News of New Zealanders via Global Media

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…

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…

Rhodes steers latest hit

Rhodes steers latest hit

Kiwi singing star Teddy Tahu Rhodes has a lead role in the latest opera by Academy Award-winning composer Rachel Portman. Portman’s adaptation of the classic French children’s book The Little Prince premiered with…

A Kiwifruit A Day…

A Kiwifruit A Day…

Sales of NZ kiwifruit to SARS zone Taiwan have escalated dramatically after two academics proclaimed the fruit’s resistance-building properties in a Chinese daily. Kiwifruit contain twice as much vitamin C as oranges and a…

Music for the soul

Music for the soul

Maori music provides “one of the most moving sections” on the Grammy-nominated global project, One Giant Leap. Fronted by ex-Faithless member Jamie Catto, the groundbreaking production brings together artists including Dennis Hopper, Kurt Vonnegut,…

The Lowe-down

The Lowe-down

George Lowe along with fellow NZer Ed Hillary – attended the 5th anniversary Everest celebrations in London, as one of 7 remaining members of the 1953 expedition. Lowe was the recipient of Hillary’s now…

NZ Rugby the Winner on the Day

NZ Rugby the Winner on the Day

The Auckland Blues emerged victorious in a NZ dominated Super 12 competition. The ACT Brumbies were the only non-NZ team to scrape into the semi-finals. The final saw Auckland beat defending champions the Canterbury Crusaders 21-17. Southern Hemisphere domination…

Bollywood Hills

Bollywood Hills

NZ based Bollywood production company – Kuran Films – cottoned on to the the country’s scenic opportunities well before Lord of the Rings. Established in 1993 by Kamal Singh, Kuran now has 8 films…

Fleming Top Scores with Critics

Fleming Top Scores with Critics

The NZ Black Caps scored a rare overseas tournament victory, winning the Bank Alfalah Cup triangular series against Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Stephen Fleming – named man of the match in the final versus Pakistan -…

“Snap, crackle and grace”

“Snap, crackle and grace”

SMH: “Black Grace, New Zealand’s all-male company of Maori and Pacific Island dancers, is the most engaging and entertaining company to visit Sydney for years. Maybe since the last time they were here…

Dinner at the Gates

Dinner at the Gates

Telecom NZ head, Theresa Gattung, was in attendance at Microsoft’s 7th annual CEO summit held at Microsoft’s HQ in suburban Redmond, USA. She joined a high-powered collective, including Warren Buffet, Ross Perot, Bank One’s Jamie Dimon and…

A Man of Wealth and Taste: Harry M. Miller

A Man of Wealth and Taste: Harry M. Miller

“Should the job go to the vulgar New Zealander who had brought the Rolling Stones to Australia?” Sydney icon, edge arts patron and tour promoter, Harry M. Miller is celebrated in a profile that…

Bay Alchemy: Red to Gold

Bay Alchemy: Red to Gold

Sacred Hill Wines earned a gold medal for their Helmsman Cabernet Merlot 2000 at the renowned London International Wine Challenge. Chief winemaker Tony Bish sees the award as proof that “Hawke’s Bay, indeed NZ, continues to produce outstanding…

Rings wins double at Saturns

Rings wins double at Saturns

Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers was a multiple winner at the 29th annual Saturn Awards – a joint presentation of the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films and…

Truffles R Us

Truffles R Us

An English farmer aims to bring truffles – “the black diamond of the fungi world” – to the masses using technology purchased from the NZ Institute for Crop and Food Research. Nigel Hadden-Paton…

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…

Jeffs with best

Jeffs with best

Christine Jeffs’ acclaimed feature, Rain, was included in the second series of the Zahir Raihan Film Society’s Best Films of 2002, joining Philip Noyce’s The Quiet American and Mike Leigh’s All or Nothing. The…

Spoken word

Spoken word

The old and new schools of NZ literature were represented at May’s Sydney Writers Festival, with eminent man of letters CK Stead and fresh talent Chad Taylor both in attendance. The two…

KTV: Kinetic Television

KTV: Kinetic Television

Work by pioneering NZ filmmaker, artist, kinetic sculpter and general ‘crazy guy’, Len Lye, is featured in the exhibition ‘A Century of Artists’ Film in Britain’ at the Tate Britain. Lye’s 1930s work is…

