Sam Smith’s New Zealand Adventure
This is the “best day of my life”, English singer Sam Smith proclaimed on Instagram following his visit to Hobbiton, the real-life movie set of Lord of the Rings located on the North Island…
News of New Zealanders via Global Media
Paul Ding Signs Mega Deal with S Korean Online Shopping Giant
New Zealand home shopping channel, Auckland-based Yes Shop, has signed a groundbreaking supply agreement with online shopping giant HMall of South Korea, which will see more goods being traded directly between the two countries. HMall…
Air New Zealand Celebrates 75 Years of Flying
Air New Zealand, turns back the clock to the 1940s and is taking passengers back to where it all began to celebrate their 75 years of flying. “Air New Zealand’s first flight (on…
New Zealand Emissions Cut Breakthrough
New Zealand scientists have made a breakthrough in methane inhibitors that could reduce greenhouse gas emissions from sheep and cattle drastically without cutting production. “If successfully developed and commercialized, the new findings offer the potential…
Lydia Ko to Donate Winnings to Disaster-Struck Nepal
New Zealand golfer Lydia Ko is planning to donate all her winnings from this week’s LPGA tournament to the relief effort in quake-hit Nepal. The winner of this week’s tournament will receive $A 243,400. The golfing…
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck – Future Rugby League Star
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck has the potential to become “one of New Zealand’s greatest ever players” proclaims David Long in the Sydney Morning Herald. The New Zealander, who grew up in South Auckland said he never wanted…
Rotoroa Island a Bold Wildlife Experiment
Rotoroa Island in the Hauraki Gulf is tiny, at just 82 hectares, but don’t let its diminutiveness fool you: big things are happening here. Over the past few years the island has become the…
Peter Jackson Celebrates Life of Friend Andrew Lesnie
Peter Jackson has taken to Facebook to celebrate the life of Andrew Lesnie – his friend, ‘brother’ and frequent collaborator, who suffered a fatal heart attack this week. “I grew up wondering what…
Scrabble Genius Nigel Richards’ Talent Helping Science
The boardgame Scrabble is giving psychologists a better understanding of the underpinnings of complex skill and a clearer picture of the origins of greatness. New Zealander Nigel Richards is widely regarded as the best…
For the Sake of Britain James Cook Amended NZ Map
In an extract from a paper called, “Political Captain Cook” by Australian lawyer Margaret Cameron-Ash, Cook’s decision in 1770 to misrepresent Stuart Island as a peninsula is discussed. “Like every military man, Cook knew that…
Jess Cornelius Releases New Track Ahead of Courtney Barnett Tour
“New Zealand-born, Melbourne-based singer-songwriter Jess Cornelius is the tour de force behind Teeth & Tongue, and returns with a rollicking new track ‘Cupcake’,” Monica Tan writes for the Guardian’s weekly “Mixtape” column. “Although recorded in…
Country Star Marlon Williams Takes to the Road
New Zealand-born, Melbourne-based singer-songwriter Marlon Williams will tour Australia and his home country in support of his just-released, critically acclaimed self-titled debut album. “A free-ranging complement to the assured country weirdness of last year’s Sad…
Chilli Head Chris Cullen Concocts New Sauce for NY Expo
New Zealand chef-turned-entrepreneur Chris Cullen seems to have hot sauce running in his veins, judging from the passionate way he speaks about one of America’s hottest food trends, the New York Times reports. “I had…
Louis Baker Takes Flight with New EP Birds
The “impressive” New Zealand-born songwriter Louis Baker’s new EP Birds will be released in the United Kingdom on 29 June. Clash magazine premieres the title track. Continually observing the world around him, Baker…
Kimbra Plays at California’s Coachella
Singer Kimbra was a headline act at this year’s Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in California, included alongside big names like Florence and the Machine, Caribou, FKA Twigs and Father John Misty. For the…
Google Doodle Honours Detective Novelist Ngaio Marsh
New Zealand-born crime writer and theatre director Dame Ngaio Marsh who wrote during the “golden age” of detective novels was celebrated on 23 April 2015 with a Google Doodle. Marsh, born in Christchurch, would have…
Russell Crowe’s Water Diviner a Story Only He Could Tell
Growing up a New Zealander-Australian, Russell Crowe, 51, was intimately familiar with the Dardanelles Campaign, a veritable slaughterhouse battle over a tiny Turkish peninsula also known as Gallipoli. In his latest film, The Water…
Keeping the Anzac Memory Alive
Tableau vivant installation The Unforgotten Soldiers has toured New Zealand as a tribute to the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) soldiers, who fought 100 years ago in the Gallipoli campaign during World…
