Lester’s mini Mini
Retired Napier mechanic Lester Atherfold, 67, has transformed his 1964 Mini 85 into an even mini-er Mini trimming the 1ft long British classic car to a mere 7ft 1ins. Atherfold sliced 2ft from the…
News of New Zealanders via Global Media
Generations Loved Her
New Zealand-born author Ruth Park, who moved to Sydney in 1942 and who was the author of classic Australian books such as The Harp in the South and The Muddleheaded Wombat, has died in…
Looking at the Liberal
Chief executive of the Alcohol Advisory Council Gerard Vaughan says that because New Zealand is a small country, an issue can get on the public agenda quickly and then become part of public debate,…
Tickets sales on track
Rugby New Zealand 211 Ltd chief executive Martin Snedden has said that key World Cup match ticket sales and revenue targets had been met in 21. Since the sales program was launched earlier this…
Sweet Start to Season
Dunedin cyclist Alison Shanks, 28, has won two gold medals at the UCI World Cup in Cali, Colombia at the Alcides Nieto Patiño Velodrome taking first place in the 3m individual pursuit and in…
Airline alliance
Air New Zealand and Virgin Blue will form an alliance on trans-Tasman routes, after the competition regulator dropped its opposition to the plan. After indicating three months ago that it would block the deal,…
Royal Advertising
Shortly after the royal wedding date was announced, Education New Zealand published a quarter-page advertisement in Britain’s The Times newspaper offering Prince William and Kate Middleton’ s first-born child a scholarship to a New…
Incentive for training
All Black Sonny Bill Williams, 25, will soon step back into the boxing ring for a bout against Australian Scott Lewis on January 29 ahead of the Super rugby season and the 211 World…
Sinkhole Record
New Zealander William Trubridge, 3, has set yet another world freediving record descending 1m on a single breath into Dean’s Blue Hole on Long Island in the Bahamas beating his previous 95m world record….
Diamond forever
Auckland couple Cameron and Shariyah Morris have won the title of “The World’s Best Couple” and a 22-carat diamond ring worth $1 million, which was presented by US reality television celebrity Kim Kardashian, in…
Compassion from grief
Emma Woods, whose four-year-old son Nayan was killed by a teen driver who careened onto a footpath after losing control of his modified car, has been named New Zealander of the Year by The…
Sevens trophy for NZ
New Zealand has beaten England in the Sevens World Sevens final 22-19 in South Africa taking the title in extra-time. New Zealand’s captain Aucklander DJ Forbes, 27, said of the team’s win: “We really…
Man of many matches
The International Rugby Board’s player of the year Richie McCaw, 3, “is a hero to many… establish himself as one of rugby’s great players,” The New York Times’ Emma Stoney writes. “As a fresh-faced…
Films advancing art
“The most exhilarating show of 2th-century art to be seen in this country right now is by the New Zealand artist Len Lye,” Laura Cummings writes in a Guardian review of the retrospective exhibition…
Island artscape
Bailey, a full-time artist whose Maori, Irish and Dutch heritage is central to his work is one of more than 1 who make Waiheke Island their home, many of whom open their studios to…
Alcatraz role for Neill
Actor Sam Neill has a role in the upcoming Fox pilot series Alcatraz which chronicles the efforts of a team of FBI agents tracking down a group of missing prisoners and guards who reappear…
Easy on the eye
Auckland’s Eden Park features in green design blog Inhabitat which describes the renovation of the stadium for the 211 World Rugby Cup. “For a century Eden Park has been the epicentre of rugby and…
Human Footprints
The effect of early humans on New Zealand forests is being studied by scientists from Montana State University in a project titled “Ecosystem resilience to human impacts: ecological consequences of early human-set fires in…
World-first treatment
Auckland-based Living Cell Technologies, which is pioneering a world-first treatment for type 1 diabetes using insulin-producing cells grown in pigs, has been approved for sale in Russia. Professor Bob Elliott, who heads the Auckland…
Onward to Invercargill
