News of New Zealanders via Global Media

Dean of New Oxford Business School Reflects on a Year

Dean of New Oxford Business School Reflects on a Year

The New Zealand-born dean of Oxford University’s new Blavatnik School of Government, Ngaire Woods describes the first year as “terrific. Fun. Challenging. Great,” without pause. “It has been a whirlwind.” It might…

Cooking Up Raspberry Pi with the Internet of Things

Cooking Up Raspberry Pi with the Internet of Things

New Zealand developer Nathan Broadbent was inspired to hack into his microwave after reading a post on Reddit about using matrix barcodes to instruct microwave ovens. Broadbent then cooked a raspberry pie using the…

Madrid Festival Awards for Murder Mystery

Madrid Festival Awards for Murder Mystery

New Zealand filmmaker Alex Galvin’s feature film Eternity has won two awards at the Madrid International Film Festival. Eternity won best editing, alongside Nick Swinglehurst and best supporting actor for Wellington actor…

New Zealand’s Answer to The Killing

New Zealand’s Answer to The Killing

Jane Campion’s television series Top of the Lake, “set in the staggeringly beautiful landscape of the South Island”, has been called New Zealand’s answer to The Killing. Obstreperous and tunnel-visioned, detective Robin Griffin has…

Magasiva, Moon and Paquin Make the Crush Cake List

Magasiva, Moon and Paquin Make the Crush Cake List

New Zealand, “more like Babeland”, according to blogger Laura Vincent who writes about who she fancies for Vice magazine’s regular column, “Crush Cakes”. “Though my crushing is as vast as the majestic Lake Taupo,…

Fit Runs in the Family

Fit Runs in the Family

Originally from Opotiki, Grant Goes, 32, Dubai’s 2012 Fittest Man, has just completed the gruelling Give Me 3000 challenge, in which he completed 300 repetitions of 10 key exercises in under five hours. The…

Another Win for IndyCar Racer Dixon in Canada

Another Win for IndyCar Racer Dixon in Canada

New Zealander Scott Dixon has won the 31st IndyCar race of his career with victory in the first of two street races in Toronto. The Honda Indy Toronto win has moved Dixon into a…

Who Invented This Country?

Who Invented This Country?

New Zealand does not seem of this earth according to Outside Magazine contributing editor Peter Heller, who writes that it’s “like a kid asked a genie to make a world full of everything fun…

Successful Planting of Our Natives in UK Gardens

Successful Planting of Our Natives in UK Gardens

A selection of New Zealand plants ideal for UK gardens feature in a Guardian picture gallery this week. “If you squint a bit, parts of the New Zealand landscape can look familiar to the…

Lawless Set to Razzle Dazzle in Chicago

Lawless Set to Razzle Dazzle in Chicago

Television star Lucy Lawless, 45, will join True Blood’s Stephen Moyer and Les Misérables’ Samantha Barks for a special three-night performance of the Broadway smash Chicago, which will run from 26 July to 28…

Toasted Opens in South London

Toasted Opens in South London

New Zealand-born chef Michael Hazlewood, together with manager Alex Thorp, has opened Toasted in London’s East Dulwich, where “wine at the heart of a meal in an especially alluring manner”, according…

That’s Showbiz for Wootton Who Takes Up Tabloid Role

That’s Showbiz for Wootton Who Takes Up Tabloid Role

Former News of the World showbiz editor Lower Hutt-born journalist Dan Wootton, 30, is joining British tabloid, Sun on Sunday, where he will write a double-page showbiz column as part of moves…

Swiss Army Should Check out This Hybrid Design

Swiss Army Should Check out This Hybrid Design

Victoria University industrial design student Joe Levy, 20, has “managed to cram in functionality” with his SpoolStool, which serves as everything from a chair, to a foot rest, to a table, to a place…

Historical Mill Still Grinding for a Modern World

Historical Mill Still Grinding for a Modern World

New Zealander Michael Shaw is a miller operating one of Scotland’s last surviving fully operational commercial watermills. Golspie Mill in Sutherland grinds peasemeal, rye, bread and plain flour. The original mill was opened…