Cycling Success

Cycling Success

NZ athletes made a strong showing at the track World Cup held in Sydney last month – boding well for the coming world championships. Cycling star Sarah Ulmer won the women’s 3,000m individual pursuit, and the men’s…

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…

Edge-ucation on Offer

Edge-ucation on Offer

Arab students are increasingly choosing NZ as an education destination, according to a Gulf News report. Education Minister Trevor Mallard cited the schooling system’s pioneering nature and relative affordability, as well as the country’s reputation as a…

Where the Wild Things Are

Where the Wild Things Are

Boston Herald travel writer recommends the South Island to all thrill-seeking tourists, “whether they prefer their adrenaline rush natural or manmade.” An extensive tour includes Tairoa Head, Arthur’s Pass, Otira Gorge, and the Fox and Franz Joseph glaciers….

How to Remember Sir Peter Blake?

How to Remember Sir Peter Blake?

The government has committed $2.5 million to the construction of a memorial museum in the late Sir Peter Blake’s honour on the Auckland waterfront. Sports Minister Trevor Mallard: “The  exhibition will ensure a…

Bravo Blumenfield

Bravo Blumenfield

NZ brand, Blumenfeld, was judged Best International Olive Oil at the LA County Fair Wines of the World Competition – the longest-running, largest and most respected event of its kind in the US. Blumenfeld NZ Classic Blends…

Mrs Speaker …

Mrs Speaker …

“Just how a conservative and largely white electorate came to support an outspoken transgendered woman – of Maori (that is, indigenous non-white) descent, no less – is the story behind the remarkably engaging documentary Georgie Girl.” Annie…

Tremain Mines Our Past

Tremain Mines Our Past

The latest offering from award-winning British author, Rose Tremain, finds its inspiration in mid-19th century NZ and thwarted edge expectations: “We will not cling to familiar ways. We will imagine ourselves reborn over there….

Iconic Image Auction

Iconic Image Auction

A signed photograph of the 1905-6 All Black “Originals” has been sold at auction for $41,000. The photo had been kept in Aucklander David Wright’s family since 1906, when it was presented to his grandfather Charles Victor…

On Father Figures and Wayward Teens

On Father Figures and Wayward Teens

New Scientist profiles the work of Canterbury University psychologist Bruce Ellis, who has recently published a study on the effects of absentee fathers on teenage girls. Ellis has monitored 700 girls from pre-school to high-school, in an…

Faceless Fame

Faceless Fame

As the voice of Star Wars: Episode II character Tuan We, NZ actress Rena Owen has added a strange new dimension to her working life. Now based in LA, the Once Were Warriors star…

Journey to the Centre of the Earth

Journey to the Centre of the Earth

NZer David J. Stevenson – a planetary scientist at the California Institute of Technology – has a project up his sleeve straight out of science fiction, but grounded in the search for science fact.    Stevenson’s proposal – outlined…

New Romantics

New Romantics

Young urban women in NZ and Australia are the target market for a recently re-vamped Mills & Boon series. Publisher Harlequin hopes to snare Sex & The City fans rather than those of…

One of Our Originals

One of Our Originals

NZ’s oldest Olympic athlete, javelin thrower Stan Lay, has died aged 96. Lay finished in seventh place at the 1924 Athens Olympics, and two years later won gold at the Empire Games in Canada. He was…

Christchurch the New Bondi?

Christchurch the New Bondi?

Kiwis are coming home to roost according to latest Australian immigration statistics that reveal a dramatic brain-drain reversal: NZers are returning home from Australia at a greater rate than they are arriving. The SMH…

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…

Kiwi gives life to Coppelia

Kiwi gives life to Coppelia

NZer Malcolm Burn was the guest choreographer for Ballet Tech Ohio’s production of Frederic Franklin’s Coppelia. Currently associate artistic director of the Richmond Ballet, Burns’ 25-year career includes stints as a principal dancer for…

People together: NZ re-imagined

People together: NZ re-imagined

CBC critic, Eleanor Watchel, travelled through NZ to interview some of NZ’s literary animals in their natural habitats. The Writers & Company radio special celebrated a literary landscape that included authors Patricia Grace, Bill…

Ballet Bebe

Ballet Bebe

NZ ballet export Bebe Eversfield profiled in the Victoria Times. Now 78, Eversfield won a government scholarship to study at London’s prestigious Sadler’s Wells Company (now the Royal Ballet) and made her Albert Hall…

