Anti-nuke Politician Remembered

New Zealand politician Fraser Colman, remembered for travelling to Mururoa Atoll in 1973 to draw attention to French nuclear testing in the Pacific has died, aged 83….

Just to Say Thank You

Forty years after the Wahine capsized near Steeple Rock in Wellington Harbour, Queenstown artist Kate Watson, née McGibbon, still searched for the man who rescued her, only to discover…

Sir Geoffrey’s TV Legacy

Celebrated New Zealand journalist and soldier Sir Geoffrey Cox has died in Britain, aged 97. As editor-in-chief of Britain’s ITN from 1956 to 1968, Sir Geoffrey built the foundations…

Beijing Pact Signed

New Zealand is the world’s first developed country to sign a free-trade deal with China. “It’s a bit like getting the first date with the best-looking girl on the…

NZ’s Hottest Beaches

New Zealand’s four most “sizzling” beaches feature in a Forbes Traveler’s ‘Sexy Beaches Downunder’ slide show. These are: Piha, Hot Water Beach, Onetangi Bay, and Abel Tasman National Park,…

First Knight Memorialised

Sir Edmund Hillary was honoured by the Queen at a ceremony in St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle. To a full congregation, Sarah, his daughter, read Allen Curnow’s elegiac poem…

Hawaiian Hunt

New Zealand hunting specialist Prohunt has been hired by The Nature Conservancy of Hawaii to help stem the destruction of the island’s native forest by marauding wild pigs and…

Moore to Head Charity

Former prime minister and World Trade Organisation Director-General Mike Moore has been hired by Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman. Moore will chair the Altimo Foundation, one of Fridman’s…

Land This Good

Cape Kidnappers is not only home for thousands of gannets, Wall Street magnate Julian Robertson visits his properties on the scenic coastline every US winter. Robertson, who founded Tiger…

Ancestral Art in UK

George Tamihana Nuku, renowned Maori carver and sculptor, is staging his first solo exhibition at the Captain Cook Birthplace Museum in Middlesbrough, UK. Nuku’s exhibition ranges from large carved pieces…

Right-hander’s Ultimate Innings

Walter Mervyn Wallace, one of New Zealand’s greatest batsmen has died, aged 91. As a young man Merv Wallace appeared such a prodigy that the New Zealand press did not scruple…

Questions of Difference

Are New Zealanders really afflicted by a ‘tall poppy syndrome’? Do they lack in confidence? Are they indeed Australia’s poor cousin? And if so, does this mean the New…

Antarctic Oddities

New Zealand scientists were part of a 50-day “voyage of discovery” through the Ross Sea recently, coming face-to-face with some truly odd creatures. The marine life encountered during the…

Tunnel Museum Opens

During the Great War beneath the unassuming French town of Arras and the German enemy, the New Zealand Tunnelling Company built two interconnected tunnels, almost 20km long and able…

Kiwi Hatched in US

Washington DC’s Smithsonian National Zoo has successfully hatched a rare North Island Brown kiwi, their third since 1975. The Smithsonian is one of only four zoos outside New…

On Financial Restraint

New Zealander Robert Wade, Professor of Political Economy and Development at the London School of Economics and Political Science and author of Governing the Market, debates global finance with…

Christchurch Blackout

On 29 March from 8pm, Christchurch joins 23 cities worldwide in turning off their lights for climate change. Earth Hour was first held in Sydney last year and was…

Memory in Bronze

Air Chief Marshal Sir Keith Park, the New Zealander who led the Battle of Britain against Germany in 1940, deserves recognition from the city of London according…

Leap for Frogkind

Thirteen tiny, and extremely rare, Maud Island froglets have been spotted at Wellington’s Karori Wildlife Sanctuary hitching a ride on the back of a fully grown male. Researcher Kerri…

Godwits Fly

Every year, godwits fly from Alaska to New Zealand in an astonishing six days. A Seattle-based husband and wife team have been following the migratory patterns of the tiny…

Shadows at Pataka

Porirua’s Pataka Museum is building on ties with the American Haille Ford Museum in an exhibition of North American Indian prints called ‘Crow’s Shadows’, put on in conjunction…

Bridging the Gap

On New Zealand’s Chatham Islands researchers have discovered the country’s oldest known bird fossils. The find  represents four new seabirds dating back some 65 million years when New Zealand…

Ngati Filmmaker Remembered

Barry Barclay, New Zealand film director and the first Maori to direct a feature film has died, aged 63, in Rawene.  Barclay’s Ngati won best film at Italy’s Taormina…

Indian Love Affair

More Indian tourists than ever are coming to New Zealand for the expansive scenery, favourable weather conditions and a bit of romance. In 2006-20007, as many as 20,946 Indians…

NZ Studies Awarded

Dr Ian Conrich, director of New Zealand Studies at the University of London, is the 2008 New Zealander of the Year in the UK. Conrich received the…

Dialect Mystery Solved

New Zealanders speak an English dialect made up of quarter Scottish, one quarter Irish and 50 percent cockney, northern and west country English according to Scottish linguists. In a…

Still Steadfast

Anti-apartheid activist New Zealander John Minto has turned down a nomination for an award proffered by South African President Thabo Mbeki. Minto organised protests against the Springbok rugby…

Reclaiming the Moko

Maori heritage claims the walls at the Massachusetts Peabody Essex Museum. Thirty large format images of moko by award-winning Dutch photographer Hans Neleman make up the exhibition. Kimiora Ereatara…

