Register for Monthly Updates about Kiwis Rocking the World
Society
Sharon Van Etten’s surprise performance leaves John Campbell in tears
John Campbell’s colleagues surprised the New Zealand news anchor with the ultimate music fan experience: his very own personal Sharon Van Etten show.
Because of his demanding work schedule, Campbell…
Bruce Neal’s Anzac Tattoo an Internet Hit
Lower Hutt army veteran Bruce Neal’s Anzac tattoo – a 19cm design of World War I soldiers marching into the distance in a shape of a fern with the…
New Zealand’s English Has a Distinct Linguistic Identity
“New Zealand English is like English, but different. And it’s developing in a direction all of its own,” according to New Zealand copywriter Sam O’Flaherty in a piece for…
Join the Red Nosed Kiwi Coffee Caravan
Caravan Coffee Roasters, set up by New Zealand chef Miles Kirby with Kiwi friends Laura Harper-Hinton and Chris Ammerman, has launched Coffee Relief to support this…
Mike Campbell Scores Top Spot in Men’s Health Man Comp
Sydney-based personal trainer, New Zealander Mike Campbell, 33, has been named in the top six of Australian Men’s Health magazine’s Man competition.
The competition calls for blokes who are in…
Panicked Super Rich Buying up NZ Bolt Holes
Hedge fund managers are buying up remote stations and land in places like New Zealand to flee to in the event of civil uprising against growing inequality, it has…
Planting Trees in Public Spaces Leads to Healthier Society
University of Canterbury research has suggested that planting trees in public places could lead to a healthier society.
The university research analysed the activities of 12,500 New Zealanders and found…
ACT MLA Meegan Fitzharris Sworn in at Assembly
Incoming ACT Legislative Assembly member New Zealand-born Meegan Fitzharris introduced herself as “the first MLA from Gungahlin” at her maiden speech delivered when the former bureaucrat and…
How Irish Zoologist Suzanne Burns Fell in Love with NZ
There are many “weird, wild and wonderful aspects to living in New Zealand” that have made Irish woman Suzanne Burns, 40, fall “hopelessly in love with the country.” Burns,…
Revised Views of World War One’s Bloodiest Conflict
As the 100th anniversary of the Gallipoli campaign approaches, the Smithsonian Magazine looks back at one of the bloodiest conflicts of World War I, which claimed the lives of…
Arbitration Stars Audley Sheppard and Wendy Miles Made QCs
New Zealand arbitrators, Clifford Chance construction disputes partner Audley Sheppard (pictured) and Boies Schiller & Flexner partner Wendy Miles, feature among the five leading solicitors on the latest Queen’s…
Art of Learning Author Lance King Motivating Kids in Bermuda
Author of educational programme the Art of Learning, New Zealander Lance King, has been invited to address students and their parents in Bermuda at the country’s oldest school, Warwick…
Meet John Bougen the World’s Best-Travelled Man
Thirteen years after he began exploring the globe, New Zealander John Bougen expects to be named the world’s best-travelled man by the end of the year. And he knows…
Snowmaker Mark Eldring Skips Summers for Colorado Slopes
Snowmaker and groomer Mark Eldring, 32, originally from Mount Maunganui, has experienced one summer in the last nine years opting for winters instead shaping slopes around the world.
Eldring is…
Tabby Besley to Be Honoured by the Queen for LGBTI Advocacy
At just 22, Tabby Besley is set to be honoured by the Queen for her work for the LGBTI community, the only New Zealander to be awarded the inaugural…
Peter Jackson Embarking on WWI Museum Project
Peter Jackson is leaving the battle for Middle Earth behind to dive into some real-world war history curating a collection of artifacts at a new museum in Wellington. The…
Air New Zealand One of World’s Safest Airlines
Of 449 airlines monitored by the aviation website AirlineRatings.com, Air New Zealand makes the Top 10 safest for 2015 based on aviation governing body audits and airline incident records,…
New Zealand WWI Contingent Enlivened Village
During World War I, New Zealand soldiers, many from the Maori Battalion, including a self-declared Niuean prince, arrived in the small East London village of Hornchurch and formed a…
Sheep Numbers Fall to Their Lowest for 75 Years
New Zealand has long been the butt of sheep jokes but latest figures show the nation’s woolly flock has slumped to its lowest number since World War II, with…
Ireland Becomes Data Analyst Christina Tuataga
Originally from Auckland, Christina Tuataga, business data analyst at Fidelity Investments in Galway, explains why she chose Ireland as a place to live and work, and how snow still…
Meet Dr John Money the Father of F***ology
In an essay excerpted from Fuckology: Critical Essays on John Money’s Diagnostic Concepts, the authors examine the work of trailblazing Morrinsville-born scientist and sexual libertarian Dr John Money.