Hopes for Victory at the Helm of a 72-footer

Hopes for Victory at the Helm of a 72-footer

“Dean Barker has been the helmsman for Team New Zealand in the America’s Cup,” Christopher Clarey begins in a New York Times article a few days out from the first round-robin race of the…

The World Loses a Great Philosopher

The World Loses a Great Philosopher

New Zealand-born political theorist Kenneth Minogue, a leading figure in Britain’s conservative intellectual life, has died aged 82. Minogue was Professor of Political Science at the London School of Economics from 1984 to 1995,…

Tiptoe Through the Caves Amidst Light Fantastic

Tiptoe Through the Caves Amidst Light Fantastic

Waitomo’s wondrous underground labyrinth of caves has been forming over the last 30 million years. “In one of these caverns is a very special animal – one that has evolved to thrive in wind-free…

Robbie Deans Steps Down as Coach of Wallabies

Robbie Deans Steps Down as Coach of Wallabies

New Zealander Robbie Deans has stepped down as couch of the Wallabies, following the 41-16 series-deciding loss to the British and Irish Lions. The former All Black broke new ground when he was appointed…

Benji’s Decision on His Future Key to Tiger’s Success

Benji’s Decision on His Future Key to Tiger’s Success

Kiwi Benji Marshall’s influence within the Wests Tigers is clearly evident with coach, Mike Potter, saying that the team will “bend over backwards trying to keep him here at the club”. Marshall burst onto…

Deciphering Clues from Ancient Bones in Cambodia

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 Pel, more than 100 burial…

Double the Win in Sevens Tournament Finals

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 2013 Rugby World Cup…

Young Aucklander Breaks US Charts

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 a national sensation in late…

Gatland Rang His Chances and Triumphed

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 in 16 years. “Only a…

Talented Conductor Directs New Jersey Summer Concerts

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 since the age of 15….

Vivid Encounters with Insects in Glass Wings

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: ‘Beautiful Ataneta Swainson is dead….

Wistful New York Gallery Debut for Upritchard

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 Venice Biennale – stages eight…

Bringing a Taste of NZ to the America’s Cup

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 Waiheke Island Yacht Club…

Night to Remember at Melbourne Jazz Club

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 and Tim Firth on drums…

Parker Hulme Story Unfolds in Tabloid-like Detail

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 for northern Michigan publication, Petoskey…

At Home on the Banks of the Mekong

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. “It was more of a…

Angry Lego on the Rise

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 robot expert at the University…

Sequencing Genes to See What Makes a Thoroughbred

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 it with other champions like…

Charming Waiters and Creative Cooking Impresses

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 airy – just 80 square…

All Bronzed Up for Bondi Beach Vogue Shoot

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 hemisphere within a year. “I…

Focus on What You Do Best Says Facebook Exec

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 development at Facebook, who was…

Tiny Troop of Toddlers Performs the Cutest Haka Ever

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 of the most awesome sights…

Why Hollywood is Staying in New Zealand

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 movie location map,” The Hollywood…

Mayor Gives Residents a Sense of What Auckland Could Be

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 talks of making his city…

Uninterrupted Writing Time Awarded for Belgian Story

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 writers worldwide. Mackenzie…

Dancer Bound for Fame in San Francisco

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 Walsham flew to the United…

Steven Adams Thrilled With NBA Draft

Steven Adams Thrilled With NBA Draft

Steven Adams, 19, has become the first New Zealander to be picked in the first round of an NBA draft. Selected by the Oklahoma City Thunder, Adams is only the second ever Kiwi selected…

Back in the Cells as Fletch in Prison Drama Wentworth

Back in the Cells as Fletch in Prison Drama Wentworth

Auckland-born actor, Logie Award-winning Aaron Jeffery, who graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) in 1993, stars in the popular Australian television prison drama Wentworth, which will return to screens for…

