NZEDGE News — New Zealand through the eyes of the world's media

Flight of the Conchords Aimless and That’s Okay

There was a time, about 10 years ago, when this unassuming pair seemed to have it all figured out in their own quiet way. The Flight of the Conchords had a well-received HBO series…

Rhys Darby and Anna Faris in Air New Zealand’s Latest Safety Video

Kiwi comedian Rhys Darby has teamed up with Hollywood actress Anna Faris to play a multitude of ridiculous characters in Air New Zealand’s latest safety video, Safety in Hollywood as reported in

Three Golfers Selected to Represent NZ at Rio

Lydia Ko, Danny Lee and Ryan Fox have been chosen to represent New Zealand in the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, as reported in the Fiji Times. “This is a truly proud moment for…

Star Trek’s Karl Urban Meets Hero Harrison Ford

A perk of working for producer J.J. Abrams on Star Trek Beyond was the chance for Wellington-born actor Karl Urban, 44, to visit his boss’ other set. And for Urban, a lifelong Harrison Ford…

Celebrating French Legion Hero James Waddell

A new exhibition marking the Somme Centenary called “Médaillé Extraordinaire” aims to raise awareness of James Waddell, a much decorated New Zealander who served in the French Foreign Legion during the First World War. Lieutenant-Colonel…

Dancer Kexin Li Reviving an Ancient Art Form

Before Kexin Li, a Chinese New Zealander, came to New York in 2008 to receive systematic training in classical Chinese dance, she cared little for performing arts or even physical exercise. It was after Li,…

Conservation Dogs on the Pest Warpath

One of New Zealand’s greatest conservation accomplishments, our so-called 100 “island sanctuaries”, are entirely pest- and predator-free, allowing endangered animals to thrive without threat. Conservation dogs like Piri the terrier ratter, a specially trained…

New BBC Doco Explores Our Mythical Islands

“In New Zealand, you’ll be interested to learn, there are more species of penguin than anywhere else in the world,” the Independent’s deputy managing editor Sean O’Grady writes in a preview of BBC Two…

RBS CEO Ross McEwan Still Optimistic Despite Brexit

While the Royal Bank of Scotland share price did sink to levels reminiscent of the 2008 crisis, when the bank ran out of cash and only survived because of a £45bn taxpayer bailout, New…

Judith Hereford Pens Book Focusing on Elderly Care

New Zealand-born Judith Hereford, who lives in Herefordshire in the UK, may be over the age of 70, but that isn’t stopping her from taking on the publishing world with her first self-penned book,…

Québec Music Fans Enjoy Neil Finn’s Summer Set

Neil Finn performed at the recent Festival d’été de Québec (FEQ) playing a mixture of Split Enz and Crowded House favourites, as well as some of his own tracks, “in smooth style” according to…

Personhood Designation Granted to Te Urewera

Former national park Te Urewera has been granted personhood with Whanganui River expected to receive the same status soon, the New York Times reports in a feature about the “undoubtedly legally revolutionary” decision. The unusual…

Rose McIver on Her Early Acting Days

Kiwi actress Rose McIver, who plays lead character Liv Moore in the iZombie series, recently said she wasn’t satisfied with her early acting performance. When the actress, who is required to take on an American…

A New Zealand Winter

“You could go to Europe this summer, overpay for plane tickets and stand in line for three hours waiting to get into the Louvre so you can see the Mona Lisa.” Or you could…

Andy Bearpark Re-emerges As Yogi in New Zealand

Andy Bearpark, who was once known as Margaret Thatcher’s closest ally, “has re-emerged in the unlikeliest of places and in the unlikeliest of roles,” writes Jack Barlow for The Guardian. “Bearpark, one…

James Cameron Stars in Tourism NZ Campaign

Avatar director James Cameron is starring in the latest Tourism New Zealand campaign – a series of videos filmed over four days in the South Island, which explore the filmmaker’s fascination with…

How New Zealand’s Knack for ‘P’ Turned into a Homebaked Disaster

“New Zealand is 10,000km (6,00o miles) from Bangkok, 18,000km from Amsterdam and surrounded by sea. Hard drugs rarely make it into the country – and when they do prices are high and quality is…

Getting to Know Thomston

Auckland-based musician Thomas Stoneman, aka Thomston, 20, is gearing up to release his highly anticipated debut album, which is “shaping up to be a really interesting, emotive release”, according to Australian entertainment site Howls…

New Zealand Blazing Trail on Global Cocktail Path

“With its bordello-meets-street-art décor, Napier’s Monica Loves bar has all the trappings of a modern speakeasy, the kind you’d find down a London alley or behind an unmarked door in the East…

How Flight of the Conchords Outlasted the Hipster

“Despite breaking out at a specific cultural moment – an era during which America, at any rate, was seething with ironic hauteur and fetishised authenticity – penchant for loving…

Revived Team McLaren Returns to Grand Prix

Team McLaren, founded in 1963 by owner-driver New Zealander Bruce McLaren and the second-most successful team in series history, returns this weekend to its home Grand Prix, celebrating 50 years in Formula One –…

Tipperary Store Keeps Homesick Hungry Stocked Up

Dean Hand is founder of kiwis.ie which brings a taste of home to other New Zealanders around Ireland through the website and a village shop in Clerihan, County Tipperary. “We’re a one-stop-shop for…

Nelson St Cycleway Shortlisted for World Architecture Awards

Auckland’s pink Nelson Street Cycleway, designed by Monk Mackenzie architects and landscape architecture firm LandLab, has just been shortlisted for the World Architecture Awards. “The 0.37-mile offramp turned bike path cuts through the…

