Shifting into Another Gear Ahead of Baltimore
New Zealander Scott Dixon, who has the most wins (31) in the 17-year history of the Indy Racing League and who is the only driver to finish in the top five of both runnings…
News of New Zealanders via Global Media
America Better Watch Out
The “unflappable” Lorde, 16, “hypnotises” at her first concert in the United States introducing “her collection of immaculately drawn pop compositions with a confidence and demeanour well beyond her years”, Billboard’s Jason Lipshutz writes…
Waiheke Island’s World’s Oldest Dance Crew Performs at World Championship
New Zealand hip-hop dance crew, Hip Op-eration, have arrived in Las Vegas and performed as part of the World Hip Hop Championship. The world’s oldest hip-hip dance crew, Hip-Operation members range between the ages…
Invaluable Volunteer Helps out in Arundel
New Zealander Andrew Wood, 26, who has been in the UK for the past 18 months, has been “the stalwart” of Arundel’s annual nine-day festival, “proving an invaluable volunteer”. Originally from Christchurch where…
It XXXXX XX Up at Sydney’s MCA
Sydney’s latest public artwork created by Dunedin-born artist Mike Hewson, 28, is certainly hard to ignore, covering more than 2000 square metres and spelled out in 14 metre-high upper-case letters on the temporary scaffolding…
“Ferocious Gander” deters Norsewood Meter Reader
The small New Zealand town of Norsewood is better known for it’s wool wear and affinity for trolls. But the small town, whose populations barely scrapes above 300, is making international news for reports…
After 150 years Mummified Maori head to Return to New Zealand
After 150 years Britain’s Warrington Museum is sending back the mummified head said to be that of a New Zealand Maori chief. The Maori head, or Toi moko, was brought to Britain in the…
Fighting for Recognition in a New Field
New Zealand stuntwoman Zoë Bell’s film Raze is screening at the Imperial Theatre as part of the one of the most influential genre film festivals in the world, the Fantasia International Film…
From One South to Another
Formerly of Gore, singer-songwriter Jackie Bristow, who has been based in the United States for the past eight years, recently performed two shows at the Neutral Ground Coffeehouse and House of Blues in New…
Artful Combinations Cross Cultures
New Zealand chef, London-based Peter Gordon, “the godfather of fusion cooking,” is the inspiration behind recipes recommended in an Irish Times article, which include a frittata topped with Greek yoghurt and sumac. “Gordon really…
On a Mission to Advantage the Disadvantaged
New Zealand-born Audette Exel, 50, lives a double life, Bloomberg Market Magazine reports. In New York, London, Bermuda and Sydney, she’s a company director and the owner and head of Isis (Asia Pacific) Pty,…
Big Brownie Takes Rod and Wheel World Record
Tauranga angler Otwin Kandolf, 71, has landed an all-tackle world record for the biggest brown trout taken on a rod and reel. Kandolf caught the massive 19kg brownie in March while fishing in Ohau…
Moore’s Los Angeles Runway Show a Hit
New Zealand designer Andrea Moore’s American debut was a “highlight of the evening”; the runway show part of Los Angeles clothing boutique Stylehaüs’ two-year anniversary celebrations held at the Sofitel Hotel. Dunedin-born Moore said…
James Bond Would Be Impressed
Ivan Sentch, an Auckland programmer and Aston Martin devotee, has decided to build a full-scale 3D printed replica of a 1961 Aston Martin DB4. “He’s already made considerable progress, with much of…
Fonterra “Imbroglio” Gets High Level Chinese Censure
China Daily, the widest print circulation of any English-language newspaper in China, says New Zealand needs to start building trust in the long-term that “comes from regulatory systems that work.” This follows the identification…
Famed Computer Hacker Fondly Remembered
Celebrated New Zealand computer hacker Barnaby Jack, who exposed vulnerabilities in bank ATMs and sparked safety improvements in medical devices, has died in San Francisco. He was 35. Jack was one of the world’s…
McEwan Takes on Politically Charged RBS Leadership
New Zealander Ross McEwan, 56, has been named the new chief executive of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), “one of the highest-profile and politically charged roles in the banking world.” The Guardian’s city…
Do You Pass the Test?
Here are some of the 31 signs you are the child of New Zealand expatriates, according to viral news site, BuzzFeed. The site also recommends not forwarding the information to people with Australian parents….
