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New Zealand the Perfect Place to Shape Ed Hillary
“I ended up in boat-drunk summery Auckland because I wanted to figure out, 10 years after Sir Edmund Hillary’s death, how the first person to climb Mount Everest ever…
World’s Loneliest Bird Nigel Dies on Mana Island
Nigel, a handsome gannet who lived on a desolate island off the coast of New Zealand, died suddenly last week. Wherever his soul has landed, the singles scene surely…
PM Talks about Her Particularly Public Surprise
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern talks to Guardian contributor and Spinoff editor Toby Manhire about her surprise pregnancy and why she won’t stay quiet on sexism.
“I did think…
British and US Migrants Flock to New Zealand
The number of American and British residents choosing to live in far-flung New Zealand has risen sharply since the election of Donald Trump and the UK’s Brexit vote, according…
Celebrating 125 Years of the Female Vote in NZ
New Zealand Minister for Women Julie Anne Genter recently called for communities across New Zealand to celebrate women fighting and gaining the right to vote, 125 years ago.
“New Zealand…
Country Swelters Through Hottest Ever Month
January was the hottest month ever recorded in New Zealand, according to figures released by the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA), and experts say climate change…
New Zealand Fourth Best Democracy in The World
New Zealand has been named the country with the fourth best democracy in the world in a new report ranking countries by how functional their political systems are. According…
Ollie Dale Aims to Help Solve Earhart Mystery
Auckland filmmaker Ollie Dale is joining former US Navy intelligence officer Guy Noffsinger to investigate how Pan Am flight 229 inexplicably vanished over the Pacific in 1938 – and…
Etihad’s Andrew Fisher Breaks Fastest Trip Record
New Zealander Andrew Fisher, 42, who works in Abu Dhabi as Etihad’s vice president of fleet planning, has broken the world record for flying around the world in the…
PM’s Pregnancy Sparks Knitting Movement
New Zealander Heather McCracken, who is based in the United States, has kicked off the knitting movement #KnitForJacinda inspired by the news that Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is pregnant.
Ardern…
How the Queen Was Almost Killed On Royal Tour Of New Zealand In 1981
“A new report reveals how the government of New Zealand attempted to conceal just how close a young man came to assassinating the Queen during a diplomatic trip to…
Peter Jackson Brings WWI to Life With New 3D Film
“A new 3D film by director Peter Jackson is set to bring the First World War to life in a way never seen before,” writes Laura Lambert in an…
Roger Shepherd Shares Love for Korea’s Mountains
Roger Shepherd, 52, a former police officer from New Zealand who has lived in the rustic southern county Gurye near Mount Jiri since 2011, said Korean mountains have plenty…
PM Jacinda Ardern Plays down Her Pregnancy News
Jacinda Ardern, who became New Zealand’s prime minister in October, attracted international attention when she denounced television interviewers who had asked whether she planned to have children if elected….
Extinct Giant Burrowing Bat Fossil Found in NZ
The fossils of a massive bat have been discovered near the historic mining town of St Bathans in Central Otago. The 16- to 19-million-year-old bat’s body mass was just…
Craft Beer Makes Inflation Gauge as Tastes Change
New Zealand has added craft beer to the basket of goods it monitors to measure inflation, reflecting changing tastes and consumer spending in the country, Bloomberg reports.
“New Zealand used…
What André Spicer Reveals about Self-Help
New Zealander André Spicer and Swede Carl Cederström, business-school professors in a field called “organisation studies,” recently set out to chart their progress, count their steps, log their sleep…
Harley Neville’s Wild Shave Gets Him on Ellen Show
Two years ago, Aucklander Harley Neville shaved off half the hair on his body and photographed the result for his followers on social media. The picture sat on the…
Struggling Kiwis Get A Little Help From Friends
“The Farm Cape Kidnappers, a luxury resort in the North Island, sits inside one of the largest wildlife sanctuaries in the country, the privately-owned Cape Sanctuary. There, efforts are…
Experts Develop Roadside Gym for Endangered Kea
Conservationists want to stop New Zealand’s kea – dubbed the world’s smartest parrot – from wandering onto roads and begging humans for food, so they have designed a special…
UAE-Based Professor Nick Ashill Back on His Feet
Five months ago, the dream of United Arab Emirates American University of Sharjah (AUS) dean New Zealander Nick Ashill was to run 5400km across America.
The 52-year-old was hoping to…
Largest Underwater Eruption Discovered off NZ
Researchers have found that the world’s largest deep ocean volcanic eruption happened 1000km north east of New Zealand.
Named as Havre, the deep ocean volcanic eruption was first discovered in…
Adorable Penguin Melts Hearts in Bluff
Footage of a Fiordland crested penguin in Bluff waddling up to his awaiting human friend Rodney Clark has delighted the internet and amused many New Zealand locals.
The video shows Bluff…
Misfiled Piece of Brontë Brother’s Work Found in NZ
The first Brontë manuscript identified in New Zealand has been restored to its place in literary history thanks to university researchers. The fragment of Branwell Brontë’s work was misfiled…
Paving Hamilton’s Streets with Beer Bottle Sand
Hamilton has launched a pilot programme that’s repaving roadways with old beer bottles. No, you can’t see a bunch of Budweiser labels when you come to a stop. Instead,…
The Global Search for Skilled Workers
“New Zealand is undergoing the biggest infrastructure build in the nation’s history,” writes Jeff Kerns in MachineDesign. “As such, a group of private companies and…
Anna Wilding Recalls Time in The White House Press Corps
“Marine One had just landed on the South Lawn and Anna Wilding was standing 20 feet away among the press with her camera in hand, ready to capture the…
Secrets of Real-Life Game of Thrones Revealed
A team of British scientists are set to make the trip to New Zealand this month, all in the hopes of unlocking the secrets hidden in the 600-year-old Canterbury…
Mt Taranaki given Same Legal Rights as a Person
The sacred mountain in the North Island is the third geographic feature in the country to be granted a “legal personality” entitled the same legal rights as a person,…
Anniversary of Ed Hillary’s South Pole First
It was the first few days of 1958 and the two teams of the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition were converging on the South Pole. Although it was not meant to…
Jim Anderton a Towering Figure in Politics
One of New Zealand’s senior political figures, former deputy prime minister Auckland-born Jim Anderton, has died in Christchurch, aged 79.
