Archive >> July 2013

Deciphering Clues from Ancient Bones in Cambodia

For the past seven years, New Zealand archaeologist Dr Nancy Beavan has been unravelling the mystery of a graveyard in Cambodia dating back to the Angkor era. At Phnom…

Double the Win in Sevens Tournament Finals

New Zealand has completed a “remarkable sweep of rugby’s major global titles” this week with the men beating England 33-0 at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow to win the

Young Aucklander Breaks US Charts

Auckland born singer Ella Yelich O’Connor has broken into the American Billboard Chart despite doing next to no State-side promotion. The sixteen-year-old who goes by the name Lorde became…

Gatland Rang His Chances and Triumphed

Hamilton-born Warren Gatland “turned a Lions travesty into a triumph” with the team’s 41-16 win over Australia in the third and deciding match, the Lion’s first Test series victory…

Talented Conductor Directs New Jersey Summer Concerts

Wellington-born Gemma New, assistant conductor for the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra (NJSO), is directing three free-admission summer concerts at Mercer County Park, New Jersey. New has been conducting…

Vivid Encounters with Insects in Glass Wings

“It takes just four lines for ‘Alumnae Notes’ to transport us first to the schoolgirl in 40s New Zealand and then to her literary exile in London:…

Wistful New York Gallery Debut for Upritchard

New Zealand artist Francis Upritchard’s full-scale New York gallery debut has opened at Anton Kern. Art Daily reports: “London-based who represented her country at the 2009…

Bringing a Taste of NZ to the America’s Cup

New Zealand restaurateur Tony Stewart has opened a pop-up restaurant in San Francisco in time for the America’s Cup races in September. Showcasing New Zealand produce and design, the…

Night to Remember at Melbourne Jazz Club

New Zealand-born pianist and composer, Steve Barry, named Young Australian Jazz Artist of the Year at last month’s Bell Awards, performed as a trio with Tom Botting on bass…

Parker Hulme Story Unfolds in Tabloid-like Detail

Former Hong Kong lawyer New Zealander Peter Graham’s “compelling read”, Anne Perry and the Murder of the Century, is awarded five out of five stars by reviewer Glen Young…

At Home on the Banks of the Mekong

The home of New Zealand doctor Andrew Thomson, who works for the United Nations in Cambodia, features in The New York Times’ section “Great Homes and Destinations” this week….

Angry Lego on the Rise

A researcher in New Zealand has found that Lego figurines are becoming increasingly angrier. In a study of 3,655 figures produced between 1975 and 2010, Dr Christoph Bartneck, a…

Sequencing Genes to See What Makes a Thoroughbred

A piece of champion thoroughbred Phar Lap’s tooth is being sent to the University of Sydney’s veterinary science faculty from Wellington so scientists can analyse his DNA and compare…

Charming Waiters and Creative Cooking Impresses

Auckland café Ortolana’s “Perfect Brunch” features in The Monocle Food & Entertaining Guide 2013, included as a supplement in the current issue of the magazine. “Ortolana is small and…

All Bronzed Up for Bondi Beach Vogue Shoot

Seventeen-year-old Miss Vogue cover model Holly Rose speaks about how she went from an “ordinary girl from New Zealand” to one of the most in-demand models in the southern…

Focus on What You Do Best Says Facebook Exec

As the mobile industry evolves, mobile operators and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) should focus on what they do best, according to New Zealander Vaughan Smith, vice president of corporate…

Tiny Troop of Toddlers Performs the Cutest Haka Ever

Six Ngati Toa children with an average age of two, from Porirua’s Bronwyn’s Place Daycare, have performed what news outlets are calling “the cutest Haka ever”. “It is one…

Why Hollywood is Staying in New Zealand

“From James Cameron’s organic farm to Emmy contender Top of the Lake, the idyllic island nation continues to thrive 12 years after Frodo and Co. put it on the…

Mayor Gives Residents a Sense of What Auckland Could Be

Auckland sits at No 10 on Monocle magazine’s annual “Top 25 liveable cities” list, with Copenhagen at No 1, followed by Melbourne at No 2. “Auckland’s mayor Len Brown…

Uninterrupted Writing Time Awarded for Belgian Story

Hastings author Anna Mackenzie, 50, is the first New Zealander to be awarded the writer’s residency in Belgium by Passa Porta, International House of Literature, which is offered to…

Dancer Bound for Fame in San Francisco

Eighteen-year-old Aucklander Joel Walsham has become the first New Zealander to be awarded a scholarship to prestigious United States dance university, LINES Ballet in San Francisco. Early this year…