News of New Zealanders via Global Media

The many facets of King Kong

The many facets of King Kong

Peter Jackson’s King Kong graced the cover of the January issue of Cinefex, America’s premiere cinema effects magazine. Inside is a 45-page in depth look at the incredibly detailed digital, physical and emotional…

Metapsychology

Metapsychology

Massey University PhD and Wairarapa philosopher Derek Mesler has been published by the MIT Press. The Act of Thinking is “the work of a mature, sophisticated and profound thinker who may just have written…

A Year for Remembrance

A Year for Remembrance

2006 has been designated “Year of the Veteran” by the NZ government,with an official launch planned for February. According to Veteran Affairs Minister, Rick Barker, the government will provide funds for community events to…

Spoiled for choice

Spoiled for choice

Kiwi chef Rex Morgan takes Guardian food writer Jonathan Ray on a culinary tour of Queenstown. The eating extravaganza takes place at Morgan’s recently opened boutique hotel, The Spire (competitors will be “hard-pressed to…

Designs on Hyde

Designs on Hyde

Palmerston North sculptor Paul Dibble is the winner of an NZ government sponsored competition to design a $3 million war memorial in London’s Hyde Park. Dibble’s design – developed in association with Athfield Architects of Wellington…

Brits Back Fat Freddy

Brits Back Fat Freddy

Incessant European touring appear to have paid off for Wellington band Fat Freddy’s Drop. The dub/reggae/roots collective won worldwide album of the year at the annual BBC Radio 1 Gilles Peterson Worldwide Music Awards for their…

Keeping it Local

Keeping it Local

One of NZ’s most successful producers Tim White returned to work on Toa Fraser’s debut feature No.2. An Ilam graduate, White’s producing credits include Ned Kelly, Map of the Human Heart, Two Hands, Oscar…

Pinot Lovers Unite

Pinot Lovers Unite

Wellington is to host its third Pinot Noir festival from January 31 to February 3 2007. 500 of the world’s leading Pinot Noir experts, producers and enthusiasts have been invited to the prestigious tri-annual event, which was…

A thing of wonder

A thing of wonder

Released in December, Peter Jackson’s King Kong has received near unanimous praise from critics and movie-goers around the world. “This new King Kong is a folie de grandeur with real grandeur; in its power,…

Going All the Way

Going All the Way

John Hood continues to shake the cloisters at Oxford University in his attempts, as Vice Chancellor, to secure the venerable institution’s status as an academic powerhouse for the 21st century. A former CEO with Fletcher Challenge…

A Glass a Day Won’t Keep the Doctor Away

A Glass a Day Won’t Keep the Doctor Away

NZ researchers have put a dampener on previous claims that drinking in moderation is good for the heart. According to Auckland University’s Dr Rod Jackson, the studies conducted in the 1970s and 80s were flawed and…

Chinese Opportunity

Chinese Opportunity

Fonterra has made the biggest ever investment in the Chinese dairy industry by a foreign company by purchasing a 43% stake in the Shijiazhuang San Lu Group for US$107 million. The San Lu Group produces powdered…

2005: Year of the All Black

2005: Year of the All Black

The All Blacks’ decisive win over Scotland on December 2 made them the first NZ side since 1978 and the first team since Australia in 1984, to complete a “grand slam” of the UK and Irish…

Slipping Into Paradise

Slipping Into Paradise

Auckland resident and former Californian, Jeffrey Masson, a psychoanalyst and ex-projects director of the Sigmund Freud archives, publishes in August his account of emigrating to New Zealand. Slipping Into Paradise, Why I Live in New Zealand encourages…

Kiwi Story Rings True in US

Kiwi Story Rings True in US

Roger Donaldson’s World’s Fastest Indian, with Sir Anthony Hopkins playing NZ motorcycle legend Burt Munro, has been largely praised in the US. Hollywood Reporter: “A pleasingly whimsical and slyly mischievous road movie that features…

Kiwi contributes to Anger canon

Kiwi contributes to Anger canon

Auckland University graduate Alice Hutchison has written an internationally acclaimed book on cult 1960s filmmaker Kenneth Anger, the artist who many believed defined the Age of Aquarius with such iconic works as Invocation of…

Walker Ahead

Walker Ahead

Karen Walker’s most recent London show has been labelled one of the top five trend setting collections for 2006 by the world’s leading fashion forecast agency, WGSN. Walker’s fellow style leaders include current buzz…

Auckland to be Shia Centre

Auckland to be Shia Centre

The International Shia Cultural and Human Rights Organization (ISCHRO) officially opened for business in Auckland on September 8. The Shia Muslim organization aims to propagate and facilitate Shia thought and culture and protect human…

