Archive >> October 2007

Dame Kiri Te Kanawa: Pokarekare Ana

Dame Kiri Te Kanawa performs Pokakare Ana during the New Zealand millenium celebrations.

Bags of talent

NZ filmmaker Haydn Butler is the only non-US finalist in an online advertising competition sponsored by Al Gore’s Current TV. Butler’s clip The Bags was selected from more than…

Protest Heard Around the World

NZ-born pro surfer Dave “Rasta” Rastovich led an international protest over Japan’s commercial slaughter of dolphins in November, gaining significant media coverage for his cause. Rastovich, a free surfer for Billabong, is…

Auckland Gets Guided

Auckland is one of nine new international locations to earn a Wallpaper City Guide. Released in November, the Auckland guide features Wallpaper‘s customary mix of criticisms and accolades, as well as…

Next Big Things

NZ’s white aromatic wines rival its world-famous sauvignon blanc, according to Telegraph writer Jonathan Ray. Ray vowed not to drink any sauvignon on his week-long tour of NZ wineries, despite…

Mugabe Expert Comes Full Circle

Stephen Chan, longtime analyst and authority on Zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe, returned to NZ recently to deliver the 2007 Chapman Lectures at Auckland University, his alma mater. Born in New Zealand to…

Civil Union Milestone

Civil unions in NZ have reached the 1000 mark, according to government officials. The Civil Union Act, which came into effect in April 2005, gives both heterosexual and homosexual…

Cosmic pop

One-woman Christchurch act Bachelorette is winning over Australian audiences with her “beautifully odd, inter-planetary pop”. Annabel Alpers is currently touring Australia with her new album, Isolation Loops, which she…

Aspartame to Blame?

Veteran NZ journalist Chris Wheeler has published a lengthy denouncement of the food additive aspartame on US sceptic site Rense. Aspartame is an artificial sweetener used in products such as Diet…

NZ daredevil lands Lost role

Stunt-woman Zoe Bell has landed another high profile acting role in the US. Fresh from playing herself in Quentin Tarantino’s Death Proof, Bell has secured a part in…

The next great American host

NZ television personality Dominic Bowden is taking his hosting skills to the US, where he will front new FOX reality series The Next Great American Band. In NZ,…

Love, wine and angels in Auckland

Whale Rider director Niki Caro’s new project has made its first pre-sales. The Vintner’s Luck, Caro’s much-anticipated adaptation of the novel by Elizabeth Knox, has sold to Icon…

The All Blacks’ Best Tries

Take a look at some of the All Blacks’ best tries ever.

An actor’s dream

Actor Casey Afleck described NZ-born director Andrew Dominick as a “genius” while promoting Dominick’s new film, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. “Someone said:…

Tokelau Keeps NZ Ties

Tokelau has voted to remain a NZ colony in its second referendum on the issue in 15 months. The vote for self-governance, which required a two-thirds majority,fell short by…

Finding beauty in the everyday

Six NZ ceramic artists, including the collaborative couple Philip Jarvis and Madeleine Child, are exhibiting together at the annual Craft Victoria festival in Melbourne. Titled Best in Show, the…

Hot Pick for Virgin Media

Wellington-born Neil Berkett is widely expected to be made chief executive of Virgin Media. Berkett joined Virgin Media as chief operating officer in 2005 and has been acting chief executive of the…

Ongoing impact

A Dutch academic has published a book examining the impact Once Were Warriors has had on NZ culture. Once Were Warriors The Aftermath: The Controversy of Once Were…

Posthumous gem

The Janet Frame Literary Trust has posthumously published a novella written by the great NZ author in 1963. Dismissed by Frame as “embarrassingly personal”, Towards Another Summer is about…

Trailer: Bad Taste

Kora impress offshore

Whakatane band Kora is steadily building an international fan base to rival its one in NZ. The five-piece band – which consists of brothers Brad, Stu, Laughton and Francis…

Black Beauty Strikes at Brno

Team NZ is top of the A1 Grand Prix table after scoring a double victory in Brno, Czech Republic. Black Beauty driver Jonny Reid won both the sprint and…

Free to Speak

NZ has been ranked 15th in a survey of press freedom around the world by Reporters Without Borders. The annual survey of 169 countries measures factors such as freedom…

Some Pig

A miniature variant of the NZ kune kune pig has become the must-have pet in Britain. Chris Murray, co-owner of Pennywell Farm in Devon, began breeding the pigs nine…

Close But No Booker

Wellington author Lloyd Jones has missed out on the Man Booker prize, despite his novel Mister Pip being the bookies’ favourite to win. The award went to Irish author…

King Talks Technology

The Guardian interviewed Black Sheep director Jonathan King about his favourite gadgets on the eve of his film’s UK release. King’s favourite piece of technology is his Apple iBook…

Michelin man

Waikato-born chef de cuisine Josh Emett has won two Michelin stars for his menu at Gordon Ramsay at The London, the celebrity chef’s new venture in New…

Auckland band makes the cut

Auckland power-punk quartet Cut Off Your Hands scored an invitation to play at New York’s “suffocatingly cool” CMJ Music Marathon, one of the US indie scene’s premiere events….

