July 2015 Archives

Booktrack Attracts $5 Million in Funding

Booktrack Attracts $5 Million in Funding

The New Zealand e-publishing venture Booktrack has secured $5 million in funding led by investments from COENT Venture Partners and Sparkbox Ventures, which will be used to support recent overall growth. Booktrack offers publishers the…

25 years of bloopers – 3 News

25 years of bloopers – 3 News

Have a little laugh and take a look back at TV3 most funniest and embarrassing news bloopers of 25 years.

School Performs Emotional Haka at Teacher’s Funeral

School Performs Emotional Haka at Teacher’s Funeral

Students and teachers of Palmerston North Boys’ High School have paid tribute to their beloved and long-serving teacher Dawson Tamatea at his funeral. The entire school performed a traditional Haka as the hearse carrying Mr…

Len Lye Centre Opens in New Plymouth

Len Lye Centre Opens in New Plymouth

“Travel to New Zealand for the love of art,” declares India Today in a feature about New Plymouth’s brand new Len Lye Centre, New Zealand’s first gallery dedicated to a single artist. The

Kiwi DNA Study Reveals Bird Lost Colour Vision

Kiwi DNA Study Reveals Bird Lost Colour Vision

Scientists at the University of Leipzig in Germany say they have sequenced the genome of the brown kiwi for the first time, revealing that the shy, flightless bird likely lost its ability to see…

Anna Hansen Says It’s Not Fun Boiling a Pig’s Head

Anna Hansen Says It’s Not Fun Boiling a Pig’s Head

New Zealand chef Anna Hansen, 45, who worked with Michelin-starred Fergus Henderson and fusion expert Peter Gordon before opening her own London restaurant, The Modern Pantry, talks with the Independent about music to make…

Start Again ft. Samantha Jade – Stan Walker

Start Again ft. Samantha Jade – Stan Walker

Listen and watch Stan Walkers music video ‘Start Again ft. Samantha Jade’ and was co-written by Stan Walker and Vince Harder. The video features Samantha Jade who is a…

Iconic Mountain Bike Race The Pioneer Set for Alps

Iconic Mountain Bike Race The Pioneer Set for Alps

A new mountain bike race, The Pioneer, is set to hit the rugged trails of the Southern Alps from 31 January through 6 February 2016. The race will string together established bike trails with…

Great Lake Trail

Great Lake Trail

Follow 100% Pure New Zealand on an epic bike journey on the Great Lake Trial. The adventure starts at the shores of beautiful Lake Taupo and takes in the…

Sir Edmund Hillary’s Name Taken to New Heights

Sir Edmund Hillary’s Name Taken to New Heights

A newly discovered mountain range on Pluto has been named Hillary Montes in homage to New Zealand mountaineer Sir Edmund Hillary, half of the pair who first climbed Mount Everest in 1953. Tenzing Norgay, his…

Finnian Galbraith’s Hit Te Reo Pronunciation Video

Finnian Galbraith’s Hit Te Reo Pronunciation Video

Raumati College pupil Finnian Galbraith’s YouTube video complaining about poor pronunciation of Maori words has proved a hit online, with more than 160,386 views. Galbraith, 15, says in his YouTube video that many people in…

Sileni Estates Winery Finds Ripe Market in US

Sileni Estates Winery Finds Ripe Market in US

Nigel Avery, CEO of Sileni Estates USA, and a former member of New Zealand’s Olympic weightlifting team, has moved his family to Minnesota while he works to expand sales and learn the US market…

The Story of Peter and The Rabbit

The Story of Peter and The Rabbit

Spend a minute (and a half) and enjoy the epic, heart-warming story of Peter and the rabbit, the first of many inspiring BP stories that come from every corner…

Jono Williams Invents the Ultimate Man Cave

Jono Williams Invents the Ultimate Man Cave

Plastics engineer and inventor Jono Williams has built possibly the world’s most coveted man cave in Linton. After shooting the breeze one night with his mate Grant Ramsay, a mechatronics engineer, Williams committed to building…

