Topping Life Lists
New Zealand features in Washington Post series ‘Going Our Way’ which this week describes the best way of working to see the sights of the country. Orlando traveller Dara Curran asked the newspaper for…
News of New Zealanders via Global Media
Taste of Kiwiana in New York
This month New Zealand chef Mark Simmons, a former contestant on US television show Top Chef , opened Kiwiana in Park Slope, New York. The Village Voice spoke to Simmons about his new restaurant,…
Quake Expert Remembered
World-renowned earthquake engineer and inventor of the base isolation technique Dr Bill Robinson has died in Christchurch aged 73. The seismic protection and damping equipment developed by Dr Robinson is used in buildings located…
Luke Skywalker Island Minted
The tiny South Pacific nation of Niue, population 1311, will soon be accepting Star Wars coins as legal tender. Each coin will be minted with a fully colored image of Princess Leia, Luke Skywalker,…
New Zealand Blanketed in Snow
August saw freezing cold and snow blanketing virtually all of the country, even typically mild cities such as Wellington and Auckland, which last saw accumulated snow 45 and 72 years ago, respectively. “What began…
Back to the Big Screen
New Zealand actress Anna Paquin is to star alongside Ryan Phillipe in independent comedy Straight A’s which is set in Louisiana. Phillippe portrays a man who’s been in and out of rehab for 1…
Boy to Play US Cinemas
The American distribution rights to Taika Waititi’s Boy, which had its world premiere at the 21 Sundance Film Festival, have been acquired by indie outfit Paladin. Since playing at the Sundance, Berlin…
Almódovar’s Survivors
The autobiographies of New Zealand’s “greatest” author Janet Frame were part of an “esoteric selection of references” given to Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar’s new leading lady Elena Anaya in preparation for her role as…
Kakapo Star in Rat Island
New Zealand’s Kakapo are the focus of a new book telling the stories of the world’s best cases of predator eradication. Written by William Stolzenburg, Rat Island tells the stories of two heroic rescues…
Portuguese Win for Emirates
Emirates Team New Zealand, with Dean Barker at the helm, won the first America’s Cup World Series (ACWS) regatta in Portugal with a dramatic come-from-behind move in the winner-take-all fleet race on 14 August….
Mighty Tree Falls
Former Governor General Sir Paul Reeves has died in Auckland, aged 78. Prime Minister John Key said New Zealand has lost one of its greatest statesmen. “Sir Paul’s contribution to New Zealand did not…
Big Names Hit Slopes
The world’s largest winter competition, the 1% Pure New Zealand Winter Games, have begun in the Southern Alps with more than 1 winter sports atheletes from over 5 countries participating in the…
Comic Capers in LA
Director of acclaimed film Boy Wellingtonian Taika Waititi was part of a large New Zealand contingent who worked on comic-book blockbuster Green Lantern in Los Angeles, starring as aircraft engineer Thomas Kalmaku, best friend…
American Underdogs Join In
“With the zest notable to rugby players on and off the field, the Americans are delighted to be heading to the home of the All Blacks, with their Maori in-your-face war dance, the Haka,”…
Southern Storytelling
New Zealand singer/songwriter Jackie Bristow, who is based in the United States, recently played a solo acoustic set at the Henry Miller Library in Big Sur, California. On her most recent release…
Surge of Visitors for World Cup
Despite a strong New Zealand dollar, international rugby fans haven’t been deterred from organising travel to New Zealand for this year’s Rugby World Cup. The most recent figures forecast 1, more visitors than previously…
South Pacific Role for Rhodes
New Zealand baritone Teddy Tahu Rhodes will star in an Opera Australia production of South Pacific to open at the Sydney Opera House this month ahead of a nationwide tour. Opera Australia’s artistic director…
Apprentices and Prodigies
An exhibition of 12 up-and-coming contemporary New Zealand jewellers is on this month at Sydney’s Studio 2/17 gallery. ‘Handshake: Prentice and Prodigy’ is the brainchild of contemporary artist and jeweller, Peter Deckers….
