Civil Unions 101
Chris Carter, elected as the country’s first openly gay MP in 1993, spoke to LA’s The Advocate about gay rights in NZ and the Civil Union Bill. “The reason that we haven’t gone for marriage is that…
News of New Zealanders via Global Media
A Man of Two Halves
LA Times profiles Ricky Ellison, a NZ-born NFL linebacker turned US defence advisor. “His team-mates called him ‘Fruit Loops,’ but this was also a guy who read the Foreign Affairs journal at lunch and spent his…
Crusader of the Highest Order
NZ’s foremost campaigner against apartheid, Trevor Richards, was awarded the Supreme Companion of OR Tambo by South African President Thabo Mbeki in Pretoria. “Its not every day that one wakes up and wonders what award they will…
LIFE Photographer
Born in Levin 1916, educated Auckland Grammar, George Silk became a combat photographer for Australian Ministry of Information, covering the battles at close hand in the Middle East, North Africa, Greece and New Guinea. He joined…
Basis for Change
The British government is considering an overhaul of its outdated pension scheme based on the current NZ system. According to the Times, the state of women’s pensions in the UK is “a national scandal” in urgent need…
Exchange of Potential
In mid-October Helen Clark made the first visit to India by a NZ Prime Minister in nearly 20 years. During her meetings with the President, Prime Minister, Congress Party leader, and economic heads, Clark emphasised the…
Legacy in Letters
Acclaimed author Maurice Shadbolt (72) also passed away this October. Shadbolt burst onto the international scene in 1959 with the publication of his short story collection, The New Zealanders, and is widely regarded as…
From Lamb to Land
Property has overtaken lamb as NZ’s major spending ground for Britons. Sprawling sheep stations are being divided into smaller blocks and sold off at a great rate to young families, business entrepreneurs, and “lifestylers”…
Mind the Gap
The Herald ran a lengthy feature on trans-Tasman cultural differences prior to the Australian elections, claiming that “geologically, the land masses are creeping together again. However, all other evidence points the other way.” According to the writer,…
Edge Hero Remembered
The science world – and the Edge community – lost one of its brightest stars with the death of Maurice Wilkins on October 5. Born in NZ in 1916, Wilkins was awarded the Nobel…
Hood Helms Oxford
John Hood was inducted as the 270th Vice Chancellor of Oxford University on October 5; the first non-staff member ever to hold the post. Dr Hood was formerly Vice Chancellor of Auckland University and an advisor to…
Tourist Hot Spot Gets Edged
NZ’s Marine Tourism Holdings is the latest company to set up shop at Queensland’s Great Barrier Reef, offering daily tours to a 45m pontoon based at Knuckle Reef. The pontoon, which houses an interpretive centre and a…
National Treasure in Good Hands
China Daily features the Kiwi Recovery Programme, a government sponsored initiative to save the national icon from extinction. “NZ has a history of making refuges for wildlife … saying, these things are in trouble, we’ll scatter them…
Lives on the Edge
National Geographic report details NZ’s world-leading conservation programmes, set up to preserve and protect our “virtual Noah’s Ark of bizarre animals.” NZ is considered a pioneering force in the establishment of animal sanctuaries, with 198 translocation projects involving…
Campaigning at the Source
In innovative anti-drunk driving campaign in NZ has made headlines around the world. Produced by the NZ Land Transport Safety Authority, the large, heat-activated ads are located in urinals in 260 pubs around the country. “What you’ll…
Mr. President
Dr George Barton QC of Wellington was elected President of the United Bible Societies (UBS) at its World Assembly in Newport, Wales. Barton led the NZ Bible Society from 1966 to 1998, and was vice-president of…
Passing of a Pioneer
NZ’s first women’s Test cricket captain, Ruth Martin, died in Christchurch aged 90. Martin (then Ruth Symons) led NZ in their inaugural Test match, against England 1934-5. The Ruth Martin Cup is presented annually…
Travelers Flock to the Edge
NZ’s booming tourism industry shows no signs of slowing down, with a 20% increase in overseas visitors arriving in July than for the same period last year. According to the Tourism Research Council, tourism will grow by…
A Long Innings Remembered
Obituaries for Auckland-born British Conservative MP, Sir Trevor Skeet, appeared in both the Independent and Guardian. Independent: “Academia in Britain has been vastly enriched by the infusion of talent from NZ, of whom Ernest Rutherford is…
National Anthem or Call to Arms?