Darren Pene Pati Wins at Operalia 2015

Darren Pene Pati Wins at Operalia 2015

New Zealander Darren Pene Pati, “the one with the special tenor voice”, took second prize and the audience prize for male singer at this year’s Operalia, The World’s Opera Competition, held in London. According to…

McCaw Magic Seals All Blacks Win at Ellis Park

McCaw Magic Seals All Blacks Win at Ellis Park

New Zealand captain Richie McCaw grabbed a late winning try to lift the All Blacks to a dramatic 27-20 win over South Africa at Ellis Park in Johannesburg. The home side led for most of…

New Zealand’s Worst Speller with Guy Williams

New Zealand’s Worst Speller with Guy Williams

Follow around Guy Williams as he tries to find New Zealand’s worst speller. The video clip was featured on Jono and Ben.

Seb Chan Is Digitally Revitilising Museums

Seb Chan Is Digitally Revitilising Museums

New Zealand-born Seb Chan, lauded for his leading role in transforming the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York with a human-centred digital renewal, has been appointed chief eXperience officer (CXO) at the…

New Zealand Seventh Most Respected Country

New Zealand Seventh Most Respected Country

New Zealand has been ranked as the seventh most respected country in the 2015 RepTrak Survey conducted by the Reputation Institute, which examines how countries are perceived across the globe. 55 nations were…

The Good Dinosaur Trailer Released – Voice Over Cast Includes Anna Paquin

The Good Dinosaur Trailer Released – Voice Over Cast Includes Anna Paquin

The official trailer for The Good Dinosaur has been released and is starring New Zealander Anna Paquin as part of the voice-over cast. “At first glance it might look like ground similarly tread by another…

Six Picturesque Places in New Zealand You Must Visit

Six Picturesque Places in New Zealand You Must Visit

The Indian Express has featured six breathtaking places in New Zealand “you will absolutely love (…) if you are a nature lover”. 1. Sutherland Falls – New Zealand’s largest waterfall in Milford Sound 2. The Kepler…

New Zealander Wins French Scrabble Championship Despite Not Speaking French

New Zealander Wins French Scrabble Championship Despite Not Speaking French

New Zealander Nigel Richards has won the French Scrabble championships even though “his command of the language (…) stretches to “bonjour” and being able to count”. Richards, who has been called the Tiger Woods of…

New Zealand Girl Plays Piano While Sleepwalking

New Zealand Girl Plays Piano While Sleepwalking

“Some people are so good at musical instruments they purport to be able to play it in their sleep. Yet for this one girl, it’s a reality”, writes Vin Shahrestani for The Telegraph. A video…

Lucy Lawless – “Xena Reboot a Rumour”

Lucy Lawless – “Xena Reboot a Rumour”

“Twenty years after it first premiered as a Hercules spinoff, Xena: Warrior Princess could be returning to television”, writes Lesley Goldberg for The Hollywood Reporter. Over the last few weeks rumours have been heard that the beloved…

New Zealand Attractions Named in the 2015 TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice Awards

New Zealand Attractions Named in the 2015 TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice Awards

A number of New Zealand attractions including the amusement parks Splash Planet and Rainbow’s End have been recognised in the TripAdvisor  2015 Travelers’ Choice Awards. Hawke’s Bay’s water park Splash Planet has been…

Kate Newby, artist, debuts in New York

Kate Newby, artist, debuts in New York

New York-based Aucklander Kate Newby debuts at the Laurel Gitlen Gallery in the Lower East Side with a show ‘I memorized it I loved it so much’, with a laudatory review in…

In Defense of the Soccer Mom’s Favorite Wine

In Defense of the Soccer Mom’s Favorite Wine

Reliable, inexpensive New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc is the go-to wine for many Americans. Is it worthy? And are some even better than just upscale Pinot Grigio? Lettie Teague, wine columnist for The…

Westcoast Surfing

Westcoast Surfing

Watch the beautiful video by Sammi Kim as he takes amazing shots of surfing at the beaches of West Coast New Zealand. The video was shot with vintage glass…

New Book Spotlights Home of the British Army-Kiwi WWI Connection

New Book Spotlights Home of the British Army-Kiwi WWI Connection

Aldershot in the Great War: The Home of the British Army, part of the Your Towns & Cities in the Great War series published by Pen and Sword Military, is the first…

Flautist Marya Martin heads Bridgehampton Festival

Flautist Marya Martin heads Bridgehampton Festival

Internationally acclaimed flutist Marya Martin heads the 26st season of the Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival on New York’s Long Island with an 12-concert program featuring works by Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Mendelssohn, Mozart and Schubert….