The idealistic former president of New Zealand’s progressive Labour Party…
Waiheke Commute One of the More Unusual
Whether it’s skiing, snowboarding or skating, Guardian readers from around the world, who opt to take an alternative route to work, share their stories, including Aucklander James Scroggins who…
Fond Memories of Flying Pioneer Jean Batten
“Jean Batten was the first woman to be awarded the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale’s highest award, the FAI Gold Air Medal. Awarded 80 years ago in 1937 she got it…
Southern Hemisphere Christmas Variations
“As the resident southern hemispherian, my colleagues had a lot of questions about what Christmas is really like down under. Spoiler: we eat the same things as you,” UK-based…
Miriam and Peter Lancewood Living Off the Grid
For seven years, Dutch woman Miriam Lancewood and her New Zealand-born husband Peter have lived a nomadic life – she is the hunter and he is the cook. Five…
Life and Times of Apia Identity Bob Moore
If you’re driving around Apia gazing at the many, multi-storeyed government and company buildings, chances are you’re looking at some of the work of well-known, local identity, Motueka-born Robert…
Human-Sized Penguin Remains Found on Hampden Beach
Remnants of a 1.77-metre-tall penguin who walked on earth 55m to 60m years ago have been found south of Christchurch on what is now Hampden Beach.
Measurements of the partial…
NZ’s Film Industry Worth a Billion to Economy
The International New Zealand Screen Production Grant (NZSPG) is a key contributor to the nation’s economy according to a new economic study released by the New Zealand Film Commission…
More Women Needed in Politics Says Ardern
This has been a year dominated by women speaking out and fighting back. The Financial Times spotlight those who have made waves this year, from prime ministers (including New…
Former MP Maurice Williamson a Gay Icon in Japan
Former MP Maurice Williamson’s rising popularity as a gay icon among many Japanese people is thanks to a video of a speech he made during the third reading and…
Benefits of Foreign Owned Property Debated
New Zealand, famous for the mountains that formed the dramatic backdrop to the film The Lord of the Rings, is now known for something else among the super rich:…
Courageous Soldier Melanie Childs Awarded
Lieutenant Colonel Melanie Childs, who took charge of soldiers and police to lead refugees to safety through a battle zone in South Sudan, has been named the New Zealand…
Dedicated Pen Pals Look Back over 70 Years
After thousands of air miles, reams of paper and a lifetime of stories, Oxfordshire woman Barbara Finch is marking seven decades of writing to her pen pal Elizabeth Martin,…
Andrew Parker Flying High for the Kids
For the past four years, New Zealander Andrew Parker has been travelling the world with his hot air balloon as part of the inspiring project Flying High for Kids,…
New Zealand Getting Left off World Maps
“Last time you looked at a map, it very well could have been missing an entire country. Poor New Zealand,” Cassie Shortsleeve writes in a Condé Nast Traveler piece.
“A…
Climate Refugees to Be Welcomed in New Zealand
New Zealand has announced it will create a special refugee visa for Pacific Islanders displaced by rising seas. The country says it is preparing for the possibility of a…
Chocolate Factory Saved by the Community
New Zealanders have pledged $2m in just over 24 hours to keep the century-old tradition of chocolate-making alive in Dunedin, after Mondelez International announced in February it planned to…
Roger Corbin’s Daughters Salute Their Dad the Hero
To his daughters, Roger Corbin was Dad. But to many, the New Zealand-born helicopter pilot was a hero.
His 11-year-old twin girls have been inundated with support since their dad’s…
Tax Reform New Zealand Style
“With tax-law revision now before the US Congress, matters of revenue, efficiency and fairness again occupy American minds. But as one of that country’s most celebrated political writers, T.R….
New Zealand’s War on Rats Could Change the World
Before they were brought to New Zealand in the 13th century, the only land mammals in the country were bats and local birds could roam free. Today much of…
New Zealander Kay Evans Enhances US Holistic Course
New Zealand native Kay Evans is director of the Holistic Health and Massage Therapy programme on the Trinidad Campus in Colorado. Evans, who thinks stress and unresolved pain are…
Lois Salvisberg Honours Time in Migrant Centre
A New Zealander who had become a Swiss citizen, Lois Salvisberg perhaps wasn’t a typical new arrival to Australia’s Bonegilla Migrant Reception and Training Centre in 1969. “I didn’t…
Trump Forest Countering Ignorant Climate Policy
Founded in New Zealand in March 2017 by British climate scientist Dr Dan Price, American PhD candidate Jeff Willis and French-New Zealander Adrien Taylor (pictured right), the Trump Forest…
What the Unfortunate Experiment Can Teach US
For an instructive example of how to respond to abusive medical research, the Boston Review considers New Zealand and its response to the mistreatment of women with cervical cancer…
NZ’s Winter Shorter by a Month over 100 Years
Studies by the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) show that winter has contracted equally at its beginning and end. Winter has gotten shorter by a month…
Helen Clark Appointed To Global Commission On Drug Policy
Helen Clark has been appointed to the prestigious Global Commission on Drug Policy” – “one of the world’s leading think tanks on reducing drug harm on society,” reports the…