Rugby Remembers Anzacs in the True Spirit of Their Sacrifice
The rugby community paid tributes to the Anzacs, who had lost their lives during World War One over the course of the Anzac weekend. On Friday, April 24 at Waikato Stadium, the Ode was read, The…
Sundance TV Launches The Red Road Prequel Graphic Novel
Sundance TV’s acclaimed drama The Red Road, starring New Zealander Martin Henderson “has gotten off to quite the intense start” in its newly released second season according to tvovermind.com. In season two “Harold…
WETA Digital Helped to Complete Paul Walker’s Scenes for ‘Fast & Furious 7’
WETA Digital has helped to finish current box office hit Fast and Furious 7 after movie star Paul Walker passed away in a car accident halfway through the filming. Walker’s accident left the directors with…
The Legend of the Anzac Biscuit
The first published record of the Anzac biscuit, whose origin is “shrouded in myth” was in a New Zealand St Andrew’s Cookery Book published around 1922. The legend of the biscuit is commonly associated with…
Peter Jackson Helps History Come Alive in New Zealand
Peter Jackson has helped to create an exhibition to mark the Centenary of the First World War at New Zealand’s Te Papa museum with the support of the country’s government, philanthropists, and…
New Zealand Brothers in Arms to Be Remembered in Australia
A greater New Zealand focus will be introduced at this week’s Anzac Day services in Mount Gambier. “I don’t know why this hasn’t been done before (…). We really have got to put the ‘NZ’…
Australia and New Zealand to Mark ANZAC Day in Manila
Australia and New Zealand will jointly commemorate the centenary of the 1915 Gallipoli Campaign in Manila in the Philippines at a dawn service, which will be held in Fort Bonifacio at 5:30 a.m. on…
New Zealanders in Gallipoli 100 Surf Boat Marathon
More than 30 surf boat crews from around the world will pay tribute to the sacrifices of young soldiers 100 years ago as they take part in a marathon rowing race off the Turkish…
Katherine Mansfield and Virginia Woolf’s Powerful Partnership
Katherine Mansfield and Virginia Woolf are included in a list of literary “titans” who banded together as penpals whilst they produced the classics. “Before Woolf was lionised she shared an unlikely friendship with a New…
Keisha Castle-Hughes Starring in Game of Thrones Season Five
New Zealand actress Keisha Castle-Hughes has joined the Game of Thrones cast in the series’ fifth season, which has just kicked off in the US and New Zealand. Castle-Hughes is starring as Obara Sand, one…
Sam Neill Remembers Fallen Family in Why Anzac
In one pivotal scene from Sam Neill’s thoughtful and moving examination of the Anzac legend, the ABC documentary Why Anzac, he approaches his grandfather’s grave in Lijssenthoek Cemetery, Belgium for the first time. “This is…
Rocket Lab Deems Space Open for Business
A New Zealand rocket company, founded by inventor Peter Beck in 2007, says it has found a way to drastically cut the cost of satellite launches, by 3D printing rocket components. The Rocket…
All Blacks Thrashing of USA Eagles a Big Money-Spinner
The first rugby match in the United States for the All Blacks in over three decades helped TLA Worldwide, an American athlete representation and sports marketing business, report a 26 per cent rise in…
Attica Chef and Forager Ben Shewry’s Plates Didactic
New Zealander Ben Shewry’s role at Melbourne’s Attica is lauded in the Sydney Morning Herald, with the restaurant named one of reviewer Terry Durack’s top 12 in Australia. “No, you haven’t made a mistake, that…
Failepou Peni’s Label Lapou to Unveil New Collection
New Zealand-born designer Failepou Peni’s resort wear label Lapou will showcase new collections at the Sunshine Coast Fashion Festival on 17 October. Lepou specialise in figure flattering resort pieces, luxurious kaftans, swimwear and…
Shushila Takao Stars in Cook Island-Set Thriller Tatau
Like many of the cast of BBC3’s new supernatural thriller Tatau, Shushila Takao is a New Zealander. She stars alongside British newcomers Joe Layton and Theo Barklem-Biggs as Aumea in the television…
Heath Cozens’ Film on Japanese Disabled Wrestlers Premieres
A documentary about a small troupe of Tokyo wrestlers with disabilities made by New Zealander Heath Cozens will premiere at the Hot Docs Film Festival in Toronto on 27 April. Five years in the making,…
Auckland May Well Be the World’s Edgiest City
Innovation happens on the edge and “you cannot get more on the edge than New Zealand,” according to the CEO of Auckland’s economic development group Brett O’Riley. Auckland may be New Zealand’s biggest city but…
Richie Benaud’s career made possible by Timaru pharmicist
The cricketing career of Richie Benaud – Australian captain and the first man to take 200 wickets and score 2,000 runs in Tests – was had a critical intervention by Timaru chemist Ivan James….
