Anniversary of Death, Memories of Love
“This year marks the 90th anniversary of the death of Katherine Mansfield, who was famous for her short stories, sexual ambiguity and string of lovers,” Adam Sonin writes for the Hampstead…
May 2013 Archives
No Justice nor Kings Permitted
New Zealand’s Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages has released an updated list of banned newborn names. In the past 12 years, the agency has had to turn down not one, not two, but…
Words of Praise for Lions Coach
World Cup-winning former All Blacks skipper Graham Henry believes New Zealander Warren Gatland, 49, is the perfect choice as Lions coach. “Warren is an outstanding coach with a wealth of experience,’ says Henry,…
NZ-Papua Training in Community Policing to Start in September
The New Zealand government has allocated Rp 20 million (US$ 2 million) in aid for the Papua Community Policing programme, according to The Jakarta Post. The funding will see NZ police run a Training…
Britten Bike Revs Up for Isle of Man Lap
One of the most iconic racing motorcycles of all time, the Britten V1000, brainchild of Christchurch-born John Britten, returns to the track on 26 August as part of the inaugural Classic TT Races…
Nature-led and Outstandingly Good
According to the World’s 50 Best Restaurants website, Attica is New Zealand chef “Ben Shewry’s innovative but nature-led Melbourne masterpiece”. Shewry “often rises before dawn to forage on the shore near…
Kentucky Eventing Win for Nicholson
Seven-time New Zealand Olympian Andrew Nicholson, 51, has won the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event in the United States. Nicholson maintained his lead after the cross-country riding Quimbo, jumping a careful clear round in the…
Shrewd Choice for Poland Cook It Raw
New Zealand chef Ben Shewry is one of a selection of the “world’s finest chefs” to recall their experience of a Cook it Raw event for a recent Observer article. Shewry, who owns…
Mr Pip the Film to Screen First in New Zealand
Paramount Pictures has confirmed that New Zealand will be the first nation to see Mr Pip, the film, on general release. Mr Pip is set on the island of Bougainville during the vicious civil…
NZ Veterans Visit Korea for Armistice Commemorations
Hundreds of Korean War veterans, and bereaved families of fallen soldiers arrived in South Korea to attend commemorative events marking the 60th anniversary of the armistice that ended the three-year conflict, the Korean Herald…
Sean Maitland: Scotland Rugby’s Newest ‘Kilted Kiwi’
Sean Maitland, ex-Canterbury Crusaders and now Scotland rugby winger has one of his two wishes. He’s just been selected for the 2013 British and Irish Lions tour of Australia. Whether he gets the other…
Waddell Says Glasgow Will Host ‘amazing’ Games
Rob Waddell, head of the New Zealand Commonwealth Games team, told The Scotsman he is confident that Glasgow will host an ‘amazing’ Games next year. Speaking at the end of a four-day visit, Rob…
Eastbourne Sisters Enjoy Giltedge Success
Eastbourne (Wellington) Giltedge Publishing directors and sisters Ann Husmann and Kate McFlinn have publishing in their blood, writes Jazial Crossley in the Dominion Post. Their father, Gil McGhee, published primary school children’s…
Harvard Studies Telecom Split
NZ companies Telecom and Chorus are being used by the Harvard Business School to teach its MBA students, writes Tamsyn Parker in the New Zealand Herald. In 2011, the Government split New Zealand telecommunications…
China Overtakes Australia as NZ’s Biggest Export Market
China has overtaken Australia as New Zealand’s biggest export market for the first time, buying more meat, dairy products and pine logs, while shipments across the Tasman have fallen, says the Sydney Morning Herald. …
Delegat’s Snaps Up Aussie Winery
Auckland-based Delegat’s Group has bought the assets of Australia’s Barossa Valley Estate out of receivership for $24.7 million, according to Australia’s Courier Mail. The winemaker, whose stable includes the Oyster Bay brand, will acquire…
Green MP Apologies for NZ Climate Change Failure
New Zealand Green MP Kennedy Graham has apologised to Pacific leaders on behalf of New Zealanders who disagreed with their government’s decision not to sign the Copenhagen Agreement on reducing carbon emissions and alleviating…
NZ Faces Climate Change Disasters Influx
Climate change is real, and its impact on small Pacific states will be severe. So severe that New Zealand and Australia need to prepare now for an influx of Pacific Island peoples fleeing from…
Record Heights over Franz Josef
“With a 19,500-foot parachute jump over New Zealand’s scenic South Island … one of the highest commercial sky-dives in the world that doesn’t require customised planes and breathing equipment,” The Wall Street Journal’s Chris…
Fiji-NZ Trade Benefits Both Countries
New Zealand exports more than $300 million worth of goods to Fiji. This is more than New Zealand exports to Russia or South Africa. And Fiji can benefit from programs focused on expanding the…
Action-packed US Premieres for Bell
Auckland-born actress and stuntwoman Zoë Bell’s self-produced action/horror film Raze premiered at New York’s TriBeca Film Festival on 21 April. As well, Bell stars in Oblivion, alongside Tom Cruise, which also premiered last week….