Chiefs Take Home Super 15 Title in Final Seven Minute Blitz
The Waikato Chiefs spectacular 27 -22 win over the ACT Brumbies on the weekend’s Super 15 final have some calling the team a ‘southern hemisphere powerhouse’. The team grabbed 15 points in the space of…
Fairy Tale Television Role for Actress
New Zealand actress Rose McIver, 24, who starred in Peter Jackson’s 2009 film The Lovely Bones, has landed the pivotal season three role of Tinker Bell on the ABC fairy tale drama, Once…
Déjà Vu for California-based Royal Biographer
New Zealand writer Susan Maxwell Skinner, who lives in Charmichael, California, “knows much about the doings of England’s royal family”, writes The Sacramento Bee’s Bill Lindelof. As a young writer, Skinner moved to England…
Manuka Honey Ingredient in Djokovic Success
In a new book, Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic reveals the diet that transformed his health and that he credits for his recent success, part of which includes a daily dose of New Zealand…
Peter Jackson a ‘Game Changer’ who ‘transformed’ Filmmaking
Kiwi director, Peter Jackson is a “game changer who transformed the practice of filmmaking”, according to contributors to the Harvard Business Review’s popular blog. Authors Vijay Govindarajan and Srikanth Srinivas say that Jackson and…
Young Kiwi Artist’s Focus is Art, Not Boys
In an interview, Auckland singer-songwriter Lorde, 16, said that unlike many female teenage artists, boys aren’t all she is interested in when it comes to writing songs. “I feel like that isn’t maybe the…
New Zealander to Hike Length of Korean Peninsula
Former New Zealand police officer Roger Shepherd is preparing to achieve an ambitious goal – being the first person to hike the entire length of Baekdudaegan, the mountain range that forms the geological spine…
South Africa and NZ Join Film Forces
Executives from the New Zealand Film Commission (NZFC) have been meeting with producers at the Durban FilmMart (DFM) to research potential development and co-production opportunities. Representatives from the NZFC and the National Film &…
Tastes of NZ Imagined in Pittsburgh Test Kitchen
Over the next seven weeks, a New Zealand-inspired menu is on offer at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh’s Taste of Art Restaurant. The menu features traditional dishes from the region including breaded oysters with…
Mystery Making Process Paying off in US
Identified only as her stage name, Lorde, 16, the artist kept her true identity a mystery for months, Wall Street Journal correspondent Megan Buerger writes. The only available representation of her was a drawing…
Stretching the Limit with One Unique Talent
Rubberband Boy, aka New Zealander Shay Horay, is one of the world’s most unusual performers, twisting tight rubber bands across his face on stage to the delight of worldwide audiences. “Strangely enough,…
Keeping It Snappy with Local Shorts Screening
Eight locally made short films will screen at the one-session New Zealand Short Film Festival held on 14 August in Sydney and 22 August in Brisbane. The films will screen representing the very best…
Lighting Up the Longlist with Her Second Novel
New Zealand author Eleanor Catton, 27, has made the Man Booker Prize longlist for her novel, The Luminaries, which will be released in New Zealand on 1 August and in the US in October….
Archaeologist Made Extraordinary Contributions to Field
New Zealand-born archaeologist Mike Morwood, who was best known for discovering Homo floresiensis, has died in Darwin, aged 82. In 2003, Morwood led a joint Australian-Indonesian team of archaeologists, which uncovered what appeared to…
Jackson Live-Blogs The Hobbit’s Final Day
After more than two years, Peter Jackson has finished filming the final installment of The Hobbit trilogy. With the final scenes shot on 26 July, the award-winning director wrote on his Facebook…
Looking at the Top Figures
New Zealand’s rich are getting richer, with the total worth of those who made it onto National Business Review’s 2013 rich list up $3.5 billion on last year, reports The Australian. Graeme Hart once…
Long-Haul Visitor Numbers on the Up
There has been a significant growth in the number of international visitors to New Zealand this year, with a 10 per cent rise in arrivals during the first half of 2013, compared to the…
Thinking Even Bigger from Google in Silicon Valley
Scotts Ferry, Harvard University, Wall Street, the White House – Victoria Ransom’s journey from rural Rangitikei to an executive’s chair at the Googleplex is one of New Zealand’s most stunning success stories, The New…
Auric Qualities in Vivid Colour
Wellington-born Carlo Van de Roer doesn’t just capture a person when he takes their photograph, he captures the colour of their soul, writes the Daily Mail. In his psychedelic collection of images, New York-based…
New Singapore Role for Former Silver Ferns Coach