Wellington actor Bret McKenzie will co-star with Australian television and radio personality Hamish Blake in a New Zealand feature film, Two Little Boys, which is due to start filming in January in Southland. Based…
Speedshear fundraiser
Te Kuiti veteran shearing champion David Fagan will join current World Champion Cam Ferguson, 1994 World Champion Alan MacDonald and 1984 World Champion Tom Wilson amongst others in a Speedshear to …
Classic reimagining
“Reports that Cate Blanchett and Orlando Bloom will reprise their Lord of the Rings roles in The Hobbit suggest Jackson’s two-part production may be more epic than its source material,” the Guardian’s Ben…
Benji Bags the Boot
New Zealand Test captain and Wests Tigers star five-eighth Benji Marshall, 25, has won the 21 Rugby League Golden Boot Award. Now in its 25th year, the prestigious award is presented to the game’s…
Gallantry Cross awarded
Wellington-born Rifleman James McKie, 29, a member of the British Forces, has been presented with the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross at Buckingham Palace. McKie was providing security for a new patrol base when a live…
Swell Protection
Nineteen New Zealand top surf breaks will now be officially protected from inappropriate use and development under the revised New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement which came into effect in early December. New Zealand is…
Lifestyle for sale
A Waimauku three-bedroom cedar home on five acres is advertised for sale in a recent New York Times. Priced between $1.2 and 1.4 million, the main house has a steeply sloped asymmetrical roof and…
Gimblett’s workspace
Auckland photographer John Savage and Auckland-born New York painter Max Gimblett have collaborated on a book from Italian art publisher Charta about Gimblett’s studio and home on The Bowery. The book was launched at…
Back on the Wards
Auckland-born actor Martin Henderson is profiled by Canadian television station site Global Lethbridge. Henderson, who currently lives in Los Angeles, will soon appear on the American small screen as “legendary Dr Ben Keeton” in…
Two shorts for Sundance
Two New Zealand short films have been selected for the 27th Sundance Film Festival which runs from January 2 to 3. Both short films are part of a group of seven to be selected…
Volcanic adventure
“The precipitous mist that clung to the peaks of this volcanic island did little to obscure the ominous scene that was quickly emerging in front of our boat,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporter Elisabeth Ponsot describes…
Steamy sightseeing
Rotorua’s “Buried Village is a museum where you can walk around the excavations and see a Victorian gentleman’s hat and Sunday best crockery preserved in mud as perfectly as were the artefacts from ancient…
Makarora patience
The Makarora River, which enters Lake Wanaka from the north, is where the Edmonton Sun’s Neil Waugh heads to fish. “You quickly learn that New Zealand trout fishing is unlike most other…
Demanding legacy
“All Blacks centre Ma’a Nonu believes the team’s success comes from always striving to improve their performance and like every All Black ever come across, Nonu is reluctant…
Defined by humour
The best way to understand another country is to get to grips with its sense of humour, says Guardian writer Joris Luyendijk. Included in a list of jokes told in various countries — generally…
Tasman talent shift
Western Force’s New Zealand recruit Willie Ripia, who has just signed a two-year contract with the team, expects the migration of New Zealanders across the Tasman to continue in Super rugby. Murupara-born Ripia, 25,…
Seven the song bird
Auckland model, the “more-gorgeous-than-ever” Zippora Seven, 18, graces Australian designer Jessie Hill’s SS1/11 look book, the collection taking the title Song Bird 7. She “features with heavy eye makeup and messy waves.” Seven is…
Ozone Hole Shrinkage
Auckland-based National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) studies have found that the ozone hole over Antarctica has shrunk to the smallest in five years, decreasing about 22 million square kilometres from 24…
Tamarillo collaboration
