Stamps Commemorate Centenaries
NZ Post has issued a series of stamps celebrating the centenaries of four organisations that have played a major role in the country’s history. Released April 24, the stamps pay tribute to Suzanne Aubert’s House of…
News of New Zealanders via Global Media
Herne Bay Haven
Wallpaper’s April issue includes a Pacific-inspired Herne Bay home designed Auckland’s Stevens Lawson Architects. “For us, it’s the ultimate modernist abstraction,” says architect Nicholas Stevens of the impressive structure, which features a…
Mason Wins at Raglan
NZ surfer Airini Mason has scored her second Billabong Pro Junior Series title for 2007 by winning the girls’ division of the $13,000 Raglan leg. The 18-year-old beat pre-event ratings leader Sally Fitzgibbons (Gerroa,…
Fashionable Folk
Australia’s Frankie magazine features an 8-page spread on NZ “fashionable folk” in its April/May issue. Students, models and DJ’s are asked to name their favourite hang-outs, shopping haunts and things about NZ while wearing…
Toast of TriBeCa
New Zealander Claire Fergusson has become a mainstay of the annual TriBeCa Open Artist Studio Tour (TOAST) in New York. TOAST is a free, self-guided tour of around 100 studios in the TriBeCa…
Incredible Journey Revealed
Massey University ecologists are conducting a groundbreaking study of the bar-tailed godwit’s northern migration. While the 11,000 km southern migration of the godwit from Alaska to NZ is thought to be the longest non-stop flight by any…
McCarten joins local colour
Auckland-born Donald McCarten is a featured artist in the upcoming ColorField.remix event in Washington D.C. The four-month event celebrates the American capital’s influential 1950s/1960s Color Field visual art movement, of which McCarten…
Chinese tour for RNZB
The Royal New Zealand Ballet is set for its first tour of China since 1985. The company has been invited to perform at the Shanghai International Arts Festival in November and will stage further…
Schoolgirls Spill the Juice
A science experiment by two Auckland schoolgirls has resulted in a major lawsuit against GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), the world’s second-largest food and pharmaceutical company. In 2004, Pakuranga College students Anna Devathasan and Jenny Suo (then 14) tested several…
Clark Visits Oval Office
Helen Clark made an official visit to Washington last month, in what was her second such meeting with President Bush and just the third between NZ and US leaders in the last 24 years. Bush described Clark…
The Future of Fabric
Auckland-based Zephyr Technology Ltd has developed “smart fabric” for the US army which is capable of monitoring wearers’ vital signs. The patented fabric works through flexible sensors which detect and measure displacement, distance, pressure and bio-data. Wireless…
Queen of the Track
Current world champ Katherine Prumm enjoyed back to back wins in the opening round of the Australian Women’s Motocross Championships in Victoria. The South Auckland Kawasaki rider was her own harshest critic, claiming “I…
Piano plagiarism causes aesthetic dilemma
Denis Dutton, Canterbury University professor and founding editor of Arts & Letters Daily, writes about a “scandal unparalleled in the annals of classical music” for the New York Times. Dutton’s piece explores the…
Lullabies and Love Songs
Dean Wareham of Dean & Britta recently toured the US with a well-received new album, Back Numbers. Born in Wellington, Wareham first emerged on the New York indie scene in 1991 with the…
Double Victory in Pakistan
NZ cyclists Robin Reid and Justin Kerr have completed a 1-2 victory in the annual Tour de Pakistan road race. Reid won the gruelling 1,648km rally with a time of 44 hours, 59 minutes and 33 seconds….
