Getting Away from It All on the Coromandel
The New Zealand way of life, our “fondness for corrugated iron” and how we hang our laundry out to dry, are some Antipodean oddities which charmed a visiting American who was shown around Bill…
Blog Archives
Yumi Zouma Instantly Poignant and Placeless
“Assembled via email, at night, from far-flung corners of the globe is the debut EP from these ex-pat New Zealanders,” Guardian reviewer Paul Lester writes, including Yumi Zouma in the publication’s “Band of the…
Canyon Road Unbelievably Scary as It Is Beautiful
The Skippers Canyon road, 25 minutes north of Queenstown, has been deemed one of the world’s 22 most dangerous roads by British firm Driving Experiences, who gave the road an “overall road fear factor”…
Fusion Finds at Bobby Chinn in Hanoi
Famed Hanoi chef Bobby Chinn, who was born in Auckland, serves a fusion of his influences – French, Californian, Middle Eastern – with Vietnamese dishes. Restaurant Bobby Chinn is recommended in a Forbes feature…
MAC Makeup Range in Lorde’s Name
Lorde’s signature dark purple lipstick and sweeping eyeliner has landed the Grammy award-winning singer, 17, her own MAC range, following in the footsteps of Rihanna, Ru Paul and Lil’ Kim. Lorde said: “I have loved…
Surprise Advance and BBC Film Deal for NZ Author
Author Deborah McKinlay, formerly of Auckland, has received a seven-figure advance and a lucrative film deal for her new book, That Part Was True. McKinlay, who had been making a living as a jobbing non-fiction…
Waiheke Island a Paradise for Art Lovers
“Waiheke Island is upscale Auckland’s offshore beach resort of choice – but its thriving creative community means it’s also a paradise for art lovers of all types,” according to Time Out Dubai. In an…
Sun City Poms Ageing Gracefully in Vivid Colour
When New Zealand-born advertising and fine art photographer Todd Antony was shooting landscapes in the southwestern United States in 2009 he came upon Sun City, Arizona, a desert retirement community of approximately…
Eating Mince Pies off the Subway in New York
New York’s DUB Pies, run by New Zealander Gareth Hughes, “might be a tiny shop, but so is its specialty – the flaky-crusted savoury hand-made pies that are as popular as both bagels and…
Perceptive Debut Novel Immediately Engrossing
Twenty-one-year-old Sebastian Hampson, an art history and literature student at Victoria University, writes with an assurance that belies his years, according to the Australian, and his debut novel The Train to Paris, inspired by…
Echo Park Band Gets It Right in Los Angeles
New Zealand singer-songwriter, Bradley Hanan Carter (pictured second from left), 33, is founder of Los Angeles sextet, NO which is celebrating the launch of its debut album El Prado with a tour at legendary…
Swiss Helicopter Wingsuit Flight Caught on Film
Daredevil New Zealand BASEjumper and professional skydiver Dan Vicary was recently filmed leaping from a helicopter over the Silberhorn Mountain in Switzerland, supported only by a nylon wingsuit. The astonishing footage was taken by American…
Crane Brothers One of Australia’s Top Suiters
Sydney clothing store, the New Zealand-owned Crane Brothers, founded by former Zambesi menswear designer Murray Crane, is included in a Sydney Morning Herald feature on the best places in Australia to buy a suit. “No…
Twilight Star Dons Dul’s Eco-Tux for Oscars
New Zealand was once again represented on the red carpet at the Oscars with Twilight star Kellan Lutz wearing the Academy Awards first sustainable tuxedo created by Jomnarn Dul, 23, lead designer at iconic…
Tracing Maori Ancestry for Worldwide Family Tree
Over the past year, Gisborne’s Ngai Tamanuhiri has been participating in the National Geographic’s Genographic Project working closely with Oceania’s genographic principal investigator Lisa Matisoo-Smith who is helping the iwi learn more about their…
Get out of Your Routine, Says Fitness Exec
Sarah Robb O’Hagan, president of American luxury fitness company Equinox Fitness, is one of six luminaries invited by the Wall Street Journal to weigh in on the question of power. The New Zealander is…
Overland Journey in a Balloon for the World’s Kids
Hot air balloon pilot Andrew Parker, 30, is attempting a four-year overland journey across more than 100 countries, in which he aims to raise awareness and US$1 million for the UNICEF Flying…
Research Flock Saudi Arabia Bound
New Zealand will export a research flock of sheep to Saudi Arabia this year under a breeding project aimed at bolstering the kingdom’s livestock supplies, according to the National. Pregnant ewes and lamb will…
Top Gear’s Jeremy Clarkson Quadskis into Lake Como
Jeremy Clarkson, host of hit BBC show Top Gear, recently drove the New Zealand-designed Quadski, described as “the world’s first personal sports amphibian” vehicle, into Italy’s Lake Como in a race against co-presenter Richard…
Dame Kiri Returns to Covent Garden Stage