Auckland-based brewery Epic featured in a December Discovery Channel episode of the Brew Masters series which showcased the brewing of a pilot and production batch of their latest beer Portamarillo — a collaboration…
Star rising in London
New Zealander Madeleine Pierard, 29, won the 25 Lexus Song Quest and as a result spent four years at London’s Royal College of Music and the National Opera Studio, taking up a two-year contract…
Tamahori’s double
Director Lee Tamahori’s latest film The Devil’s Double, a story about the body double for Saddam Hussein’s eldest son, will premiere at next year’s Sundance Film Festival. Tamahori, 6, best known for the 1994…
Memorial for miners
More than 1, people attended a memorial service for the 29 men killed in the Pike River mine disaster, which was held at Greymouth’s Omoto Racecourse on December 2. Each man was remembered with…
Totally natural
Former Miss Universe Auckland-born Lorraine Downes, 46, is the new face of natural skin care company Living Earth. CEO of Living Nature, New Zealand John O’Toole says: “Lorraine and Living Nature is a match…
Diabetes aware walk
From New Zealand national park to New Zealand national park American Greg Lineham, 5, will walk over a two and a half month period to raise money for juvenile diabetes research. Lineham’s daughter, Halley,…
Hall of Fame
Sir Edmund Hillary is part of an august group of adventurers, entertainers, geniuses, and outlaws in Lapham’s Quarterly’s Celebrity issue “Hall of Fame”. “The Mountaineer” rubs shoulders with Theseus, Confucius, Socrates, Gengkis Khan, Leonardo…
Proof in the pudding
The pavlova is a New Zealand-invented dessert, and the proof is in the dictionary entry. An argument dating back generations between Australia and New Zealand over which of them invented the pavlova appears to…
Halal-fuelled burgers
New Zealand franchise Burger Fuel will offer grass-fed halal meat to its customers when a chain of 15 outlets open over five years throughout the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Burger Fuel’s first store operates…
Better and better
All Black captain Richie McCaw, 29, has become the first to be chosen world player of the year three times in a New Zealand sweep at the International Rugby Board (IRB) awards. New Zealand’s…
Breaking the NY ice
Actor and comedian Jemaine Clement recently made an appearance at the opening of sporting apparel line Icebreaker’s new Manhattan store. Examiner.com wrote: “While the staff was getting ready for the big grand opening, a…
Awesome US deal
Auckland hip-hop talent David Dallas, formerly known as Con Psy, has partnered with American label Duck Down Records in a publishing, distributing, and marketing deal. The half-Samoan artist reached No. 1 on the New…
Underground Stars
“The world renowned Waitomo Glowworm Caves should be high on any visitor’s wish-list,” recommends Monsters & Critic’s writer Jennie Radue. “The most obvious difference between the Waitomo Glowworm and its European counterpart is that…
Record steam
Aucklander Simon Janson’s “pretty amazing” steam-powered record player is reviewed by gadgets and gizmos blog site Techabob. “Janson mated steam-power with an Arduino processor. The engine was cobbled together from bits and pieces. The…
Holiday Seclusion
New Zealander Amanda Jones writes for the Los Angeles Times about the bach, “purportedly evoking ‘bachelor pad,’ although this typically refers to their condition and not the marital status of their occupants.” “On a…
Inquiry for Pike River mine
A Royal Commission of Inquiry to determine the causes of the tragic explosion as well as the safety practices at the Pike River mine has been confirmed. “I think it’s a demonstration to the…
Passionate About Food
Wellington is New Zealand’s “culinary epicentre” according to the Los Angeles Times’ Laura Fraser, a city which “gazes out to the Mediterranean” for inspiration. “We’ve got a country with a very Anglo-Saxon food heritage,…
Carter’s kick to history
All Blacks first-five Dan Carter kicked himself into the history books as the record points scorer in the history of Test match rugby on Sunday morning as New Zealand played Wales at the Millennium…
Ink star in town
New Zealand tattooist and star of Hollywood reality show LA Ink Dan Smith, 3, got his first tattoo in the kitchen of a house of a few friends who lived by acclaimed tattoo…