Capturing the uncanny

Capturing the uncanny

Works by Wellington based artist Pippa Sanderson are currently on show at Edmonton’s Harcourt House Gallery. Her exhibition, The (Un)heimlich Manoeuvre, references Victorian Spiritualism, haunted houses, and Gothic cinematic aesthetics. Shot on film well…

Tom cruises off

Tom cruises off

Actor Tom Cruise has bid farewell to Taranaki, the place he called home for the past 4 months. The Hollywood A-lister was on location filming The Last Samurai; an epic-scale production which has proved…

The art of myth-making

The art of myth-making

Whale Rider director Niki Caro speaks to The Age about the intricate cultural process involved in a “white woman” making a Maori film. Despite early resistance to her involvement, and her subsequent self-doubt, Caro…

Whale Raves: Part 2

Whale Raves: Part 2

Whale Rider‘s Australian release has unleashed a second wave of glowing tributes. The Age: ” sharply observed, warm portrayal of a community … of an indigenous people moving between certainties and uncertainties.” Sydney…

Sylvester a “Singular Sensation”

Sylvester a “Singular Sensation”

Touted as “the black sheep of the fashion flock,” designer Kate Sylvester impressed at Sydney Fashion Week without sacrificing her individual edge. SMH: “Citing New York-based installation artist Vanessa Beecroft as an inspiration, Sylvester…

Rats Have Rights Too

Rats Have Rights Too

Native rats (kiore) on Little Barrier Island were saved from a scheduled DOC extermination by local tribe Ngatiwai, who claimed them as taonga. The rats, now almost extinct on mainland NZ, pose a threat to tuatara…

Educational Skin Flick

Educational Skin Flick

Ta moko features in a Pacific Islanders in Communications documentary for PBS currently screening around the world. Skin Stories explores the art of tattooing, and its cultural significance, in Samoan, Hawaiian and Maori tradition.

“Sex is cheap, but domination isn’t”

“Sex is cheap, but domination isn’t”

Former NZ university lecturer and academic, Jody Hanson, interviewed in The Age on her newfound role as a dominatrix and writer in Melbourne. Known on the dungeon circuit as Mistress J, Hanson conducts seminars,…

Attack of the Warm Fuzzies

Attack of the Warm Fuzzies

Kiwi designers are ahead of the pack in prefiguring the global “mood of softness and warmth” hitting catwalks around the globe. According to the Canberra Times, the “feast of beautiful, well-crafted and intellectual winter…

Sweating in the Name of

Sweating in the Name of

Ex-pat Kiwi Richard Stevens likes to do more than his bit for charity. The Belfast resident hopes to raise £2,000 for the Save the Rhinos fund by running both the Belfast and London marathons…

Big Win for Dark Horse

Big Win for Dark Horse

NZ trainer Katrina Alexander shocked bookmakers and delighted racing fans when her “lightly raced” mare Honor Babe won the $800,000 Sydney Cup. The Matamata-based mother of two – who describes herself as “falling into racing by accident”…

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…

For Him

For Him

Winemaker Kim Crawford’s “Pansy” has been released in the UK following its overwhelming success on the NZ gay market. The cabernet blend was commissioned by the owner of Auckland gay bar, SPQR, who had witnessed the popularity…

Whale riding on east (and west) coast

Whale riding on east (and west) coast

NYTimes’ critic Elvis Mitchell praises Niki Caro’s Whale Rider as having the “inspired resonance of found art wickedly absorbing”, and the quiet charisma of actress Keisha Castle-Hughes.The film along with fellow NZ…

Celebrating Kiwi-ness

Celebrating Kiwi-ness

Countless international critics have praised the universal themes explored in Niki Caro’s Whale Rider; what a reviewer for the Age finds most impressive is its quintessential Kiwi-ness. “Whale Rider sounds like it could be…

D’Acclaimed funny-man

D’Acclaimed funny-man

Kiwi comedian Tarun Mohanbhai has taken his acclaimed one-man show – D’Arranged Marriage – across the Tasman, with high-profile stints at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and Sydney Opera House. Mohanbhai made his name…

Breaking Waves

Breaking Waves

The Auckland-based team set to compete in Australia’s National Basketball League has been christened the New Zealand Breakers, after consultations with players and public. According to Tall Blacks star Pero Cameron – who has been lured…