Dame Kiri Te Kanawa has returned to Covent Garden after 17 years for performances of Donizetti’s comedy La Fille du Régiment in the role of the Duchess of Crackentorp. Te Kanawa celebrated her 70th birthday…
Brooklyn DIY Drummer on her Influences
New Zealand-born Fiona Campbell, a long-time participant in the Brooklyn DIY music scene, discusses her admiration for late-00s noise-pop New York band Vivian Girls, for whom Campbell drummed in 2010. Formerly of Auckland, Campbell left…
Cuttlebone Works on Display at Melbourne Flower and Garden Show
New Zealand artist Christian Gundesen will display his cuttlebone sculptures at the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show, which runs 26-30 March. Gundesen, who lives in Rye, 83km south of Melbourne, moved to the seaside…
Medal-Winning Weightlifter Heading Minnesota Wine Subsidiary
Former weightlifter and two-time Commonwealth medal winner New Zealander Nigel Avery, 46, is these days marketing his family’s wine in Minnesota. Last year, Avery assumed the role of CEO for the subsidiary
Virgin Media Boss Building Company up from the Top
The boss of Virgin Media, New Zealander Tom Mockridge, a former senior lieutenant in Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation, has been busy since he was installed as chief executive last June. For much of the…
Warner Bros Buys Rights to NZer’s Book with Bradley Cooper to Star
A crime drama based on an upcoming book by New Zealander Ben Sanders called American Blood, has been purchased by Warner Brothers and will star Oscar nominee Bradley Cooper who will also produce. At least…
New Crustacean Species Could Unlock Secrets of the Deep
Scientists from the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) have discovered a new crustacean species in the Chatham Rise east of New Zealand, that may unlock the secrets of the deep sea. NIWA…
There’s a New Sheriff in Town
New Zealand actor Martin Henderson, 39, stars as sheriff Harold Jensen in Sundance Channel’s new thriller The Red Road. Dark and dramatic, The Red Road is set in in the fictional town of Walpole, New…
Egg of Bird Thought Extinct for More than a Century Found in NZ
For the first time, New Zealand scientists say they have found an egg on Little Barrier Island of an endangered bird that had been presumed extinct for more than a century. The storm petrel is…
At Home in Manhattan with Makeup Artist Valery Gherman
New Zealand makeup artist Valery Gherman moved to New York 11 years ago and now lives in Manhattan’s famed Peter Cooper Village where he shares a two-bedroom apartment with Canadian photographer Derek…
Visit the City Reinventing Itself with Art
For those fancying a long-weekend getaway in Christchurch, the Guardian recommends the best places to stay, eat and visit, “touring the extraordinary renewal of the city that survived an earthquake”. “There’s no camouflaging the damage,”…
Creation Is a Completely Divine Concept, Says Catton
Ahead of appearances at Perth Writers Festival on 22 February and Adelaide Writers’ Week on 1 March, the Guardian’s Vicky Frost met with Booker prize-winning author 28-year-old Eleanor Catton to talk about her next…
Springsteen Covers Royals at Mt Smart Stadium
According to Rolling Stone, Bruce Springsteen made the most surprising cover choice of his career when he played an acoustic rendition of teenage Grammy award-winner Lorde’s song Royals during his Auckland show at Mt…
Finn’s NY-Inspired Third Album a Whirlwind of Weirdness
This coming May, New Zealand singer-songwriter Liam Finn, 30, will release his third full-length album, The Nihilist, on which Finn plays 67 instruments. Vice magazine’s music channel Noisey premieres the new video…
New Book Describes Athens Before the Bubble Burst
In his book Athens – The Truth: Searching for Manos, Just Before the Bubble Burst, New Zealand author David Cade describes his time in the city during the summer of 2009 as startling reports…
Miami Concert a Fine Showcase for Young Conductor
The “clear beat and enthusiasm” of New Jersey Symphony’s assistant conductor New Zealand-born Gemma New, “charged up the Miami Symphony’s crackling brass and percussion sections”, at the orchestra’s “Valentine Fiesta” in February. “With a colourful…
Meticulous Coach Adds Polish to Irish Flair
When 48-year-old New Zealander Joe Schmidt was being lined up to take charge of Leinster in 2010, he met the province’s captain Leo Cullen and Test fly-half Jonny Sexton at a Dublin hotel as…
Debut Radio Single Heavy Seas Rolling out in UK
With a voice described as “Bowie meets Bono”, New Zealand-born Thom Cross will release his debut radio single Heavy Sea, mixed by Grammy Award-winning producer Guy Massey of Manic Street Preachers fame. London-based Cross talked…
Whare Kea Lodge Amongst the World’s Best Hotel Dining
Wanaka’s Whare Kea Lodge restaurant is one of the world’s best hotel restaurants according to the Sydney Morning Herald’s Ute Junker. It is included alongside New York’s Nomad Hotel and London’s Mandarin-Oriental Hotel, where…