Ruth Aitken is taking up the role of Netball Singapore’s new technical director and national coach. Mastering the pronunciation of her new charges’ names may be tricky for the New Zealander, but she has…
Ammann Testament to General Motor’s New Culture
General Motors chief financial officer, New Zealander Daniel Ammann, talks with The Detroit News editorial board about how the automaker’s goal is consistent profitability in a cyclical industry. After a historic bailout and Washington-managed…
Timtimfed Makes Web Films on His Own Terms
Originally from Christchurch, Michael Shanks, 22, otherwise known by his pseudonym “Timtimfed”, is creating some of the best gaming parodies on the web. Shanks was one of the hosts of a recent PAX Australia…
AJ Hackett’s Ambitious Project in Russia Nears Completion
New Zealand adrenaline pioneer AJ Hackett is months from completing what might be his most ambitious project to date – AJ Hackett Sochi, a Russian adventure park that will include the world’s highest swing…
Wellington CBD Closes Following Magnitude 6.5 Quake
Much of Wellington’s CBD was closed on Monday as engineers assessed building for structural damage following a magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck on Sunday evening. While the New Zealand Parliament building and Beehive did sustain…
Gibbs Amphibians Expands Across US
New Zealand-founded Gibbs Amphibians is on track to build 1000 Quadski amphibious all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) in 2013 and expects to have more than 100 major powersports dealers authorised to sell and service…
Skills Drain Reversal with More Work Options
New Zealand is currently experiencing its strongest immigration flows in four years, with returning citizens vying with foreign nationals for work, in a “nation whose economy is outperforming many of its developed peers”, writes…
Channelling Tricksters in Plexiglas for Vancouver Show
New Zealand sculptor George Nuku’s work is part of an exhibition called, Paradise Lost? Contemporary Works from the Pacific, on through 29 September at the Museum of Anthropology in Vancouver. The Vancouver…
Music Man Keeping the Harmonies in Check
Timaru-born emeritus professor William “Bill” Hawker is in Port Macquarie for six weeks as the guest conductor of Hastings Choristers. The academic and musician lives in Akolele on the south coast of NSW. He…
Get Ready for the Vintage of a Lifetime
New Zealand wines look like they’re about to get even better, according to Forbes.com contributor Larry Olmsted. “Much better. You probably already know Kim Crawford, New Zealand’s famous producer of sauvignon blanc, but now…
Committing to Biculturalism in Education
Newton Central School in Grey Lynn, Auckland, is the subject of a story about how New Zealand, and Newton Central in particular, is making biculturalism in education work. Special advisor on education…
Wild Cards Still Making Music on the Outer Limits
New Zealand underground rock trio The Dead C have been making music at the outer limits for 25 years, using geographic isolation to develop one of the most original strains of underground rock of…
Invitation to Jump the Ditch and Get Hitched
New Zealand fashion designer Annah Stretton is celebrating the fact that same-sex marriage in New Zealand is to be legalised from 19 August by launching ‘Come on Oz, Say “I do”’. The
Top of the Lake Receives Eight Emmy Nods
New Zealand director Jane Campion mini-series Top of the Lake has received eight Emmy nominations, including Outstanding Miniseries of Movie, Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries and Outstanding Directing in a Miniseries. The New Zealand-shot…
Clonakilty Women Have Their Say in New Book
New Zealand-born author Alison Wickham, a resident of Clonakilty in Cork, Ireland, launches a self-published book this week called Women Speak, which tells the stories of 14 very different women, now aged from their…
Ada Would Not Have Surfaced Says Campion
Jane Campion has revealed she wanted a bleaker ending for The Piano, with the character of mute Ada McGrath, played by Holly Hunter, drowning with her beloved instrument. It is one of the most…
New Zealand Pledges to Continue Fight for Ross Sea
A New Zealand-led proposal for a marine protected area in the Ross Sea has been stymied due to the inability of the 26-member Comission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) to…
Multi-talented McLaren Transformed Racing
In his all-too-brief life, New Zealander Bruce McLaren, who died in 1970 at the age of 32, managed an impressive list of successes, writes Jason Stein for Wheelbase Media. “His European driving career began…
Gamers Promote Powerful Women Leads
Game developer New Zealander Lucy Morris, who lives in Düsseldorf, this week participated in a 48-hour game jam – or a fleeting arcade of game developers planning and creating a game over a short…