Minding the Gap at All London’s 270 Stations

Minding the Gap at All London’s 270 Stations

Auckland-born businessman Tim McCready has been to all 270 London Underground stations after spending seven days spread over five months travelling the entire 250 miles of the Tube network. “When I arrived…

Despite Chaotic Intentions Ambience Prevails

Despite Chaotic Intentions Ambience Prevails

New Zealand-born photographer Simon Davidson’s “beguiling” portraits of drag racing shot on the Utah salt flats and at Lake Gairdner in South Australia feature in The Guardian this week. “Through clouds of pungent smoke and…

Royal Favourite Sings Lullabies for Newborn

Royal Favourite Sings Lullabies for Newborn

At 26, New Zealand soprano Hayley Westenra has been a favourite of the Royal Family for over a decade, so when Welsh composer Paul Mealor, who was commissioned to write some new…

NZ Hip-Operation Crew Set to take World Stage

NZ Hip-Operation Crew Set to take World Stage

New Zealand hip-hop crew ‘Hip-Operation’ are set to perform at the World Hip Hop Dance Championship in Las Vegas this August. What sets them apart from the competition? About 50 years. The Waiheke Island…

Early Adopters of Technology Perfect to Test On

Early Adopters of Technology Perfect to Test On

When Google chose New Zealand to unveil secret plans for balloon-driven wi-fi network, dubbed Project Loon, it cemented the country’s reputation as a test bed for global tech companies looking to trial their latest…

NZ Bird Recognise People, Show Different Personalities

NZ Bird Recognise People, Show Different Personalities

A study has revealed that a native New Zealand bird is able to recognise different humans. Researchers at Victoria University found that the North Island Robin, or toutouwai, reacts differently to humans by timing…

Telstra-CEO Explains his Trans-Tasman Upbringing

Telstra-CEO Explains his Trans-Tasman Upbringing

Born in Australia and raised in New Zealand, Telstra CEO David Thodey is a product of both countries – a real Trans-Tasman hybrid. Speaking at the Trans-Tasman Business Circle luncheon in Sydney, Thodey explained…

Wigmore Gets Candid About Stars and Songwriting

Wigmore Gets Candid About Stars and Songwriting

Platinum-selling singer-songwriter Aucklander Gin Wigmore, 27, who is currently on tour in the United States, says she is usually “quite cool and collected” around other stars, but was a little less so…

Crossing the Whitewash with Another Win over French

Crossing the Whitewash with Another Win over French

“New Zealand completed a 3-0 series clean sweep of France with a hard-fought but deserved victory at Yarrow Stadium in New Plymouth ,” the Irish Examiner reported. “Ben Smith’s first-half try helped give…

Building on the Holistic Work of Esteemed Surgeon

Building on the Holistic Work of Esteemed Surgeon

British scientists are looking to the work of New Zealander Sir Archibald McIndoe, hoping to find ways to help burns victims regenerate new nerves and skin so that they are only left with minimal…

Speculative Theorist Challenged Course of History

Speculative Theorist Challenged Course of History

Christchurch-born Michael Baigent, co-author of The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail, one of the most controversial books of the 1980s, has died in Brighton, England, aged 65. Baigent grew up in Nelson and…

Fisher & Paykel Patriotic Through and Through

Fisher & Paykel Patriotic Through and Through

A New Zealand woman has uncovered a unique feature of Fisher & Paykel washing machine – they sing the national anthem. Auckland woman uploaded a video to YouTube of her washing machine sounding the…

Convoluted Defence History with US Vestige of the Past

Convoluted Defence History with US Vestige of the Past

The difficult period of New Zealand-US defence relations “is now seen as a relic” according to American Thawley Scholar Jack Georgieff, with “the best in bilateral defense relations” yet to come. “Chuck Hagel raised…

Tourism New Zealand Wins German Award for ‘100% Middle-earth’

Tourism New Zealand Wins German Award for ‘100% Middle-earth’

Tourism New Zealand’s 100% Middle-earth campaign has been named the best tourism and travel campaign in the German market at the Mairdumount Tourism and Travel Media Awards in Hamburg. 100% Middle-earth beat eleven other…