Gibson Group’s made-for-mobile drama series My Story has been purchased by French conglomerate Lagardère Group from ohm:tv, a Cologne-based developer and distributer of TV formats, programmes and mobile phone content. Produced…
Leap for Frogkind
Thirteen tiny, and extremely rare, Maud Island froglets have been spotted at Wellington’s Karori Wildlife Sanctuary hitching a ride on the back of a fully grown male. Researcher Kerri Lukis said the frogs have…
Good morning Beijing
NZ journalist Edwin Maher, the first Western news anchor on Chinese state television, has received China’s highest honour for foreigners. Maher was awarded the Chinese government’s “Friendship Award” in a ceremony at the Great…
Beckham Fever Hits Wellington
David Beckham‘s Australasian tour with the LA Galaxy was a resounding success for NZ soccer. A record crowd of 31,853 turned up to see the Galaxy play newly minted NZ side the Wellington Phoenix at…
The Post-industrial Revolution
Wellington-based Ponoko is one of a wave of new companies offering personalised product manufacturing services online. Founded by David ten Have and Derek Elley, the Ponoko website lets customers upload designs for cases and enclosures…
Humanitarian World Title
NZ charity SurfAid International has won the 27 Humanitarian Award at the World Association of Non-Governmental Organizations (WANGO) awards in Toronto. SurfAid International was founded by Wellingtonian Dr Dave Jenkins in 2, to improve…
A Diamond in the Rough
A little-known NZ rugby book has received critical acclaim in the UK. Inside French Rugby: Confessions of a Kiwi Mercenary offers an insight into author John Daniell’s experiences as a professional player, and is described…
Life in the Crosshairs
Man Booker nominee Lloyd Jones talks up his home town of Wellington in a travel article for The Times. He describes the city’s world-famous wind as a source of both embarrassment and pride for its citizens….
Hidden Treasures and Rugged Escapades
The London Times ran two travel articles on NZ last weekend. The first asked past and present All Blacks Richie McCaw, Anton Oliver, Reuben Thorne, Tana Umaga and Sean Fitzpatrick to “divulge their secret hot spots”….
Hot Pick for Virgin Media
Wellington-born Neil Berkett is widely expected to be made chief executive of Virgin Media. Berkett joined Virgin Media as chief operating officer in 2005 and has been acting chief executive of the company since the abrupt departure…
Game On
Wellington-based Sidhe Interactive is the creative brains behind Jackass: The Game, released in the US by Red Mile Entertainment and MTV Games on September 26. The company hopes it will sell over a million copies,…
Two-time World Record Holder
Wellington freediver Dave Mullins has set a new world record by swimming 244m underwater in a single breath. The 26-year-old broke his own record of two days prior by 18m during an international…
Taipei Gold Rush
NZ athletes have won seven gold, one silver and two bronze medals at the 2007 IWAS World Wheelchair and Amputee Games in Taipei, Taiwan. Christchurch swimmer Sophie Pascoe topped the medal haul, winning four gold medals…
Designing Women
New Zealand Herald writer Fiona Hawtin reports on the unique nature of the NZ fashion scene for the International Herald Tribune. “Of the 45 labels showing at the seventh New Zealand Fashion Week ……
Keeper Scores ManU Tryout
NZ soccer goalkeeper Jacob Gleeson flies to England next month to trial for two major Premier League clubs. The 17-year-old Wellingtonian so impressed scouts at the U-17 World Cup in South Korea last month that he secured…
Castaway tales from edge of the world
The latest book by Wellington maritime historian Joan Druett uses personal memoirs to recount two very different survival stories on the Auckland Islands, 500km south of NZ. Island of the Lost: Shipwrecked on the…
Design Mobel Goes Global