Warren Gatland Steers Wales into World Cup Ready

Warren Gatland Steers Wales into World Cup Ready

With a near perfect World Cup training trip to Switzerland in the bank, Wales coach Warren Gatland has steered his squad into a very good place, according to Wales Online rugby editor Delme Parfitt. “If…

Cutthroat role for Teddy Tahu Rhodes as Sweeney

Cutthroat role for Teddy Tahu Rhodes as Sweeney

Operatic baritone New Zealander Teddy Tahu Rhodes has the lead role as the infamous barber in Victorian Opera’s take on Sweeney Todd, Stephen Sondheim’s bloodiest musical. Rhodes, playing Sweeney for the first time, hasn’t watched…

Te Ao Te Huia audition – ‘It Only Happens’

Te Ao Te Huia audition – ‘It Only Happens’

Te Ao Te Huia sings ‘It Only Happens’ for her audition for The X Factor NZ. The X Factor is where talent seekers compete with one another to become…

Owen Dippie Sprays NY Masterpieces with a Twist

Owen Dippie Sprays NY Masterpieces with a Twist

New Zealand street artist Owen Dippie is making a name for himself in Brooklyn, New York with “show-stopping” murals. It takes a true intuitive sense and careful execution to produce a mashup or remix, and…

Photographer Tony Carter Finds Other World in Ohuru – a “tight-knit and colourful community”

Photographer Tony Carter Finds Other World in Ohuru – a “tight-knit and colourful community”

Ohura is a tiny town with a population of just 120 people where there is next to no power, internet, or jobs – where time almost stands still. Photographer Tony Carter spent one year…

Maori All Blacks vs. NZ Barbarians – Highlights

Maori All Blacks vs. NZ Barbarians – Highlights

Take a look at the highlights of Maori All Blacks vs. New Zealand Barbarians – 18th July 2015 by NZAUTV Rugby Union.

Michel Tuffery Invites Sydney to Siamani Samoa

Michel Tuffery Invites Sydney to Siamani Samoa

New Zealand artist Michel Tuffery joined forces with the Royal Samoa Police Band, who were in Sydney playing outside the Pacific Islands for the first time, to mark the 100th anniversary of the end…

Flight of the Conchords Role Models for Success

Flight of the Conchords Role Models for Success

Flight of the Conchords stars Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie are California-born stand-up comedian Arj Barker’s role models, he tells the Guardian. Barker, who is best known for his role as pawnshop owner Dave in…

‘You can’ feat Charles Dance – NZ Post

‘You can’ feat Charles Dance – NZ Post

Take a look at this quirky advertisement by NZ Post about New Zealanders and New Zealand businesses who busy achieving remarkable things. NZ Post helps in any way they…

Lujo’s Free-Standing Hammock a Visual Masterpiece

Lujo’s Free-Standing Hammock a Visual Masterpiece

A free-standing hammock designed by New Zealand-based company Lujo features in the Dallas Morning News Home & Gardening section. Lujo, which designs and manufactures top-of-the-line lounge furniture, describes its free-standing hammock as “a functional sculpture…

New Zealand Biker Jed Mildon Lands World First BMX Quadruple Backflip

New Zealand Biker Jed Mildon Lands World First BMX Quadruple Backflip

New Zealand professional BMX biker Jed Mildon, 28, has landed the world’s first quadruple backflip after four years of planning for the incredible feat. Riding a 20-foot box jump, Mildon scored his second world first…

All Blacks Dominate Argentina in Christchurch

All Blacks Dominate Argentina in Christchurch

Captain Richie McCaw scored a try and stand-off Dan Carter kicked 14 points in their last home Test at AMI Stadium in Christchurch as the All Blacks beat Argentina 39-18 in the opening match…