Victory in Hong Kong
NZ horse trainer Paul O’Sullivan has leapt to second place on the trainer’s premiership table thanks to a stunning feature win in Hong Kong. Together with Australian jockey Brett Prebble and NZ-bred horse Vital King, O’Sullivan won…
Falklands History Discovered in NZ
An important piece of Falklands War history has been discovered by New Zealander Neil Shaw on the eve of the conflict’s 25th anniversary. A former member of the British Antarctic Survey, Shaw discovered the message…
Substance Over Style
The Guardian’s Simon Mills is the latest travel writer to fall for Great Barrier Island’s rustic charms. Home to just 800 people, the island has no mains electricity or centralised plumbing system and once famously refused…
Courage Under Fire Remembered
Maori WW2 hero Lance Sgt. Haane Manahi has been posthumously honoured by the Queen, 64 years after being denied the Commonwealth’s top gallantry award, the Victoria Cross. The Duke of York presented Manahi’s…
Economics World Loses Star Thinker
John McMillan, the man who “could make Economics jump right off the page,” has died from cancer complications aged 56. Born in Christchurch, McMillan taught economics at America’s Stanford Graduate School of Business since 1999. “John in…
Westenra joins Celtic Woman
NZ soprano Hayley Westenra is currently touring the US with Irish group “Celtic Woman”. The group of five women – four singers and a fiddler – shot to fame on the back of a…
International appeal
Valerie Reid’s Sand Dancer has won Best Documentary in its first US screening, at the Foursite Film Festival in Utah. The award is the latest in a string of wins for the…
Tribute to Peter Munz
Historian, author and Victoria University of Wellington emeritus professor Peter Munz has died aged 85. Born in Chemnitz, Germany, Munz was part of the wave of mostly Jewish intellectuals who fled fascist…
Legend of The Bear Lives On
NZ car racing great Denny Hulme was the subject of a retrospective article on the sport in the Guardian. Known as The Bear for his rugged looks and gruff manner, Hulme dominated Formula One…
Making Poetry Out of Darkness
A profile of novelist, poet and critic CK Stead focuses on both his historical prominence in the NZ literary scene and his remarkable late-life burst of creativity. Last year, Stead (74) published his eleventh…
Paradise Home to Future Leaders
Paradise, NZ, could be home to the first United World College (UWC) in Australasia, and just the second in the southern hemisphere. Based on the philosophy of Kurt Hahn, who also founded the Outward…
New Era in Online Advertising
NZ internet entrepreneurs Firstlight are emerging as world leaders in online advertising with their Editorial Related Advertising (E|R|A) programme. With offices in Bangalore (content support), New York (sales) and Wellington (research and development), Firstlight have developed what…
Triumphant return to the airwaves
Te Kuiti-born comic Tony Martin has made a brilliant return to Australian radio with the success of his Get This show on Triple M. Martin was regarded as one of Australian radio’s leading figures…
Being Nice Makes Business Sense
Tourism NZ has launched a new campaign encouraging Australians to travel to NZ at different times of the year. At the same time, it urges New Zealanders to ease up on the traditional taunting…
Impossible is Nothing to Lomu
All Black legend Jonah Lomu is one of 21 elite athletes to feature in the latest advertising campaign by Adidas. Titled Impossible is Nothing, the series shows internationally recognised sports figures discussing how they overcame adversity in their…
Real achievement
Dunedin artist Peter Lyons has found critical and commercial success in the US after being “discovered” while working as a security guard at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Lyons’ strikingly rendered…
NZ Retreat in Roppongi
Tourism NZ and Air NZ are co-sponsors of the New Zealand Travel Cafe, recently opened in Tokyo’s Roppongi entertainment district. The café serves NZ burgers, beer, wine and ice cream, plays NZ music and houses a…
ANZACs Honoured in Acton
The second annual ANZAC Sports Challenge will be held at Twyford Park in Acton, London, on April 21. The event celebrates NZ and Australia’s shared ANZAC heritage by staging friendly matches across a range of sports…
Food to Match the Location
Wellington restaurant Martin Bosley’s features in a guide to the Pacific region by the New York Times. Research for the guide was conducted by leading US travel authority Frommers. “Previously reserved as the…
World First for Scary Mary
Papamoa’s “Scary” Mary Perkins is the first woman in history to tour with freestyle motocross legends the Crusty Demons. The 24-year-old is currently the world’s number one female freestyler and holds the record for the longest…
Lyrical minimalism in Aotearoa
The latest instalment in US artist Chip Hooper’s ongoing series of ocean photographs is New Zealand’s South Pacific and Tasman Sea. Hooper’s solo exhibition of silver prints opens on March 29 at New York’s…