Promoting an Egalitarian Workplace with a Global Approach
Originally from Hastings, Todd Lauchlan, 41, is Indonesia country head at property consulting company Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL). He talks with the Jakarta Post about his role at the firm and how an egalitarian…
Exceptional Mountain Biking Trails Abound
New Zealand “boasts exceptional mountain biking” according to Men’s Journal, which includes a feature on our best trails, saying that local “fat tyre offerings are too often overlooked by adventure-seekers rushing toward the beach…
Rose McIver Stars in Flowers in the Attic TV Sequel
Twenty-six-year-old Rose McIver has been confirmed to play the role of Cathy Dollanganger in Petals on the Wind, American cable network Lifetime’s upcoming sequel to its hit adaptation of Virginia Andrews’s Flowers in the…
Serial Entrepreneur Forging His Own Online Spice Routes
New Zealand-born James Lillis, 37, is the founder of Black Milk, “one of the fastest-growing Australian clothing companies you’ve never heard of, selling more than 1000 garments a day,” Glenda Korporaal writes in a…
Pioneering People Who Value Community Rebuild a Theatre
How the Court Theatre rose from the rubble of the 2011 Christchurch earthquake is described by its chief executive Philip Aldridge for the Guardian’s “Culture Professionals Network” series. “[After the earthquake on the morning of…
Auckland Illustrator Lands Space on the Wall next to Banksy
25 February 2014 – Auckland-based illustrator Henrietta Harris will exhibit alongside the world’s most famous street artist at the Robert Fontaine Gallery in Miami from 8 March. The exhibition, called Insiders:…
Friends Bid Farewell to an “Outstanding Human Being”
Auckland-born television personality and former model Charlotte Dawson who has died in Sydney, aged 47, was “outrageous, outgoing and outspoken”, said sports presenter Ben Fordham, who worked with Dawson at Channel Nine. “More than anything…
Sublime Southern Photographic Opportunities
The South Island’s 13 most beautiful photo opportunities include a view of the braided banks of the Waimakariri River (pictured), the Matai Falls in The Caitlins and icebergs on Tasman Lake, according to last…
Brothers Thriving in Phnom Penh’s Lively Culinary Scene
“As Phnom Penh’s traffic roared nearby on a recent late afternoon, George and William Norbert-Munns were busy decorating. Amid piles of rubble and cement bags, the brothers mapped their vision for the…
Impressive and Uncommonly Versatile NY Triple Bill
24 February 2014 – The opening of Royal New Zealand Ballet (RNZB) at The Joyce in New York “marked the final stop on a US tour that has covered a lot of ground –…
Restoring French Colonial Ruins in Southern Cambodia
Chris Connop, a 57-year-old New Zealander with a degree in engineering and a background in horticulture and construction, says he stumbled into his current occupation – restoring and rebuilding Kampot architecture in Cambodia –…
Artisan Café to Open in Revitalised Central London Precinct
New Zealander Jodie Whitelaw, 33, will open the first Antipodean artisan coffee shop in the “Government and God” quarter around Victoria station in London of which the first stage of the “extraordinary overhaul, has…
Learning to Stand Upright in New Zealand
Historically, geographically, culturally – there are many points of comparison between New Zealand and its neighbour to the west, Australia. But there are notable differences. Victoria University’s Professor Harry Ricketts examines migration in New…
Xero Eyes 29 Million US Small Businesses
Wellington-based accounting software maker Xero signals a major push in the United States market, with appointment of former and current executives from Microsoft, HP and PayPal in a move analysts say could foreshadow a…
Cover Duties for Our Own Alternative Pop Voice
Lorde takes one of four covers for fashion magazine V’s music special as part of a feature on the “next wave of alternative pop voices,” starring alongside HAIM, Say Lou Lou, and BANKS. The 17-year-old…
Fledgling Party Giving a Voice to New Zealanders Living Overseas
An estimated one million New Zealanders living overseas will become a serious political force if the newly formed Expatriate Party of New Zealand gets its way, says the Guardian. Based in Perth, the party says…
Women in Walker Strut Faster Better and Stronger
Karen Walker’s suffragette-inspired fall 2014 collection was shown at New York Fashion Week; “a modern and tongue ‘n cheek nod to women on the march”, the Daily Mail reported from the catwalk. “Our collections are…
Toxicologist Claims Alexander the Great Died from Poisoned Wine
National Poisons Centre toxicologist Dr Leo Schep may have unravelled the mystery surrounding the death of Greek king Alexander the Great, who died at 32 in 323BC. Schep thinks the culprit could be poisonous wine…