Diplomatic Businessman Sir John Buchanan

Diplomatic Businessman Sir John Buchanan

Sir John Buchanan, who has died aged 72, was an Auckland-born scientist who rose to be finance director at BP before taking on prominent non-executive board roles in sectors ranging from mining, most recently…

New Face of International Music Conducting

New Face of International Music Conducting

Gemma New, the 28-year-old native New Zealander violinist who became a professional conductor while still in her teens, has been named the music director of the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra’s in…

New Zealand Flax (1950)

New Zealand Flax (1950)

New Zealand National Film Unit presents a 1950 short film on New Zealand Flax. This film takes a look at the harvesting and milling of New Zealand flax -…

World Economy Model Inspires NZ artist Michael Stevenson in New York exhibit

World Economy Model Inspires NZ artist Michael Stevenson in New York exhibit

A hydro-mechanical computer that models world economic flows, invented in 1949 by New Zealander Bill Phillips, is the inspiration for artist Michael Stevenson’s installation at Long Island City’s SculptureCenter in…

Karl Urban Nominates Kids Can as Part of Star Trek Beyond’s Global Omaze Campaign

Karl Urban Nominates Kids Can as Part of Star Trek Beyond’s Global Omaze Campaign

Karl Urban has nominated the New Zealand charity Kids Can as one of the nine global causes chosen by the cast of Justin Lin’s Star Trek Beyond as part of the Star Trek: To Boldly…

Ash Vs. Evil Dead Trailer Released at Comic Con

Ash Vs. Evil Dead Trailer Released at Comic Con

The first Ash vs. Evil Dead trailer has been screened at the 2015 San Diego Comic-Con. “If anyone was on the fence about bringing the cult classic horror tale to the small screen, this trailer…

New Zealand Stars Feature in Powerful ‘Force of Black’ Rugby World Cup Advert

New Zealand Stars Feature in Powerful ‘Force of Black’ Rugby World Cup Advert

New Zealand’s All Blacks players unleash their inner animals in the new powerful World Cup advert by shirt sponsors Adidas. “It’s inside us. Beating in our heart, pumping through our veins. It strengthens every sense….

Everest to Open the Venice Film Festival

Everest to Open the Venice Film Festival

“Everest, a new movie about the two rival missions up the mountain in 1996, has been chosen as the opening night film of this year’s Venice film festival – a spot which has recently proved…

Clear Skies Ahead for Cloudy Bay

Clear Skies Ahead for Cloudy Bay

Cloudy Bay, the New Zealand winery that has “become the flag-bearer for New World wines,” is celebrated in the June issue of Air France Magazine. The winery, established in 1985…

Legacy of Visionary Entrepreneur Catalyzes NY’s Park Avenue Armory

Legacy of Visionary Entrepreneur Catalyzes NY’s Park Avenue Armory

The family of Wade Thompson, the Wellington, New Zealand native who revitalized the US recreational vehicle industry in the 1980s, has gifted New York City’s Park Avenue Armory with an historic $65…

SIX60 – Forever

SIX60 – Forever

Listen to SIX60’s single ‘Forever’ from their self-titled debut studio album. SIX60 was formed in Dunedin, the founding members met while attending the University of Otago. The band created…

Annette Tanner on a Unique Broadway Mission

Annette Tanner on a Unique Broadway Mission

New Zealander Annette Tanner, executive director of Atlanta-based non-profit organisation Broadway Dreams Foundation, is one of a “handful of remarkable women who are making their mark on educational theatre” in the United States, the…

Massey University Professor Chris Galloway committed to telling stories of Palestinians

Massey University Professor Chris Galloway committed to telling stories of Palestinians

“I feel personal commitment to tell the stories of Palestinians in the West Bank where I taught voluntarily a few times,” Chris Galloway, a professor from Massey University, told the Tehran Times on the…

Tree Church by Barry Cox a Backyard Sanctuary

Tree Church by Barry Cox a Backyard Sanctuary

Barry Cox’s Waikato Tree Church is a “heavenly 100-seat chapel set among a three-acre landscaped garden … walls are made of living trees planted around an iron frame”, Slate magazine reports. “In 2011, Cox,…