Sir Kenneth Reaches Zenith

Sir Kenneth Reaches Zenith

NZ Supreme Court judge, Sir Kenneth Keith, has been elected to the UN’s World Court, the highest judicial authority in the world. The court, officially known as the International Court of Justice (ICJ), is…

Mt Roskill meets Utah… and the world

Mt Roskill meets Utah… and the world

No.2, the debut feature film by playwright Toa Fraser, has been selected for competition at Sundance 26. Based on his award winning play of the same name, No.2 stars a mixture of international and local actors…

A Victory for the Underdogs

A Victory for the Underdogs

Not to be outdone by their rugby union counterparts, NZ’s national rugby league side achieved a momentous Tri-Nations win against traditional rivals England and Australia. The BBC describes the NZ’s 24-0 victory over Australia in the…

South Sea Saga

South Sea Saga

Pamela Stephenson, NZ born psychologist, author and wife to comedian Billy Connolly, has published a book retracing the 19th century travels of Fanny and Robert Louis Stevenson. The Advertiser: ” loosely as the diary…

New Take on an Extraordinary Figure

New Take on an Extraordinary Figure

Sir Edmund Hillary: An Extraordinary Life, a new authorized biography by art curator Alexa Johnston, has been well received both at home and abroad. According to Johnston, speaking in the Sunday Star Times,…

Nuclear Discussion Just That

Nuclear Discussion Just That

NZ’s iconic 21-year-old nuclear ban has returned to the news, both as a sideline issue in the recent parliamentary elections, and through a National Power Union-commissioned white paper on the pros and cons of nuclear power….

Award in the Bag

Award in the Bag

The giant handbag-shaped tent used at the openings of Louis Vuitton mega-stores in Hong Kong, New York, Tokyo and Paris has won its NZ manufacturers an esteemed international design award. Fabric Shelter Systems (Whangarei)…

Crash Claims Liquor Chiefs

Crash Claims Liquor Chiefs

NZ liquor innovator, Michael Erceg, was killed in early November when the helicopter he was piloting crashed south of Auckland. As the founder and managing director of Independent Liquor, Erceg was one of the country’s richest people. Grolsch…

Battle Cries

Battle Cries

Even more upsetting than giving the World Cup to New Zealand or losing a match to the All Blacks currently seems to be facing their new “throat slitting” haka. British media are feverishly objecting to New…

End of an Era

End of an Era

NZ lost its last WW1 veteran with the death of Victor “Bob” Rudd aged 104. Born in London in 1901, Rudd served with the British Army’s 9th Lancers regiment in the final…

In Memoriam

In Memoriam

18 NZ veterans attended the unveiling of a memorial commemorating NZ soldiers who served in the 1950-53 Korean War at the UN Memorial Cemetery in Busan. PM Helen Clark was also present. “I came…

All Black Domination

All Black Domination

The All Blacks have continued their domination of their Northern hemisphere tour with a 23-19 victory over England. Easy victories over Wales and Ireland were useful opportunities for trying out new playing combinations, but…

Something old, something new

Something old, something new

The internationally acclaimed NZ String Quartet made an impressive debut in Minneapolis, performing as part of the annual Music in the Part Series in St Paul. The Quartet’s program included the world premiere of NZ composer…

The new jazz order

The new jazz order

Stuart Nicholson, author of Is Jazz Dead (Or has it Moved to a new Address)?, names Kiwi Aron Ottignon as one of the six best new players on the international jazz scene. “Without anyone…

Next Stop Commonwealth Games

Next Stop Commonwealth Games

NZ won the New South Wales 100m Relay Championship at Sydney Olympic Park on November 19, breaking a NZ national record in the process. Led by Olympic representative Chris Donaldson, the winning team also included Dallas…

Five Million in the Stands

Five Million in the Stands

Despite widespread international media opinion that we would be out in the first round, New Zealand has won the bid to host the 2011 Rugby World Cup. After South Africa’s unexpected removal from the running, New…

Hayley hits America

Hayley hits America

NZ’s popera diva, Hayley Westenra, has landed the coveted opening slot for Il Divo on their U.S tour early next year. Touring with the hit operatic boy band could provide the ideal opportunity…

On the Mark

On the Mark

The Guardian hails the rise and rise of Mark Baldwin, Fijian-born NZ-raised artistic director of London’s renowned Rambert Dance Company. After just three years in the job, Baldwin has significantly increased the Company’s…