Tauranga bed and furniture maker Design Mobel has launched the first of its Okooko global concept stores in Wellington and Hong Kong, with more to follow in the US later this year. Okooko stores integrate award…
Humane and Humorous
Wellington-born character actor Gordon Gostelow has died aged 82. Raised in Sydney, Gostelow immigrated to the UK in 1950 to pursue acting professionally. The classic BBC serial became a staple of his career, and…
Tech Blogger’s Global Reach
Lower Hutt is home to the world’s 28th most popular blog. Richard MacManus’s Read/Write Web, a social networking site devoted to Web 2.0 issues, receives around 25,000 page views a day. “It takes a lot…
Balibo Deaths Back in Spotlight
The 1975 deaths of two Australian, two British and a New Zealand journalist in Balibo, East Timor, are back in the political spotlight after a Sydney inquest found conclusive evidence of deliberate murder and…
Xero on the Money
A NZ online accounting software company has won the inaugural International Technium Challenge, a business planning competition sponsored by International Business Wales. Wellington-based Xero beat 19 entries from five other countries, winning the opportunity to open…
Travelling in the reel
Adam Hartzell, a writer for US film blog Daily Greencine, “travels, reads, watches and sips his way through NZ”. On his five-day tour he (ironically) attends the Latin American Film Festival in Wellington, the…
Matterhorn Among World’s Best
Wellington institution the Matterhorn has been named one of the world’s top five bars by respected US trade magazine, Bartender. The Cuba St local was ranked fifth behind Milk & Honey (London), Salvatore…
Phoenix on the Rise
A Wellington-based franchise is to replace Auckland’s NZ Knights in the Australian A-League soccer competition beginning in August. Wellington Phoenix will be the eighth team in the 2007-2008 series, which runs for 21 rounds up until next…
New Era in Online Advertising
NZ internet entrepreneurs Firstlight are emerging as world leaders in online advertising with their Editorial Related Advertising (E|R|A) programme. With offices in Bangalore (content support), New York (sales) and Wellington (research and development), Firstlight have developed what…
Food to Match the Location
Wellington restaurant Martin Bosley’s features in a guide to the Pacific region by the New York Times. Research for the guide was conducted by leading US travel authority Frommers. “Previously reserved as the…
Monster Haul
A NZ fishing crew has caught an adult colossal squid, one of the world’s most aggressive and mysterious predators. The 450kg monster, with eyes the size of dinner plates and razor-sharp hooks on its tentacles, is the…
Black Caps Victorious
Three famous victories in a row have seen the Black Caps complete a “black-wash” of the world champion Australians and claim the Chappell-Hadlee series. Over a period of six days the Black Caps broke a number of…
Text Polling a Hit in US
Auckland mobile marketing company Txstation has established a strong presence in the US, providing real-time audience polling for the National Basketball Association, Fox News and the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Txtstation’s technology allows broadcasters and event organisers to ask…
New Zealander of the Year
Wellington architect Jonathan Rennie was named New Zealander of the Year at the annual NZ Society Waitangi Day dinner in London. The award recognises an outstanding contribution by a NZ or British national…
“A Country Waiting to be Explored”
South Africa’s Cape Times features a travel special on NZ, with a focus on Auckland and Wellington. ” is not difficult to see what makes NZ attractive, both as a holiday destination and a potential new…
Morgan Trades Up
TradeMe founder Sam Morgan was profiled in the February issue of Australian Financial Review Boss magazine. In 1999, the then 23-year-old Wellingtonian launched NZ’s e-commerce success story, which was recently purchased by Fairfax for $AU 625 million….