Award-Winning Correspondent Peter Arnett Speaks on War
Pulitzer-winning journalist New Zealander Peter Arnett spoke to a packed crowd at California State University in Fresno on his 50 years of reporting experience – from covering the Vietnam War to his struggles with…
Lifestyle Coach Sene Naoupu Flexes Her Muscles in Ireland
When fitness and lifestyle coach New Zealander Sene Naoupu came to Ireland with her husband, Connaught Rugby’s George Naoupu, she had no idea that she would end up lining out for Ireland’s Six Nations-winning…
Contemplating the Rebuilding of Christchurch Cathedral
“Henry John Chitty Harper was the first bishop of Christchurch. He battled to build the Anglican cathedral that, for more than a century, was the city’s centrepiece, its greatest landmark and an inspiration behind…
Ian North’s Antarctic Images Evoke Beauty and Terror of Our Era
The latest exhibition of Ian North’s work, “East Antarctica 1915”, demonstrates the Lower Hutt-born artist’s uncanny ability to tap into the zeitgeist of our socially fractured and culturally fragmented times, writes Flinders University lecturer…
Stan Walker’s New Album Marks Becoming of Age
New Zealand soul singer Stan Walker, 24, is about to release his new album Truth & Soul, a collection of songs from icons like Stevie Wonder and Otis Redding. The Australian Idol winner says,…
Vicky Robertson Appointed New Environmental Chief in New Zealand
Former New Zealand hockey player Vicky Robertson has been appointed the new chief executive of the Ministry for the Environment (MfE) by state services commissioner Iain Rennie. As the Treasury’s deputy chief executive, Robertson is…
Rocket Lab Unveils 3D-Printed, Battery-Powered Rocket Engine
Auckland-based commercial space company Rocket Lab has unveiled their 3D-printed battery-powered Rutherford engine. The liquid-fueled, battery powered engine is capable of 4,600 pounds of thrust and will power propulsion of Rocket…
Sophie Pascoe Breaks Paralympic World Record at New Zealand Open
Sophie Pascoe, a New Zealand superstar in the Paralympic swimming community, has broken her Paralympic world record of 1:03.95 in the 100 fly for the S10 division with a 1:03.72 at the New Zealand…
Wladimir Klitschko Getting Help from Joseph Parker
Undefeated #10 WBA heavyweight contender Joseph Parker has been helping out heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko with his sparring to get him ready for his upcoming fight against Bryant Jennings. “He’s extremely talented. He’s strong (…),…
Hawke’s Bay – “A Must-Visit Corner of New Zealand”
“If you tell a Kiwi you’re off to (Hawkes Bay), they’ll respond with a knowing smile and a ‘you lucky thing’”, proclaims Will Macpherson in The Guardian. “Rolling, sun-stained hills, the perfect blue of the…
Jemaine Clement Joins Steven Spielberg’s The BFG
Jemaine Clement is set to star in Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of Roald Dahl’s The BFG alongside Penelope Wilton and Rebecca Hall. “In more than 40 years of making movies, I have been on the producing…
Kody Nielson Is Another Exciting NZ Music Offering
New Zealand’s “most exciting offerings” of late, according to the Guardian, “have been the warped psychedelia of Connan Mockasin and Unknown Mortal Orchestra. Completing this trio of peculiarity is Silicon – also known as…
Rising Star of the Art World Simon Denny Exhibits at MoMA
New Zealand–born, Berlin-based Simon Denny, who is represented by one of New York’s most reputable galleries, Petzel, has opened his first American show “The Innovator’s Dilemma” at MoMA PS1. In…
Sam and James O’Connor Row for Winning Oxford Team
New Zealand brothers Sam and James O’Connor have helped Oxford University beat Cambridge in the annual University Boat Races held on the River Thames in London. Sam, 27, (pictured left) who has competed in and…
Leon Grice and Milou Dogged Diplomats in LA
New Zealand’s consul-general to Los Angeles Leon Grice and his Bichon Frisé Milou feature in Monocle’s “Ambassadogs” series. “The eight-year-old, named after Tintin’s companion, has accompanied the Grice’s through Leon’s stints as executive of a…
Lydia Ko Budding Superstar of Women’s Golf
As a phenomenon so far New Zealand golfer Lydia Ko, 17, is on par with the young Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, according to the Wall Street Journal. Are we on the brink of…
Rebecca Taylor Forgoes the Runway for Digital-Marketing
After 15 years of runway shows at New York fashion week, New Zealand-born Rebecca Taylor cancelled her autumn 2015 show. She used her roughly US$500,000 annual show budget to deploy a marketing strategy she…
Hannah O’Neill Dances in Paris Opera’s Swan Lake
A New Zealander is one of the Paris Opera Ballet’s “emerging young dancers” who has brought “style and elegance” to Nureyev’s production of Swan Lake. This was the “sprightly” Hannah O’Neill’s first time dancing…
Astrophysicist David Stevenson Elected Cornell Professor-At-Large
New Zealand-born planetary scientist David Stevenson is one of five newly elected professors-at-large in the humanities, social and physical sciences who will visit Cornell University in Ithaca, New York over the next six years. The…
