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Archive >> September 2011
New Zealand a Travel Success
New Zealand has won five awards at the 18th World Travel Awards in the Australasia category, with Air New Zealand voted as the region’s ‘leading airline’ and…
Nothing of the Golden Girl
A pre-True Blood Anna Paquin stars in the recently-released Margaret as 17-year-old Lisa Cohen, a senior at an upper West Side private school. The New Yorker’s movie editor Richard…
Mystical Oscar Entry
Samoan-language feature The Orator (O Le Tulafale) is New Zealand’s first-ever entry into the best foreign-language film category for the 84th Academy Awards. New Zealand Film Commission…
Tempting Players Back Home
“New Zealand’s incredible dominance of rugby league in recent years is paving the way for a second team to enter an expanded NRL competition,” Daily Telegraph sports editor-at-large…
Warriors Prepare for Battle
The Warriors have touched down in Sydney in preparation for Sunday’s NRL grand final having defied the odds to win against the Storm last weekend. Despite claims the team…
Danger for Native Dolphins
New Zealand’s Hector’s dolphin population has fallen from 30,000 to around 7000 since nylon gillnets came into use in the 1970s while subspecies Maui’s dolphin is seriously threatened with…
Squared to Power of Awesome
Neil Finn’s “Kraut-inspired” Pajama Club recently performed a special set on Later With Jools Holland enlisting Ladyhawke on drums. Pajama Club also features Sharon Finn, Sean Donnelly…
Handsome Encore
Christchurch-born baritone Teddy Tahu Rhodes (right) performs with Australian David Hobson at the Perth Concert Hall on 29 October as part of their “encore” national tour. During a lunch…
Provoking Perfumed Luck
Aucklander Isaac Sinclair is New Zealand’s sole perfumer and one of only 500 official perfumers worldwide. Sinclair, who grew up in Laingholm and Blockhouse Bay, trained in Milan and…
Hawaiian Duet
Dame Kiri Te Kanawa performed “a range of songs from the Baroque to Rachmaninoff, accompanied by friend and accompanist, Professor Terence Dennis” in a benefit concert for the Hawaii…
Whimsical Wannabe Snat
“Behind the tomfoolery, the chap who appears to have stumbled off the set of Withnail and I is making some of this year’s boldest music,” Guardian reviewer Dave Simpson…
Caro to Direct Callas
Wellington-born film-director Niki Caro will assume writing and directorial duties for Callas, a film about the life of legendary opera star Maria Callas based on Alfonso Signorini’s book Too…
Laminating in China
Auckland-based construction giant Fletcher Building Ltd has announced it is to build a new laminates plant in China through its Formica Group unit. Formica, which designs and manufactures laminates,…
Restitution of History
France will return some 20 mummified heads of Maori warriors still held by its museums back to New Zealand at a ceremony in January. The restitution follows a four-year…
Eyeballing for Laughs
New Zealand award-winning comedian Sam Wills, 32, has drawn comparisons with Harpo Marx and Mr Bean, “though he is grungier and livelier than both” according to the Guardian’s Brian…
Wondering About Kaitangata
Margaret Mahy’s Kaitangata Twitch is reviewed on the Guardian’s children’s book site, a site “by kids, for kids”. “The Kaitangata Twitch is an earthquake that happens regularly,” Bookworm 88…
Parallel Computing Hotbed
New Zealand could be a hub of expertise for parallel computing — “the future of computing” — according to software director at chip maker Intel James Reinders. Parallel computing…
Revelling in Rugby Fervour
“International commentators have revelled in New Zealand’s embracing of the , calling for the small nation to get a chance to host again — regardless of the…
Masterpiece Rereleased
Peter Jackson’s “masterpiece” Heavenly Creatures has been reissued on DVD and Blu-ray and is re-reviewed by the Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw who says watching Jackson’s “masterly, formally daring, and superbly…
Testing Theories of Existence
New Zealand and Australia are working together to build the most powerful radio telescope ever constructed, the $2 billion Square Kilometre Array (SKA). The international consortium behind the project…
Return of the Storm Petrel
DNA evidence has confirmed that the tiny New Zealand storm petrel bird, thought to be extinct for more than 150 years, is still alive, meaning its comeback eclipses that…
Milestone Made at Eden Park
“After being awarded a special commemorative cap for becoming the first man to reach 100 All Black caps, captain Richie McCaw told over 60,000 fans at Eden Park that…
Rather Unsettling Logic
“Twentysomething” New Zealand musician Connan Mockasin is on tour in the United Kingdom playing gigs in Glasgow, Manchester, Sheffield, Bristol and Brighton. The Guardian includes London-based Mockasin in its…
More Presence than Santa
Warriors cult hero Manu Vatuvei averages more than 70m a game from inside his own half, providing the type of quick play-the-balls that ignite Warriors marches upfield. “…
Great Things Take Seasons
New Zealander Mark Burry is executive architect of the Basilica and Expiatory Church of the Holy Family in Barcelona and part of a project that needs no completion date…
Soccer Challenges the Union
“You don’t have to follow rugby to know that the national team of New Zealand, the All Blacks, are the undisputed kings of this sport,” Wall Street Journal reporters…
Sharing the Medals
Linda Villumsen, cycling for New Zealand, earned silver in the elite women’s race against the clock at the 2011 UCI Road Championships in Copenhagen, while New Zealand cyclist James…
Desert Diplomats Draw Closer
The New Zealand Embassy in Riyadh recently played host to a special meeting of 100 trade and investment leaders from the Saudi Arabian business community including New Zealand businessmen…
Top of the Podium for Dixon
New Zealand speedster Scott Dixon driving for Ganassi Racing, has won the IndyCar Series’ Indy Japan 300 mile auto race at Twin Ring Motegi in Motegi. And if there’s…
On the Beach in Devonport
Auckland artist Kirsty Nixon is staging a solo exhibition of 15 iconic beach and coastal paintings at Devonport’s Art by the Sea Gallery from 8 October to…
Rock ‘n’ Roll Running
Papakura-born athlete Kim Smith, has broken her personal US all-comers record winning the Rock ‘n’ Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon in 67:10, seven weeks out from the ING New York…
Lucerne Greens Up the Dry
Farmer of the Year Marlborough lamb and beef producer Doug Avery was a guest at the Queensland Agforce conference in September giving Australians tips on drought proofing their properties….