Silver Lining for OpenCloud
Wellington telecommunications support firm OpenCloud has raised US$10.25 million in funding from Advent Venture Partners (London), No 8 Ventures (NZ) and Motorola Ventures (US). The funding will be used to expand the company’s international interests, which include…
Wellington: City on the Rise
Wellington has been named one of 10 world cities “on the rise” by the editors of Lonely Planet. The capital is described as “one of the world’s cold-yet-cultural cities … more beautiful than Seattle or Melbourne” in…
No Such Thing as Waste
A NZ company has stunned international researchers by successfully developing a fuel which blends petrol with organic waste. The Aquaflow Bionomic Corporation’s breakthrough bio-diesel is made up of 95% petrol and 5% liquid squeezed from algae grown…
A Life Behind the Lens
Filmmaker, writer and photographer John Patrick Feeney has died in Wellington aged 84. Born in Ngaruawahia and educated at Victoria University, Feeney served as a lieutenant in the Royal NZ Naval Reserve during World…
Cool New Attraction
NZ is making another quality addition to its roll call of tourist attractions with the development of a state-of-the-art glacier museum on the South Island’s west coast. The NZ$6.5 million Hukawai Franz Josef Glacier…
Kiwis Fly in Wellington
Putting a week of controversy behind them, the Kiwi rugby league team put the English away in emphatic style over the weekend 34-4 at Wellington’s Stadium. The result puts pressure on England, who must now win…
Bring on the Sheep Jokes…
Following a rousing reception at this year’s Toronto Film Festival, NZ film Black Sheep has sparked a “bidding frenzy” amongst distributors in Asia, Latin America and Europe. The film was recently acquired by IFC…
Living the Good Life
Auckland and Wellington came fifth and twelfth respectively in the 2006 World’s Most Liveable Cities list, published by Mercer Human Resource Consulting. The top four spots went to Zurich, Geneva, Vancouver and…
Beautiful on the Inside Too
Novelist Emily Perkins points out the lesser-known urban pleasures to be found in her NZ homeland in a travel feature for the Observer. It is the latest in a line of “yes, but…” travel features on NZ,…
Former AB and Famous Father
Former All Black Brian Fitzpatrick has died aged 75. A sturdily built five eigths, Fitzpatrick was a strong runner and tackler. He made two tours with All Black sides in the early…
Lord Cooke of Thorndon: A Legal Great
Robin Brunskill Cooke, NZ’s most renowned jurist, has died aged 80. Educated at Wellington’s Victoria University and Caius College at Cambridge, Robin Cooke made his reputation early on with a high profile libel case…
Not Just a Pretty Face
The Guardian urges travellers to make time for NZ’s urban centres, as well as its world-famous mountains, fjords and forests: “There are some excellent attractions, delicious restaurants, cool harbourside bars and an interesting architectural history if you…
Wellington a Global Talent Magnet
A Cato Unbound essay by Richard Florida – The Future of the American Workforce in the Global Creative Economy – uses the Peter Jackson led Wellington film studios as an example of “a profound shift in…
The Deal’s Not Just Big, it’s Massive
New York based company, Massive Inc, of which Wellingtonian Claudia Batten is a part owner, has been sold to Microsoft for up to $US 400 million. Founded four years ago, Massive Inc pioneered a…
Badge of Gold for Nancy Wake
Wellington-born Nancy Wake, 94, now living in a London rest home, has been awarded the NZ Returned Services Association’s highest honour, the RSA Badge in Gold, as well as life membership for her work…
Buy-now Price $700 Million
John Fairfax Holdings has bought New Zealand internet auction site Trade Me for $700 million. What started as one young Wellingtonian looking to buy a second-hand heater to warm his drafty Mount Victoria flat in…
Lord of the Dance
Wellington born Kristian Fredrikson, one of the most celebrated theater and dance designers in New Zealand and Australia has died in a Sydney Hospital of complications from pneumonia at the age of 65. His career began in Wellington…
Underwater Drawcard
Wellington is adding shipwreck diving to its list of harbour-side activities, with the scuttling of a decommissioned NZ Navy frigate off Tapa Te Rangu Island. The F69 frigate is currently moored at Taranaki Wharf and will be…
WoWing the Crowds
The 2005 World of Wearable Art (WoW) show – the first to be held in Wellington rather than Nelson – was a huge success, with a record-breaking 30,000 tickets purchased for the event. The show is widely…
The New Wave
Two NZ companies made international business magazine Red Herring‘s vaunted “Top 100 Private Companies in Asia” list for 2005. Esphion and Argent Networks, both based in Auckland, are rated as companies which could significantly…