Money, who…
Pope Francis Reaches Out to the Edge
In a move that underscores his “campaign to reach out to the peripheries,” Pope Francis on January 4 named 20 new cardinals from far-flung corners of the world including…
Esteemed Middle-earth Location Scout Dave Comer
Dave Comer, who selected many of the spectacular New Zealand locations for The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies for director Peter Jackson, has died aged 58.
Comer…
Monocle’s Forecast for NZ in 2015
There are three challenges New Zealand faces in 2015, according to Monocle magazine. Much of the success of Prime Minister John Key, who led the National party to a…
Maori Feature in New Book Documenting World’s Tribes
Powerful portraits of Maori feature in a new book about 31 unique tribes by British photojournalist Jimmy Nelson called, Before They Pass Away, “an irreplaceable ethnographic record of…
Ferryman Alan Brann Working the Waters of the Columbia River
Alan Brann, known better as Kiwi, ferries passengers and cargo to and from the big ships in the Lower Columbia River at the Port of Astoria in Oregon aboard…
Storyteller Wayne Mills Celebrates Reading with Kids’ Lit Quiz
In a quaint old theatre in Falmouth, Cornwall, a tall gentleman in a top hat stands facing the stage, like a conductor. The man is not just the ringmaster…
WWII Spy Phyllis Doyle Receives France’s Highest Honour
Ninety-three-year-old former British secret agent Phyllis Latour Doyle, who lives in New Zealand, has received France’s highest decoration for her courage – 70 years after parachuting behind enemy lines…
NZ Welcomes China’s President in Style
“They say you can’t beat Wellington on a good day and that’s exactly what greeted China’s president in the New Zealand capital,” writes Jacqueline Le for The Daily Telegraph.
President…
New Zealand to Rural Iceland – Extreme Commute
Every year, several dozen butchers make a lengthy commute – from provincial New Zealand to rural Iceland – for just two months’ work.
Shawn Parkinson (pictured, far left), one of…
Waikato Gang Tribal Huks Feeding Hungry Kids
Ngaruawahia gang Tribal Huks has been making approximately 500 sandwiches daily and dropping them off at 25 local Waikato schools, just as American gangs have responded similarly in the…
NASA Reveals New Zealand “Untouched Sanctuary”
Nasa has released a series of images of ‘sanctuaries’ around the globe as part of a new book released this week, which includes a stunning image of Mt Taranaki in…
PM John Key Pushes National Rebranding with New Flag
Prime Minister John Key, recently re-elected to a third term, is a cast-iron monarchist, the Economist writes. “Even so, he is bent on coming up with a new flag…
Artist Stephen Mulqueen Reviving Memory of Poppy Lady
Dunedin jeweller and sculptor Stephen Mulqueen was in Athens, Georgia recently to drum up support for a memorial to one of the American city’s forgotten heroes – humanitarian Moina…
Ross McEwan at the Helm of a UK Bank in Much Better Health
Almost a year to the day since the Hawke’s Bay-born retail banker Ross McEwan replaced Englishman Stephen Hester at the helm of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), the bank…
Lancashire University Appointment for Professor Robin Pollard
New Zealander Professor Robin Pollard has secured the dual role of deputy vice-chancellor and vice-president of the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) group.
Pollard has a reputation as an experienced…
USA Today: Breaking Down the All Blacks Haka
USA Today has provided insight into the Haka, which has become a familiar rite to anyone who has watched a New Zealand team play in international sporting events.
