Archive >> June 2003

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….

Sing Bravo Bravo

Whale Rider praise swells in both broadsheet and tabloid reviews on its UK premiere. Daily Telegraph: “Bereft of name actors, supersaturated colours and egregious product placements, it shows…

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…

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…

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…

Burning Down the House?

NZ’s early prosperity was said to have been borne on the sheep’s back – now they’re threatening to power us into the 21st Century: NZ’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority has hit upon…

Home Away From Home

A proposal to build the first functioning marae in America has been put forward by Maori citizens of Lehi, Utah. The state has one of the highest ratios of NZers per…

Bio-dynamic Man

Winemaker James Milton represented NZ at a tasting of bio-dynamic wines at the Vinexpo trade fair in Gironde, France. Bio-dynamic producers are distinguished from the “merely organic” in that they use a…

Starship Enterprise

NZ has notched up its second consecutive win at the annual International Enterprise Olympics with an innovative touchy feely concept – ‘Sense’: a braille fastfood menu (“food from your fingertips”). The international…

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…

Fagan Wields His Golden Shears

Legendary NZ shearer David Fagan earned his fifth world title before a crowd of 3,000 at Scotland’s MacRobert Theatre. Fagan’s de-fleecing of 20 sheep in 14 minutes 51 seconds reportedly created “a…

Kiwi ads bug Cannes

Kiwi ad agencies excelled at last month’s International Advertising Festival in Cannes. Grey Worldwide Auckland won the Outdoor Grand Prix for its innovative insect-eye-view Kiwicare bug spray campaign and…

Miss Speaker …

Georgie Girl – the award-winning documentary on transsexual NZ MP Georgina Beyer – screened on American public television last month as part of the acclaimed Point of View (POV) documentary series….

Glamour Girls

A photographic exhibition by NZ artist Fiona Clark is creating a stir at Sydney’s Mori Gallery. Go Girl – a series of portraits of NZ’s transgender and transvestite community…

Hi-tech NZ

NZ was named 6th most high-tech nation in an annual survey by the IDC/World Times Information Society Index. The list – topped by Sweden, Denmark, and the Netherlands – ranks 55…

The many faces of Cliff Curtis

Tribune feature on Cliff Curtis tracks his career trajectory from Once Were Warriors to Whale Rider. While the two movies appear vastly different in subject and style, Curtis is…

Scotsman Sees Red

Scotsman feature ‘Best of the Summer Wine’ adds some body to their list with the 1999 Palliser Pinot Noir. Wine critic Rose Murray Brown: “One of New Zealand’s best attempts at…

Scientists Ruminate on Ruminants

NZ scientists have joined the fight to save the planet – from methane. The gas produced by ruminants (cud-chewing animals) is one of the leading causes of global warming, well ahead…

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…

The Design of Cultural Identity

The design of cultural identity; the brand state; the dream thing. These are significant areas for discussion. I have definite points of view, and I appreciate the opportunity to…

NZ Ups the Anti

NZ joined the first wave of countries to sign the United Nations anti-tobacco treaty on June 16. The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control aims to curb tobacco advertising and sponsorship, limit the…

Laga’aia Lionised

NZ performers feature strongly in Sydney’s highly anticipated production of The Lion King. Vincent Harde plays the lead role of Simba, with Water Rats star Jay Laga’aia as his…

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…

Mita takes pride of place

Maori filmmaker Merata Mita was the star guest at Montreal’s 13th First Peoples’ Festival last month – a celebration of the world’s aboriginal cultures. The Cinematheque Quebecoise held a…

Edge Location: Best in Show

A personal navigation system produced by NZ company, Navman, topped the Herald‘s list of best inventions at Sydney’s Consumer Electronics and Entertainment exhibition. The handheld device uses GPS satellite tracking technology…

Seriously comic

The Weekend Australian profiles NZ-born and Ilam (University of Canterbury) trained graphic artist Colin Wilson. Virtually unknown in the antipodes Wilson has millions of avid overseas fans and…

Lady Ngila

“The costume designer deserves a knighthood.” Award-winning Kiwi costumier, Ngila Dickson, receives nameless praise in Empire magazine for her “impressive rendering of 19th century Japan” in previews of Tom…

Henwood plays Burton

Welsh-Wellingtonian actor, Ray Henwood, thrilled Melbourne audiences with his portrayal of theatre legend Richard Burton, in Mark Jenkins’ Playing Burton. The Age: “Henwood’s fine performance, beautifully paced, movingly builds…

