Archive >> February 2005

Russell Crowe – The Hard-Ass

GQ’s feature on the ten greatest actors of our generation leads with Wellington-born Russell Crowe and his passion for connecting emotionally with an audience. Does this peg him as…

From Wilderness to Café Culture

NZ features in a Lonely Planet dream itinerary compiled exclusively for the Observer. “NZ’s wild side is wonderful, especially the South Island’s rugged west coast, but it’s great to return to Auckland,…

A Toast to Martinborough

Toast Martinborough features in a Guardian overview of the world’s greatest wine festivals. “Martinborough is one of the few ‘old world’ wine villages in the southern hemisphere and home to much- lauded…

Perky paradise

A Kiwi oasis in the midst of Melbourne is winning the hearts of critics and customers alike. Batch Espresso, owned and operated by ex-Wellingtonian Jason Chan, earned a rave write-up…

All Aboard

Independent travel writer takes a stunning tour of NZ by train. ” you want to experience your visual thrills in comfort and without the threat of sea-sickness, you can simply let…

Pinot Noir’s Paradox

“No other wine conjures up poetic descriptions like pinot noir; no other wine forges as direct a path to the soul. If a wine could make a person cry, it would…

Grammy for Fran Walsh

From playing bass in 80s Wellington band Naked Spots Dance via a film or two, Wellington muse Fran Walsh wins a Grammy for Song Written for a Motion Picture,…

Rann – Global Warming “Frightening”

Mike Rann, the Auckland University-educated and former NZBC journalist and now, Labor Premier of South Australia, writes in The Australian that “the world should make no mistake: in 2005,…

Christopher Shaw leads motor neuron research

Professor Christopher Shaw, Professor of Neurology at Kings College London and Otago University graduate in Medicine (1984), is to co-lead a team to clone embryos to study motor neuron disease, in…

Miles Makes Leap to Big Pond

Managing Director of Vodafone NZ, Tim Miles, is to head the $12 billion UK branch from April 2005. According to the NZ Herald, Vodafone went from 1.8 million mobile…

Home Turf Heroics

NZ went to the top of the IRB Rugby Sevens table after their third straight victory in the Wellington tournament. The Kiwis beat Argentina 31-7, giving them 52 points in total,…

My Favourite Ape

Compared with his work as an Oscar-winning director and the filmmaker behind the most popular trilogy in movie history, Peter Jackson’s first attempt to remake King Kong was by…

Taylor-made in New York

Empire waists, lace trim, pinafores and velvet jackets featured in Rebecca Taylor’s www.rebeccataylor.com collection in her runway show at New York Fashion Week. The New York-based Wellingtonian…

SurfAid International Races Aid to Tsunami Areas

SurfAid International a non-profit organization founded by New Zealander Dr Dave Jenkins dedicated to the alleviation of human suffering through community-based health programs, has secured $500,000 worth of medical supplies and…

Reaching New Lows

A NZ ship has set a new world record for the southern-most point attained by water. The Spirit of Enderby, a polar research ship exploring NZ and Australia’s sub-Antarctic islands, reached…

Science’s Conscience

John Ziman, NZ-born scientist and humanist, has died aged 79. “After a brilliant youthful career in physics research he turned increasingly to reflection on the values and societal entanglements of the scientific…

Biotech Baby Steps

NZ’s recently altered stance on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) is the subject of an in-depth Technology Reviewfeature. “NZ, of all places, may have found a solution [to public and political resistance to…