March 2004 Archives

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…

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…

Working 9 ’til… 9

Working 9 ’til… 9

UK-based digital media company – Mere Mortals – wants to establish a NZ office in two years time, enabling a 24-hour working day for its trans-hemisphere employees. Managing director, David Jeffries, cites NZ’s LotR-enhanced…

History Made by “Best Side Ever”

History Made by “Best Side Ever”

31 March 2004 – The NZ Black Caps have leaped from 8th place to 3rd in world one-day cricket rankings thanks to their first ever series win over South Africa. “It feels great,” said captain Stephen Fleming…

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…

Hidden treasures

Hidden treasures

Time Asia recommends Marlborough’s Old St Mary’s Convent, Wanganui’s Bridge to Nowhere lodge, and The Station in Paekakariki to readers wishing to stay off the beaten track. “There’s plenty of the…

Form vs. function

Form vs. function

The possible closure of the famed Freidensreich Hundertwasser-designed public toilets at Kawakawa earned a detailed write-up in the Independent. Officially opened in 1999, the stunning facilities were the final project by the acclaimed Austrian…

Te Reo On Air

Te Reo On Air

BBC notes the launch of NZ’s first nationwide Maori language TV station. The inaugural broadcast comes 13 years after the Supreme Court ruled that the government was legally bound (by the Treaty of Waitangi) to protect its…

Sticking it to the Competition

Sticking it to the Competition

Both the NZ men’s and women’s hockey teams have qualified for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. It will be the fourth time the women’s team (the Black Sticks) have competed at the Games. Says goalkeeper Helen…

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…

Ringing in the Changes

Ringing in the Changes

Tourism is predicted to overtake dairy as NZ’s top export earner by mid-2004 – a phenomenon largely attributed to  Lord of the Rings hype. The country’s newfound status as a must-see destination is confirmed by a…

Comic Genius

Comic Genius

20 March 2004 – Martin Emond, internationally renowned comic-book artist, illustrator, and tattooist, died in LA on March 19 aged 34. Emond created the popular character Switchblade (star of NZ clothing brand Illicit) and…

“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…

Good Morning Iraq

Good Morning Iraq

NZ company, Argent Networks, has won a US$3.5 million deal to help rebuild Iraq’s telecommunications infrastructure. ArgentEclipse is to be the new customer billing system for the national fixed-line network, which is owned by the Iraqi government….

Stars in the Making

Stars in the Making

NZ athletes contributed to an international domination of America’s National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Indoor Championships in mid-March. Kim Smith – running for Providence – lapped all but one of her competitors in the 5,000m, breaking a…

MetService Nets Big Fish

MetService Nets Big Fish

The NZ MetService has sold a locally made weather graphics system to the BBC for a sum rumoured to be in the millions. The state-of-the-art software package – Weatherscape XT – is the most up to date…

Thunderbirds Are Go!

Thunderbirds Are Go!

NZ software company, Virtual Katy, will lend its world-class sound engineering services to London’s Pinewood Studios, for the live-action remake of Thunderbirds. Virtual Katy – which was also used on The Lord of the Rings – is…

A Voice to Remember

A Voice to Remember

A Stanford University obituary paid tribute to Susan Okin, the Auckland-born author, lecturer, and activist described by a Stanford University colleague as “perhaps the best feminist political philosopher in the world.” The author of three acclaimed books – Women…

What’s cooking good looking?

What’s cooking good looking?

NZ-born Brad Farmerie – head chef at Peter Gordon’s Public – was named one of the New York culinary scene’s rising stars, in a Post piece entitled ‘Lord of the Ranges.’ As well as…

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…

History Goes Digital

History Goes Digital

4 March 2004 – New York Times reviews ‘Paradise Now,’ a diverse exhibition of contemporary NZ and Pacific art currently on show at the Asia Pacific Society Museum on Park Avenue. Lisa Reihana’s multiple-screen…

Getting lippy

Getting lippy

“With a vocal arsenal that ranges from crisp rapping to a powerful singing voice, Natalia ‘Tali’ Scott can outstrip any UK competition.” So says the Independent in a glowing review of…

NZ has the Eco Edge

NZ has the Eco Edge

According to New Scientist, NZ is one of few countries actively promoting responsible eco-tourism. National Geographic clearly agrees, awarding NZ 78 points out of 100 in its annual eco-tourism survey. “The NZ Department of Conservation takes these…

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…

The Good Life

The Good Life

Auckland was ranked 5th and Wellington 15th out of 215 cities in the annual quality of life survey by Mercer Human Resource Consulting. Said Mercer director, Rob Knox, “Despite NZ’s geographic location and distance…

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,…

26 Reasons to Love NZ

26 Reasons to Love NZ

Australian Harper’s Bazaar gives an A-Z run down of Kiwi style in response to last year’s L’Oreal New Zealand Fashion Week. Beneath the header “small enough to get seriously edgy, big enough to do…

Chick to Watch

Chick to Watch

Massey University fashion graduate, Alice Goulter, profiled in a ‘Behind the Seams’ feature by Australian teen magazine, Chik. At the time of the interview, the 23-year-old was working as Design Assistant at Mossimo Woman,…

DOC Plays Tag

DOC Plays Tag

NZ’s Department of Conservation plans to use state-of-the-art satellite tagging in its fight to save the Maui’s Dolphin, whose numbers have plummeted to less than 150. The tags will help researchers better understand the dolphins’ territorial range…