Serious as anything

NZ-born Mambo creative and ex-Mental as Anything guitarist Reg Mombassa turns his satiric talents to serious effect for Isle of Refuge, a show of 13 high-profile Australian artists protesting the…

Richard’s rocky road

Rocky Horror man, Richard O’Brien, interviewed about life and love in the Times. The weekly column – ‘Love etc’ – invites celebrities to divulge how different relationships have shaped…

That’ll be 2 Gandalfs and a Bilbo, thanks

A series of Lord of the Rings collectors’ coins will be legal tender in NZ by 2004. The gold, silver and cupro-nickel coins are to be struck by the…

One Up for Moby

A landmark decision by the International Whaling Commission in Berlin is being hailed as a step in the right direction by “what was once a whaler’s club.” The ‘Berlin Initiative’ – proposed…

Welding the past

Auto da Fay, Fay Weldon’s memoirs spanning her NZ upbringing and early adulthood in London, reviewed in the New York Times. “You hesitate to label Auto da Fay -…

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,…

Leading Lights and Walk-overs

NZ wines rate highly in Tim Atkin’s list of ‘summer corkers’ at their peak of drinkability. 2002 Villa Maria Private Bin Sauvignon Blanc: “I’ve never tasted a better vintage of this…

An angel at his table

Actress Kerry Fox interviewed in the Observer ‘favourite eateries’ column and muses on fellow Kiwi, ex-flatmate and celebrity chef, Peter Gordon’s Tapa Room – as well as  his influence…

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….

Breath of Life from Medical Innovator

UK-born NZer, Norma McCulloch, was named one of the world’s top 1 female inventors at the Global Women’s Innovator and Inventor awards held in Britain as well as the British Female…

Slow burner

Annamarie Jagose’s Slow Water – the tale of a gradual unravelling of English class systems and sexual identities on a voyage to colonial NZ – praised in the SMH….

Going Global

NZ company Airways International is currently overseeing expansion plans for Iran’s Qeshm International Airport. “Strategically located in the Straits of Hormuz, in close proximity to Iran, the Gulf countries and Central Asia,…

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…

Euphoria Against the Odds

The world premiere of Jane Campion’s An Angel at My Table was listed as one of the 50 greatest moments in the Sydney Film Festival’s first 50 years of…

DIY Cruise Missile

One for the z-files surely. Taking the No.8 wire mentality a little too literally, NZ internet developer Bruce Simpson, 49, has attracted headlines across the planet for his plans to build…

Built edge

Wellington architect Chris Kelly was a guest speaker at the Royal Australian Institute of Architects’ annual conference, ‘Imagining Architecture’ in June. Part of a select group of “some…

In love with Earth’s wild places

Celebrated NZ photographer, Wayne Papps remembered. Papps was best known for his striking images of Antarctica, which he produced as a member of the Australian Antarctic Division. Regarded as…

Living the High Life

Sir Edmund Hillary received a hero’s welcome in London at an hour-long signing of his books High Adventure and View from the Summit. Dozens of admirers queued in the…

“Australia’s Castaways Are Happier to Call NZ Home”

SMH profiles the Afghani “Tampa” refugees, who were taken in by the NZ government after being refused entry to Australia. Pacific minded NZ authorities have granted them the right…

Hunter in denial

Rachel Hunter has won a role in Britain’s eagerly anticipated version of Sex & the City – Denial. The show, which has been at the centre of an international…

Walker’s Goes AWOL

Nylon magazine is all praise for Karen Walker’s gender-bending Runaway collection, calling it “a perfect blend of daddy’s old fishing jackets and backless chiffon mini-dresses.” Based in Auckland, Walker…

Waterbabies’ Paradise

Financial Express piece on watery escapes recommends canoeing the Tongaririo River, sea-kayaking in Doubtful Sound, and riding the Shotover Jet down south. Of special note is Fiordland’s “fairy tale like Hall…

Cubicle Life

Proving that cubicle life is not a fluorescent-lit oxymoron Lower Hutt industrial designers and export success story, Formway, have contributed edge design nous to Bertford’s group project: ‘Liquid Workspace’…

Life in the Fast Lane

Scott Dixon has been dubbed “the new man to beat” on the Indy Racing circuit after a series of remarkable performances behind the wheel. The 22-year-old followed up his Honda Indy 225…

Cameron Brown: Man of Steel

Three-time NZ Ironman champion, Cameron Brown, has won the Utah Half-Ironman Triathlon, beating Sweden’s Bjorn Andersson by just 6 seconds. Says Brown; “I didn’t think I was going to win it,…