Urban philosophy

Urban philosophy

Whangarei-born, Caboolture (Queensland)-raised, Keith Urban is the hottest country music sensation in the world. Urban won entertainer of the year and best male vocalist at the Country Music Association Awards broadcast from…

Golden Year for Silver Ferns

Golden Year for Silver Ferns

2005 has proved an incredible year for NZ netball, with the Silver Ferns winning all eight of their international tournaments. The latest came with a definitive Tri-Series victory over Jamaica and Barbados. “We certainly wanted to…

Homeward Bound

Homeward Bound

The Glasgow City Council has officially returned the preserved heads of three unidentified Maori warriors to delegates from Te Papa Tongarewa. The moko mokai had variously been gifted to the Scottish city by collectors of antiquities…

A Winning Formula on and off the Field

A Winning Formula on and off the Field

Hyde Pride, Washington’s only all-African American school rugby side, has a Kiwi connection that extends beyond its game of choice. Established in 1999, the team at Hyde Leadership Public Charter School has been sponsored by the…

Would You Like Fries with that $25 Million?

Would You Like Fries with that $25 Million?

Three Kiwi entrepreneurs have sold their hugely successful chain of UK burger restaurants for NZ$25.7 million. Greg Driscoll, Brandon Allen and Adam Wills opened the first Gourmet Burger Kitchen in Battersea, south London, in 2001. Similar…

Battle of Britain Hero

Battle of Britain Hero

Group Captain Edward Preston “Hawkeye” Wells, one of the RAF’s most outstanding WWII pilots has died at the age of 89. Born in Cambridge (NZ) on 26 July 1916 and educated at Cambridge High School, Wells was called…

A Life’s Work

A Life’s Work

NZ born education pioneer and author Dion “Darcy” Dale has died. Dale devoted his life to the teaching and studying of deaf and partially hearing children. He was particularly prominent in promoting the use of lip…

Lord of the Dance

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…

“Pragmatic Idealist, Friend of the Earth and a Good Man”

“Pragmatic Idealist, Friend of the Earth and a Good Man”

NZ has lost an inspiring political figure with the death of Green Party co-leader Rod Donald. Donald died of a rare virus affecting the heart aged just 48. He will be remembered for his…

Evolution in an Egg Shell

Evolution in an Egg Shell

Massey University’s David Lambert has published his findings on the microevolution of Antarctica’s Adélie penguins in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Lambert’s research shows a marked difference between the genetic make up of modern…

From LA to the Bay

From LA to the Bay

From Waimarama Beach to Napier, the Hawke’s Bay region gets a fantastic write up in the LA Times. The writer had organised a family holiday to her mother’s place of birth, in honour of said mother’s…

Bright Spark

Bright Spark

Auckland University’s Johanna Montgomery has become the first southern hemisphere scientist in history to win a prestigious Eppendorf and Science Prize for Neurobiology. Dr Montgomery was one of 4 scientists to be awarded the…

Kiwi Kayak Heralds New Era of Design

Kiwi Kayak Heralds New Era of Design

NZ biochemist Murray Broom’s FirstLight Kayak received a three-page spread in I.D magazine, America’s leading authority on the art, business and culture of design. Reviewer Barbara Flanagan (I.D contributing editor and product designer) hails the…

Underwater Drawcard

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…

Jail Over War

Jail Over War

New Zealand doctor Malcolm Kendall-Smith may go to jail for refusing to obey the orders of the British Royal Air force and return to duty in Iraq. After already serving two tours in Iraq and one in…

Milk and Money

Milk and Money

Fonterra has announced plans to build an AU$15 million dairy innovation centre in Melbourne. “By investing significantly in innovation we are ensuring that we remain at the forefront of developing specialty ingredients and consumer products that will…

Meet Me in Miami

Meet Me in Miami

Christchurch-produced independent film Meet Me in Miami premiered in one of the prime spots at the prestigious Los Angeles International Latino Film Festival on October 29 at The Egyptian Theatre in…

Serial thriller

Serial thriller

October saw the UK premiere of hit NZ play, Serial Killers. Written by former Shortland Street scriptwriter, James Griffin, Serial Killers is a black comedy which takes place behind the scenes of…

Challenge to a War

Challenge to a War

Brisbane born, Dunedin raised and educated Malcolm Kendall-Smith, the man who refused to return to fight in a war that was “manifestly unlawful”, stood by his decision at a court martial hearing on 27 October at…

Great Scot

Great Scot

Alex Reedijk is leaving his post as general director of the NZ Opera to take the reins at its Scottish counterpart in March 2006. Reedjik has previously worked for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Scottish…