Trans-Tasman Netball Goes Semi-professional

A new trans-Tasman netball tournament will be launched in April next year, bringing together five teams each from NZ and Australia. The Tasman Trophy has secured ANZ Bank as its naming…

Master Carver Shares Message

Maori master carver James Rickard held a workshop at the Victor Oteyza Community Art Space in Baguio City, the Philippines, this month. He spoke about the need for indigenous…

Tributes Flow for China Expert

Leading Sinologist Professor Elisabeth “Lisa” Croll has died from cancer aged 63. Born in Reefton, on the South Island’s West Coast, Croll gained a BA and MA at Canterbury…

NZ Unites Against Death Penalty

NZ has joined a United Nations effort seeking the worldwide abolition of the death penalty. Co-sponsors of the UN resolution include Brazil, East Timor, Gabon, Mexico, the Philippines and Portugal. “Capital…

Curse of the Perennial Favourites

Another NZ Rugby World Cup campaign has ended in tatters, with the All Blacks bowing out 18-20 to France in the quarterfinal. Despite being consistently ranked first in the world,…

Triathlon Success in Rhodes

Kris Gemmell is the latest in a string of NZ athletes to win a World Cup triathlon event this year. Gemmell finished first at the inaugural Rhodes World Cup in…

Ex-M16 Agent Gives Evidence

A former British secret service agent from Ngaruawahia has given evidence at the inquest into the death of Princess Diana. Richard Tomlinson alleges that his former employer, M16,…

Fashion writer swaps stilettos for saddles

Well-known NZ fashion reporter Stacy Gregg has turned her hand to writing children’s fiction. Gregg, a keen horse rider as a young woman, noticed a gap in the…

The Gift of Sight

A photographic exhibition celebrating the work of the Fred Hollows Foundation opened in Sydney on World Sight Day, October 11. Together with Nepalese surgeon Sanduk Ruit, NZ-born Hollows pioneered a cheap…

Champion Red

Central Otago vineyard Bald Hills has continued its remarkable winning streak with three more major international awards for its 2005 Pinot Noir. The wine beat 4,760 other entries to take the Champion…

Kiri’s American Valedictory

Dame Kiri Te Kanawa performed in Orange County, California, in what is being billed as her North American farewell tour. Michael Rydzynski praised her engaging presence, pure tone and…

Passchendaele Remembered

NZ and Australian leaders led commemorations at the 90th anniversary of the battle of Passchendaele in Belgium this month. PM Helen Clark and Australian Governor General Michael Jeffery paid…

Queen of the South Pacific

Taumaranui-born soprano Rhonda Bryers has passed away aged 55 at her home in Hawaii. Bryers was one of NZ’s best known singers in the late 1980s, when she won…

Wellywood and Bollywood Unite

The NZ and Indian governments are to negotiate a film co-production agreement, whereby resources will be pooled to benefit filmmakers in both countries. “Films made jointly by New Zealand and Indian…

Screw the Critics

The NZ wine industry is leading a global anti-cork movement, according to a book published in the US this month. To Cork or Not to Cork by George Taber…

Power Producers

Queenstown-born film producer Tim Bevan (right) features in Vanity Fair‘s annual ‘New Establishment’ power rankings, along with business partner Eric Fellner. Bevan and Fellner founded British film powerhouse…

Film Industry Loses Behind-the-Scenes Star

Hundreds of mourners attended a tangi for NZ special effects expert Conway Wickliffe in Te Kuiti on October 14. Wickliffe, 41, was killed in England three weeks…

World Environment Day in Wellington

Wellington is to host World Environment Day 2008, the UN Environment Program has announced. The focus of next year’s global celebrations will be encouraging countries, companies and communities to…

Flag Debate Resurfaces

The debate over NZ’s national flag is in the spotlight again, after PM Helen Clark publicly proposed removing the Union Jack from its design. “I think people could debate…

Game On

Wellington-based Sidhe Interactive is the creative brains behind Jackass: The Game, released in the US by Red Mile Entertainment and MTV Games on September 26. The company hopes it will…

A decade in design

NZ architect Chris Moller is holding his first major solo exhibition in London, showcasing ten years of innovative practice by his company S333 Architecture + Urbanism. Titled On…