The Haka,…
Britain Can Learn a Lot from NZ’s Healthcare System
The distant shores of New Zealand, which has a broadly similar healthcare system to the UK’s, provides some lessons for Britain’s NHS, writes Robin Gauld, professor of health policy…
New Zealand Wins Seat on UN Security Council
New Zealand has won a seat on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). The 15-member council has five permanent members – the US, UK, France, Russia and China –…
Our Teens Make TIME’s Most Influential List
Auckland golfer Lydia Ko and singer Lorde have been included in TIME magazine’s annual list of the 25 most influential teens, a list based on social-media followings, cultural accolades…
Koekohe Beach One of the Most Bizarre in the World
Koekohe Beach in Otago, famed for the Moeraki Boulders, is one of the world’s most bizarre beaches according to the Architecture and Design website, which also features the Beach…
NZ Wealth Growth on Top of the World
New Zealand has grown wealthier than any other country in the world since 2000, according to a new report released by Credit Suisse.
It ranks NZ top, just ahead of…
NZ Wins Security Council Seat
New Zealand has won a seat on the United Nations Security Council, in the first round of the secret ballot.
The UN’s 193 member states voted at the UN headquarters…
New Zealanders Spending More on Cider, Less on Sweatpants
New Zealanders drink more cider than ever, wear sweatpants less often, and use smartphones instead of video cameras to capture family memories. These are just some of the lifestyle…
New Zealand Exemplary in Embracing Indigenous Culture
“Can you imagine NBA players performing a Native American grass dance in an act of team solidarity and national unity? In New Zealand, no one bats an…
Archibald Milne Hamilton’s Iraqi Road an Engineering Marvel
Tucked into a remote canyon a two-hour drive north of the Kurdish capital of Irbil, Gali Ali Beg’s waterfall is a beacon for Iraqis who pine for a quiet,…
Dunedin Researcher Andrew Highton Wins Oxford Scholarship
University of Otago PhD researcher, Andrew Highton, 25, has won a Nuffield postdoctoral fellowship to Oxford University, where he will continue his immunology research.
Highton was “really excited” to gain…
New Zealand Ranked 10th in Quality of Life for Elderly Index
New Zealand is one of the best countries in the world to grow old in, coming 10th in the Global AgeWatch Index which ranks countries by how well their older…
Monocle Explores the Length and Breadth of NZ
From the gently bustling streets of Auckland to the highest and most isolated peaks of the South Island, in this month’s Monocle regional survey, the magazine has explored the…
Peter Jackson and Paul Allen Dogfight over Warbirds
Filmmaker Peter Jackson, who has amassed more than 40 flyable World War I warbirds – the planet’s largest collection – and Microsoft Corp. billionaire Paul Allen are vying to…
Holly Ade-Simpson Lands Sydney Google Internship
Victoria University student Holly Ade-Simpson will join the cream of global tech wizards this summer as she interns at Google’s Sydney headquarters.
Google was rated this year by professional networking…
Peter Gutteridge – One of NZ Music’s Spiky Heroes
In a scene of unsung heroes, one of the least sung will be making no more music, changing no more lives from his place on the periphery. Peter Gutteridge…
Rare Giant Squid a Spectacular Scientific Opportunity
The colossal squid hauled from the depths of Antarctica’s Ross Sea by a New Zealand fishing crew last year has local scientists very excited, as it is one of…
Prime Minister John Key Wins Third Term
Prime Minister John Key will lead New Zealand for a third consecutive term after the National Party won 48 per cent of the vote in this year’s election.
Official results…
Air NZ Boeing 747-400 Takes Final Flight
Air New Zealand’s last Boeing 747-400 affectionately referred to by pilots as “Daddy’s yacht” has completed its final flight in teal livery, as the airline ushers in a new…
Christchurch’s ‘Cardboard Cathedral’ Symbolises Progress as City Rebuilds
Christchurch’s Transitional Cathedral, known as the ‘cardboard cathedral’, has ‘risen from the ruins’ to become the most recognised building in Christchurch, while ChristChurch Cathedral remains gripped in a battle…