Notes For the Animals
Christchurch-born soprano Hayley Westenra, 24, talks to the Daily Mail’s Jon Wilde about hiring Victoria Beckham’s minder to deal with stalkers and reaching notes only animals can hear. “Certain…
Baronial City Still Impressive
“A plan for was laid out on paper in Scotland and given the old Gaelic name for Edinburgh, Dun Eideann,” The Independent’s Adrian Mourby explains. “There were high…
Elevating Comfort Food
“In the global landscape of New York City dining, New Zealand is underrepresented,” The Wall Street Journal’s Lauren Lancaster writes. “Chef Mark Simmons, best known for a stint on…
Comparing Notes in Casper
Aucklander Donna Thompson (right) has been writing to Wyoming woman Peg Scott since she was 12-years-old. The pen pals finally met 46 years later over breakfast at Sherrie’s Place…
Sensitive Golfing
In the space of three weeks this winter, Cape Kidnappers Golf Course was honoured as the most environmentally sensitive golf course in New Zealand, and by GOLF Magazine as…
Pass Mark Against Blossoms
All Blacks coach Graham Henry has given his team a pass mark following their 83-7 thrashing of Japan in the Rugby World Cup Pool A match on…
Seriously Shaken
“By the standards of global hipness, New Zealand – where local food is a way of life and you’re as likely to see a beard on a farmer as…
Scrumptious Colours in NY
New Zealand-born designer Rebecca Taylor was aiming for something “modern, ethereal and angelic,” at this month’s New York Fashion Week where Taylor previewed her spring 2012 collection. The angelic…
Fashion Blogging Self Love
New Zealander Gala Darling, 27, is making a big name for herself as a fashion blogger and is one of only ten to fly to Barcelona in…
Lit Up on Coconuts
The electricity demands of New Zealand territory Tokelau will soon be met by renewable energy sources. Tokelau’s leader Foua Toloa has announced that by the middle of 2012, 93…
Time to Read the Tome
Hamilton Doctor Who fan and author of the ultimate guide to the time traveller’s adventures Jon Preddle began work on his two volume epic Timelink: The Unofficial and Unauthorised…
Five Trophies at Five Nations
New Zealand has won five trophies at the inaugural Five Nations Wine Challenge, judged in Sydney. Each of the five nations – New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Chile and…
Film on the Ground in LA
Film New Zealand and Wellington post production outfit Park Road are joining forces to open a Los Angeles-based office. From 2012, head of marketing at Park Road Post Production…
Mutual Love of the Outdoors
New Zealand-based active-lifestyle clothing company Icebreaker – one of a number of new international fashion and fashion-related retailers operating in Canada – opened a store in Vancouver this year,…
Dorsal Fin Encounters
“Kaikoura is not a name that trips off the tongue when you list those lucky places that offer encounters with nature and a touch of luxury,” The Independent’s Jonathan…
Big Doses of Epinephrine
“If careening downriver at 50 miles per hour in a boat that came within inches of jagged cliff walls hadn’t woken me up and floating backwards through a swirling…
Aim and Fire Over Canada
A sniper cell from New Zealand was one of 27 teams taking part in the annual Canadian International Sniper Concentration at Canadian Forces Base in Gagetown. Captain John Bourgeois,…
Worldwide Audience Wowed
“New Zealand were impressive in spots as they got their Rugby World Cup off to a winning start,” according to the Guardian’s Barry Glendenning who gives an in-depth minute-by-minute…
Elements Emblazoned
Its beauty is dazzling enough by day, but when the sun goes down New Zealand’s seas, caves and starlit skies are another world Jonathan Freedland describes in a Guardian…
Understanding Sporting Passion
Award-winning Wellington-born filmmaker Julian Shaw’s “emotive” 211 documentary Cup of Dreams is recommended to Australians so they may gain some insights on how the All Blacks can be beaten…
Made in New Zealand
Zambesi’s 2012 collection shown at the recent New Zealand Fashion Week was a fusion of sportswear, workwear and tailoring with unexpected pops of electric blue and acid yellow amid…
Gulls Lift Off Over St Clair
Seagulls take off in the early at morning St Clair Beach in a photograph included in the Guardian’s ’24 hours in pictures’ series. St Clair Beach, located ten minutes…
Rediscovering Talent
New Zealand singer-songwriter Liam Finn, who is promoting his latest studio album FOMO, plays at Philadelphia’s World Cafe Live on 18 September. Co-producer of FOMO Canadian-born Burke Reid helped…
Scottish Dairy Venture
New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra, the largest processor of milk in the world, has made its first move into Europe by forming a joint venture with Scotland-based First Milk,…