Comic success stories
Taika Waititi’s debut feature Eagle vs Shark has won the award for best screenplay at the US Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, Colorado. The film, which also screened at South by Southwest in…
Finn welcomes world to his kingdom
Tim Finn has embarked on a tour of the UK and Europe to promote his latest solo album, Imaginary Kingdom. Finn wrote most of the album in NZ, which he says had a…
Te Matatini: “It Really is That Good”
Australian journalist Bruce Elder spent two weeks in NZ writing a travel blog – TrampaboutNZ – for the Sydney Morning Herald. The highlight of his tour was the Te Matatini kapa haka festival, a…
Stretching the Limits
Bungy pioneer AJ Hackett is to mark the 20th anniversary of his historic Eiffel Tower jump with a new world record attempt. In Kuala Lumpur later this year, the 48-year-old will leap from a…
Funny man finds his feet
In just over a decade, Hawera-born comedian Alan Brough has established himself as one of Australia’s most popular talents. Since moving to Melbourne in 1995, Brough has appeared in films The Nugget and Bad…
Another Red Destined for Greatness
Observer wine critic Tim Atkins calls Hawke’s Bay Syrah “one of the most exciting wine styles I’ve tasted in the past five years.” The red varietal makes up just 3% of the region’s vineyards, which are…
Monster Haul
A NZ fishing crew has caught an adult colossal squid, one of the world’s most aggressive and mysterious predators. The 450kg monster, with eyes the size of dinner plates and razor-sharp hooks on its tentacles, is the…
Auckland Prof Named UN Science Laureate
Auckland University professor Margaret Brimble has been named one of the world’s top five woman scientists by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). As Laureate for the Asia-Pacific region, Brimble received the US$100,000 L’Oreal-UNESCO prize…
Playboy Bunny Turned Property Mogul
New Zealander Sandra Costa is co-owner and designer of new LA super-club Tatou. The 35,000 sq ft space features state-of-the-art sound and lighting, 45 plasma screens, a 40 ft stage, private VIP rooms and a rooftop restaurant,…
Black Caps Victorious
Three famous victories in a row have seen the Black Caps complete a “black-wash” of the world champion Australians and claim the Chappell-Hadlee series. Over a period of six days the Black Caps broke a number of…
Teen Actors on Global Stage
Disney fantasy film Bridge to Terabithia has thrust four teenage New Zealand actors into the limelight. The film, which features Carly Owen (pictured), Isabelle-Rose Kircher and Cameron Wakefield of Wellington and Aucklander…
Web celeb Rose turns to cinema
NZ actress Jessica Rose – who found fame on YouTube as lonelygirl15 – has made her first foray into Hollywood, starring alongside tabloid queen Lindsay Lohan in the psychological thriller I Know…
Altitude with Attitude
Whare Kea Lodge – the “ultimate mountain hut” – featured in the Observer’s dream travel series. The luxury lodge is located at 5,600ft in the South Island’s Buchanan mountain range. Observer: “A mountain hut that mixes altitude…
Ten Years of Te Reo
Te Kohanga Reo o Ranana in London is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year. The centre was established in 1997 by a group of parents who wanted their children to retain their NZ…
Air New Zealand’s Wines Fly High
Air New Zealand’s premium on board wine selection has been recognised as one of the best in the world. UK Business Traveller magazine named Air New Zealand the winner of three awards in its annual Cellars…
Landmark Brain Research
A joint discovery by NZ and Swedish neuroscientists could potentially revolutionise the study of the human brain. The eight-year collaboration has succeeded in finding the path adult neural stem cells travel to repair the human brain, opening…
NZ Scientists Solve Pigeon Puzzle
Scientists at Auckland University have solved the enduring mystery of homing pigeons. “We are now confident that pigeons … use the intensity of the Earth’s magnetic field to determine position during homing,” said Dr Todd Dennis, who…
Miracle Escape
A NZ skydiver has survived a 3600m fall after his parachute became entangled. Michael Holmes, 25, filmed his fall with a helmet camera as he spiralled out of control over Lake Taupo. The video…
Text Polling a Hit in US
Auckland mobile marketing company Txstation has established a strong presence in the US, providing real-time audience polling for the National Basketball Association, Fox News and the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Txtstation’s technology allows broadcasters and event organisers to ask…
Not Your Average Winery
Americans can finally appreciate the work of artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser on home soil, with the opening of the Quixote Winery in California’s Napa Valley. Owner Carl Doumani commissioned the eccentric Viennese-born artist to design…