Bilateral War Cries

For 11 years Wairouru has hosted the Singaporean Army who train at the North Island army base under an agreement with the New Zealand Defence Force. This year, 900…

Farewell to a Literary Legend

Hone Tuwhare, one of NZ’s most distinguished and best-loved writers, has died in Dunedin aged 86. Tuwhare was the first Maori poet to be published in English (No…

The World Mourns Our Humble Colossus

Sir Edmund Hillary – adventurer, philanthropist and global icon – has died aged 88. The lanky beekeeper from Tuakau found international fame in 1953 as the first person to…

Pacific Perspective on Disarmament

Christchurch anti-nuclear campaigner Kate Dewes is the first New Zealander to be appointed to the UN’s Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters. “It is exciting,” she said in a…

Gov-Gen Reflects on Changing Nation

NZ Governor-General Anand Satyanand gave an exclusive online interview to Indian TV station NDTV. In it, he discussed NZ’s increasingly multicultural makeup, as well as his own Indian ancestry….

Award Winning Airmanship

A Te Anau helicopter pilot has been awarded the Federation Aeronautique International (FAI) Outstanding Airman Award. Richard “Hannibal” Hayes received the honour for single-handedly putting out a bush…

Power in Numbers

The New York Times reports on a multi-organisation effort to save NZ’s national symbol from extinction. Founded in 1994, Operation Nest Egg is a combined effort by the Department of Conservation’s…

Value for Money

NZ private schools are moving ahead of their British counterparts on the global league table for English-speaking education, according to new international research. NZ tops the table for maths…

The Great Escapee

The last living New Zealander involved in The Great Escape of World War II has died in Masterton aged 92. Mick Shand was an RAF fighter pilot…

Renewing Friendships, Broadening Horizons

Helen Clark was the first foreign leader to meet with Kevin Rudd in his new role as Australian prime minister. The pair met for a casual lunch at Rudd’s Brisbane home,…

Police Laws Go Wiki

The NZ police force has used wiki-style online collaboration to update its 1958 Police Act. In September, they posted the Act online and invited contributors from all over the…

Love Me, Love My Food

Canterbury University researcher Annie Potts coined the new buzzword “vegansexuality” in a paper published in May. Potts, a director of the New Zealand Centre for Human-Animal Studies, surveyed 157…

Dilemma for Cat Fanciers

NZ-based psychoanalyst Jeffrey Masson has weighed in on the cats versus birds debate in a New York Times magazine feature. The issue of cats killing native birds in the…

Rotorua Takes Root in Nanjing

Rotorua Town is the latest in a series of namesake housing compounds to be built for China’s booming upper class. Located in Nanjing, two hours from Shanghai, Rotorua…

Kohanga Reo Movement Continues to Inspire

NZ’s thriving kohanga reo movement was the subject of a lengthy Age feature last month. Kohanga reo, or Maori language and cultural immersion schools, have blossomed since the movement’s…

Mighty Totara of NZ Rugby

All Black and NZ Maori legend Pat Walsh has died of cancer aged 71. Renowned for his versatility, Walsh played 13 Tests in four positions between 1955…

Hottest Aussie from Balclutha

Balclutha-born Dean Tahana has been crowned Australia’s sexiest man. The 29-year-old won the 2007 Mister Manhunt Australia competition, Australia’s biggest competition for male models. “I entered the regionals…

Tales from a Conflict Zone

NZ nurse Lisa French Blaker has written a book about working for the aid agency Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) in Sudan. In Heart of Darfur (Hodder &…

Humanitarian World Title

NZ charity SurfAid International has won the 27 Humanitarian Award at the World Association of Non-Governmental Organizations (WANGO) awards in Toronto. SurfAid International was founded by Wellingtonian Dr Dave…

Equal Opportunity on the Edge

NZ has been ranked fifth in the world for gender equality by the World Economic Forum. NZ is the only non-Nordic country to make the list’s top five, which…

Protest Heard Around the World

NZ-born pro surfer Dave “Rasta” Rastovich led an international protest over Japan’s commercial slaughter of dolphins in November, gaining significant media coverage for his cause. Rastovich, a free surfer for Billabong, is…

Mugabe Expert Comes Full Circle

Stephen Chan, longtime analyst and authority on Zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe, returned to NZ recently to deliver the 2007 Chapman Lectures at Auckland University, his alma mater. Born in New Zealand to…

Civil Union Milestone

Civil unions in NZ have reached the 1000 mark, according to government officials. The Civil Union Act, which came into effect in April 2005, gives both heterosexual and homosexual…

Tokelau Keeps NZ Ties

Tokelau has voted to remain a NZ colony in its second referendum on the issue in 15 months. The vote for self-governance, which required a two-thirds majority,fell short by…

Free to Speak

NZ has been ranked 15th in a survey of press freedom around the world by Reporters Without Borders. The annual survey of 169 countries measures factors such as freedom…

Master Carver Shares Message

Maori master carver James Rickard held a workshop at the Victor Oteyza Community Art Space in Baguio City, the Philippines, this month. He spoke about the need for indigenous…

Tributes Flow for China Expert

Leading Sinologist Professor Elisabeth “Lisa” Croll has died from cancer aged 63. Born in Reefton, on the South Island’s West Coast, Croll gained a BA and MA at Canterbury…

NZ Unites Against Death Penalty

NZ has joined a United Nations effort seeking the worldwide abolition of the death penalty. Co-sponsors of the UN resolution include Brazil, East Timor, Gabon, Mexico, the Philippines and Portugal. “Capital…