Rare Whales Seen off Dunedin Coast

For the first time in New Zealand waters an extremely rare grouping of Shepherd’s Beaked Whales, one of the least known cetaceans in the world, has been spotted from a University of Otago research…

Wimbledon’s Anthony Wilding a Superstar of his Day

Long before the PR driven age of image rights and social media, before Borg, Laver and even Perry, Wimbledon had its own matinee idol – New Zealand-born Anthony Wilding. Yet despite him being a…

Awaroa Beach Bought by Crowdfunding given to Public

The pristine Awaroa Beach in the Abel Tasman National Park bought through a crowdfunding campaign for almost $2.3 million has been handed to its new owners – the public, becoming part of the Department…

Te Reo Hit Topples Justin Timberlake

Pop tune Maimoatia, sung entirely in Te reo and released for Maori Language Week, shot straight to the top of the iTunes chart in New Zealand, knocking Justin Timberlake’s Can’t Stop the Feeling from…

Waiheke One of World’s Best Islands

Waiheke has placed forth in Travel + Leisure magazine’s annual top ten best islands in the world survey for 2016, ahead of Bali, Hawaii and the Greek islands. It was also named the top…

Mainmark Wins at 2016 Ground Engineering Awards in London

Mainmark’s Christchurch team has won the International Project of the Year Award at the 2016 Ground Engineering Awards for their post-earthquake resurrection of the Christchurch Art Gallery in New Zealand. During the earthquakes in 2010 and 2011,…

Rhys Darby On What It Takes To Be Funny Everywhere

“NZ actor-comedian Rhys Darby may have burst to fame in the United States playing Murray on Flight of the Conchords, but Darby has been honing his strange brand of comedy on multiple continents for…

Stops You Need to Make On Your South Island Road Trip

“There are plenty of places and excursions worth checking out when driving through New Zealand’s South Island,” writes Daniel Otis in an article for the Toronto Star. While there are endless possibilities,…

Centuries of Smoke

“A foul smell hangs in the air over White Island, a marine volcano in New Zealand’s Bay of Plenty, and steam hisses from rocks stained bright yellow from centuries of sulfur exposure,” writes Craig…

NZ Tattoo Artist’s Incredible Sport Stars Tattoos

“New Zealand tattoo artist Steve Butcher has set the bar extremely high when it comes to inking sport stars from around the world,” as reported in an article in the Irish Examiner. He…

Must-Visit Destinations in New Zealand

It is New Zealand’s glorious, spectacular and diverse scenery that has long inspired many travelers to visit the country. In an article for Living + Nomads Hai Chuyen reveals the 10 most…

Rebecca Taylor Takes InStyle Around the Office

When it came time for New Zealand-born fashion designer Rebecca Taylor to redecorate her office in the company’s Midtown New York showroom, she wanted to mimic the same relaxed, feminine vibes as her boutiques. “When…

Hollywood Is Finally Ready For Taika Waititi

New Zealand filmmaker Taika Waititi “has been put at the forefront of Disney’s push toward diversity. But that doesn’t mean he’s committing to a career in studio movies,” writes Alison Willmore in an article…

Julie Brougham Takes Most Senior NZ Olympian Crown

New Zealand dressage rider Julie Brougham will pip Mark Todd to the “elder statesman” record at this summer’s Olympics, Horse & Hound reports. The New Zealand Olympic committee had said that Todd, 60, would become…

Tucson Teen Discovers Love of Writing

Nineteen-year-old New Zealand-born Samara Attridge, who has always been more of a “centre-stage type, acting and tackling musical theatre,” tells the Arizona Daily Star that she never pictured herself as a writer. Born in Palmerston…

Yumi Zouma on Album Release Tour in US

New Zealand band, Yumi Zouma, performed recently in McAllen, Texas as part of a US tour promoting their latest album Yoncalla. “Even though it’s our third release, this is the first full-length release we’ve done,…

Top NZ Firm Fletchers Seeks British Building Pros

“Fletcher Construction, is calling out for senior British construction leaders to help it deliver the largest infrastructure programme in the nation’s history,” as reported in the Global Construction Review. “I have never seen so much…

NZ WWII Rugby Jersey Helps Cash-Strapped Welsh Club

A forgotten post-war New Zealand rugby jersey found among old artefacts at a Welsh clubhouse has provided a massive financial boost to the side, which is run on a shoestring, according to Wales Online. Officials…

NZ Police Officers Show Off Hip Hop Moves

A group of New Zealand police officers have stunned a crowd by busting out an impressive hip hop dance routine in a surprise appearance at the Hip Hop Unite New Zealand championships on Saturday,…

Kaitangata Launches Drive to Recruit Outsiders

The tiny picturesque town of Kaitangata in the South Island has a unique problem – too many jobs, too many affordable houses and not enough people to fill them, the Guardian reports. So the…

Spotlight on Chef Peter Gordon and NZ Wines

The “Godfather of Fusion” New Zealand chef Peter Gordon talks to the London Evening Standard about the dishes and wines he’s been enjoying this week. “Fusion food takes, as its starting point, the belief that…

Comic Artist Roger Langridge Responds to Brexit

For days, Roger Langridge wrote, he was boiling with rage over the United Kingdom’s “stupid, stupid referendum result.” But then someone wrote to ask him: “Why do you hate your countrymen?” And so the…

Report Exposes Human Trafficking Shortfalls

A United States report outlining New Zealand’s shortcomings in tackling human trafficking shows New Zealand is “oblivious and ignorant” about forced labour taking place under our noses, anti-trafficking organisation Stand Against Slavery says. Enforcement agencies like…