NZ Aid to Vanuatu Focuses on Shefa Province
‘New Zealand has an important relationship with Vanuatu and Shefa Province … and we are keen to work with you to develop your Province, ‘New Zealand High Commissioner to Vanuatu Bill Dobbie recently told…
Olivia Lefebre’s Modeling Career Takes Off
From being discovered while shopping, at St Luke’s mall in Auckland, New Zealand, to strutting on the Paris catwalk– Cook Islander Olivia Lefebre is making a name for herself in the tough world of…
Miss Popularity Exceeds Half a Million Likes
Sixteen-year-old Hawkes Bay student Jamie Curry has amassed over 500,000 likes on her Facebook page, Jamie’s World, which she began in July last year. Seven million people a week see videos, photos and status…
Merleen Thomas, Inspirational Airline Engineer
‘One of the most satisfying things about my job is seeing an aircraft that you inspected take off and just seeing it fly in the air,’ Merleen Thomas, Air New Zealand aircraft engineer, told…
Looking on the Bright Side of Life
“The world’s most southerly capital city is a shining example of turning weaknesses into strengths,” David Whitley writes for Middle East newspaper The National. “Hemmed in between harbour and hills, Wellington simply doesn’t have…
Differences of Time on and off Set
Actor and winemaker Sam Neill, 65, talks to the South China Morning Post about corks, cows and why action films are duller than they look. “Making good films and good wines are both very…
Pasifika Education Achievement on the Rise
There has been a 3.5% increase in the number of Pacific Island 16-year-old students achieving the NCEA Level 2 qualification, according to the latest New Zealand education statistics. Pauline Winter, Chief Executive of New…
Birds with Mirrors Take Flight for Australia
New Zealander Lemi Ponifasio’s dance works have been acclaimed by critics as nothing short of revelatory, spiritual, even. The self-taught choreographer’s productions, starring Polynesian dancers, have been staged to critical acclaim across the…
NZ Told to Stop Fatty Food Exports
Nauru, the Cook Islands, Tonga, Niue and Samoa all rank in the 10 most obese nations on earth, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). Obesity rates in all these Pacific nations exceed 80%….
One of the World’s Best Guided Tours
Active Adventures New Zealand’s Five-Day ‘Kauri’ Essence of the North Island tour features in National Geographic Traveler’s eighth annual “50 of the World’s Best Guided Expeditions” list, which appears in the magazine’s May issue….
Keeping Track of North Korean News
Christchurch researcher Frank Feinstein has dedicated a website, to cataloguing dispatches from North Korea’s state media organization, Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). The website, called KCNA Watch, catalogues every KCNA English report on…
Pacific Leaders Choose Sustainable Development
Pacific leaders from 18 nations have rejected a call from the World Bank and New Zealand to free up trade, loosen regulation and shrink their public sectors, according to the Samoa Observer. Instead, a…
Ladyhawke Slips on Armani for Indie Cover
“Her songs like ‘Paris is Burning’ or ‘My Delirium’ are well-known all over the world, but hardly anyone knows her real name,” according to Austrian-based magazine, Indie – The Independent Style Magazine. “We…