Police Good Deeds in Stencil
“The New Zealand Police are hipper than you might think” with a new nationwide ad campaign that aims to tell true life stories of police officers through stencilled street art by Otis Frizzell. In…
Mt Cook Ridge Renamed
Mt Cook’s South Ridge will be renamed the Hillary Ridge in honour of Sir Edmund Hillary, the Everest conqueror. Announcing the change, Land Information Minister Maurice Williamson said: “Sir Edmund made an enormous contribution…
Transactions Over Canapés
The Auckland Art Fair was held from 4-7 August at the Viaduct Events Centre where “a transactional air of confidence and optimism permeated the space, which was filled with the usual opening-night mix of…
Doing Business Like Conchords
“As the duo behind the comedy and musical group Flight of the Conchords, you might be wondering what a folk band from New Zealand can offer by way of business advice,” Forbes contributor Deborah…
Farewell to the White Mouse
New Zealand heroine and NZEdge hero Nancy Wake has passed away in England, three weeks shy of her 99th birthday. Born in Wellington in 1912, Wake moved to Australia with…
Cheap and Cheerful
Auckland is the seventh-cheapest tourist-friendly city in the world, cheaper than Marrakesh in Morocco, rated eighth. The website Tripadvisor has launched TripIndex, which compares the cost of 5 tourist cities around the world. The…
Illusion of the Truth
“I never intended to become an apologist for Tony Blair’s war,” director Lee Tamahori wails down the phone from his home in Wellington. “I just wanted to show that Uday was a psycho.” He…
Absent From the Circus
Wellington has been home to British thriller writer Neil Cross for the past eight years since he moved away from the wearying “circus” of the UK and a 24 Booker nomination for his novel…
Walking on the Moon
Tongariro Alpine Crossing has been included in the online travel adviser Cheapflights’ top ten hiking destinations list alongside the Appalachian Trail and Mount Kilimanjaro. “New Zealand continuously tops adventure travel lists thanks…
Stateside for Sealegs
Auckland-based Sealegs International, makers of amphibious marine craft, will open its North American flagship showroom at the Hingham Shipyard Marinas in New England this month, the company’s first store outside New Zealand….
Defining Great on Eden Park
New Zealand has beaten Australia 3-14 to claim a record ninth straight Tri-Nations victory, and the Bledisloe Cup, at Auckland’s Eden Park. The World Cup favourites scored tries through Ma’a Nonu, Keven Mealamu and…
Hottest Jockey on the Planet
Nineteen-year-old Cambridge jockey James McDonald is the hottest teenage rider on the planet after a remarkable 12 months of smashing records in New Zealand. McDonald now has his sights on Melbourne’s feature cups double….
Leaders in Wine Trends
“New Zealand vintners are trendsetters in the wine world and are leaders in utilizing metal screw-caps, which work well for white wines that are consumed young,” Bill Garlough writes for Sun-Times Media. “They increasing…
Diplomatic to the End
Wellington-born Beryl Smedley — who was a prominent figure in the Diplomatic Service Wives’ Association over several decades, and author of Partners in Diplomacy, an account of the changing role of British diplomatic wives…
Glad to be Red
New Zealand-born forward Jeremy Kyne will play a backup role for the Canadian side at this year’s Rugby World Cup. Canada is extremely well stocked in the back row and he beat out some…
World First of Turf
The world’s first permanently enclosed, natural turf stadium has been completed in Dunedin’s Forsyth Barr stadium to replace the famous Carisbrook House of Pain. The first game of rugby will be held under what…
Taking Care of Carter
Swathe and swaddle him in bubblewrap and don’t drive over any potholes but every time Dan Carter goes into a tackle, a few more threads get fidgeted out of the upholstery writes Mark Reason…
Awe-Inspiring Lines in Wanaka
Day two of the 211 World Heli Challenge, held in the Southern Lakes area, from 27 July through 11 August, saw athletes going “huge with awe-inspiring cliff drops that had the spectators…
Silent Hitchcock Discovered
A thirty-minute portion of The White Shadow, a 1923 silent film that is considered to be Alfred Hitchcock’s first credit, has been found amongst a collection of unidentified American nitrate prints in the New…
Undeniable Success
New York’s hippest hotelier New Zealand-born Sean MacPherson — co-owner of the exclusive Waverly Inn, Maritime Hotel, Bowery Hotel, Jane Hotel and Montauk’s Crow’s Nest — makes the cover of August’s Avenue for a…
Making Our Roads Safer
New Zealand has increased its minimum driving age from 15 to 16 in an effort to make its roads safer, as well as banning those under 2 drinking any amount of alcohol and then…
Hippy Hippy Sheik
Auckland-born model Zippora Seven stars in Australian fashion label MyPetsQuare SS11/12 Marrakesh-inspired ‘Feast of the Hunter’s Moon’ look book. Seven, “at her wild, tousled finest”, was shot by Sydney-based photographer Amanda De Simone. Seven…
Drilling for Silence
Seventy scientists from around the world will gather in Gisborne from 1-5 August to discuss proposals to study “silent” earthquakes by drilling into the seabed. Silent quakes, also known as slow slip events, occur…
Ensuring World Nourishment
With a rapidly growing world population New Zealand has a key role in ensuring food security and safety for future generations, according to Mark Ward, general manager of Massey University’s The Riddet Institute, which…
Running Them Ragged
“New Zealand produced a dazzling display to run South Africa ragged in an emphatic Tri Nations victory at Wellington’s Westpac Stadium,” reported England’s Daily Mail. The All Blacks crushed the Spring Boks 4-7, with…
Jango Fett Has a Ball
Actor Temuera Morrison surprised Rotorua high school students recently when he made an appearance at their Star Wars-themed ball. According to the New Zealand Herald Morrison — who played bounty hunter Jango Fett in…
Huhu Animates the Edible
Auckland animation company Huhu Studios has signed a multi-million dollar deal to produce six all-new direct-to-video episodes of popular children’s show VeggieTales for America’s Big Idea Entertainment studio. Founder and CEO of Huhu Trevor…
Soprano in the Scrum
New Zealand soprano Hayley Westenra has been snapped with a number of burly rugby players, after she was named as the official voice of the Rugby World Cup for audiences in the UK. Westenra’s…
Californian Upset
New Zealand No 1 Marina Erakovic stunned top-seeded and defending champion Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 at the Stanford Classic in California to reach her second quarterfinal of the year. The 23-year-old…
Love Song to Opera House
New Zealanders musician Neil Finn and opera star Teddy Tahu Rhodes have been included in a line-up of artists chosen to perform sections of Nick Cave’s classic The Ship’s Song for a Sydney Opera…
New Zealand in Vogue
New Zealand is known for its edgy fashion exports such as Kate Sylvester and Zambesi, but a retrospective exhibition on now at Te Papa reveals a lesser known secret: the land of the long…
Farmyard Cancer Link
Researchers from Massey University in Wellington have found that growing up on a farm is linked to an increased risk of developing blood cancer later in life. The academics studied the death certificates of…
Auckland’s Top Five
“ city’s charming, walkable neighbourhoods offer distinct architectural styles and settings, from the iconic clock tower at the University of Auckland, to the Victorian houses backing up to lush Albert Park, with its fig…
Live Action at Comic-Con
Animation/motion-capture combination enabled Steven Spielberg to ‘step in and film like a live-action film’, said Peter Jackson at Comic-Con, who was a surprise guest at…
Grass and Seeds
Wellington reggae-soul group The Black Seeds played at the Australian music festival Splendour in the Grass at Woodford in Queensland on 29 July; keyboardist Nigel Patterson was interviewed ahead of the gig by the…
Sailing World Champion
Tauranga sailor Sam Meech has won the Laser Standard Youth World Championships in La Rochelle, France. Of 12 races sailed in the world championship, Meech won eight and finished second in another three. In…
In Love With His TV
Chief executive of Virgin Media New Zealander Neil Berkett has been placed at number 52 on the MediaGuardian annual top 1 guide to the most powerful people in television, radio, newspapers, magazines, digital media,…
Curing the Post-Tour Blues
New Zealand musician Liam Finn admits that on the back of tours around the world with Pearl Jam, The Black Keys and Wilco, he was cast adrift by his sudden sea change. “I didn’t…