Research by Auckland military historian Colin Andrews has cast a new light on NZ’s national anthem, penned by Thomas Bracken in 1876. Andrews believes that the line “Guard Pacific’s triple star” refers to the three stars…
Tycoon Teece
Berkeley Planet profiles David Teece, the man dubbed an “economics rock star” by the NZ government and one of the world’s top 50 business intellectuals by global management giant Accenture. As well as advising PM Tony Blair…
Lord Gazza
Gisborne builder Gary Lewis became the first Maori member of the British Royal Family with his marriage to Lady Davina Windsor at Kensington Palace. Lewis is the son of a former champion sheep-shearer and nephew to writer…
Blood Brothers
Cabinet minister John Tamihere has spoken out in the defense of heterosexual “red-blooded blokes” and been heard around the world. Excerpts of his speech at Epsom’s St Peter’s College appeared in the Washington Times, as well as…
A Smelly Solution
Skunk Shot, an odorous gel developed by Victoria University scientists, has become police issue in several US cities, including LA and Richland County, Colombia. Originally designed as a cat and dog repellent, Skunk Shot is being used…
The Sheep That Roared
An Australian feature by Claire Harvey likened the Israeli passport scandal to the infamous Rainbow Warrior incident of 1985. PM Helen Clark has cut diplomatic ties with Israel until an official apology and explanation is offered stating,…
Captain Conjuror
Veteran Auckland performer and Grand Master of Magic, Tony Wilson, was recently inaugurated as President of the International Brotherhood of Magicians. The Brotherhood was founded in the early 1920s and comprises nearly 15,000 magicians globally.
Custodian of the English Language
Eminent lexicographer Robert W Burchfield has died aged 81. The Wanganui-born scholar rose to fame as editor of the 4-volume Supplement to the Oxford English Dictionary. The massive undertaking took nearly 30 years to complete -…
Pioneer Storyteller
The death of ground-breaking NZ filmmaker Mike Walker was noted in the Scotsman, Miami Herald, and LA Times. Walker worked asa director, co-producer and co-writer on the films Kingi’s Story, Kingpin and…
Moko Mokai Return Home
Three preserved heads (moko mokai) of Maori warriors have been returned to NZ by the Kelingrove Art Gallery in Glasgow. The action comes after a worldwide search for Maori remains by Te Papa Tongarewa. Maori specialists…
He Maimai Aroha
Haere atu koutou hei whetu te rangi, tiaho mai mo ake tonu atu. He tohu aroha ki tenei morehu kuia. Rahera Windsor, spiritual leader of Britain’s Maori community, died May 3rd 2004 Born in Pupuke, 1925, she married…
Google and Froogle
Waikato University graduate Craig Nevill-Manning is Director, New York & Senior Staff Research Scientist for the world’s leading search engine company, Google. Nevill-Manning completed a PhD in computer science at Waikato before taking up a post-doctoral fellowship…
Charlie Champions NZ
British celebrity gardener, Charlie Dimmock, named NZ as her preferred home-away-from-home in an interview with The Independent. “If I had to to New Zealand. They have an’outdoors’ lifestyle,’ and people are more active.”
World’s Best Head 42-Below
The first ever Cocktail World Cup was held in Queenstown over the Winter Festival, which began June 25. The 5-day event is the brainchild of NZ’s 42- Below vodka, which recently won gold at the World Spirits…
Epic Moments Remembered
The world commemorated the 60th anniversary of D-Day on June 6, with war veterans and international leaders (including PM Helen Clark) gathering in France to pay their respects. NZ lost more soldiers proportionately than any other country…
Professor Roy Crawford
The Guardian attributes Professor Roy Crawford leaving Queen’s University Belfast to take up the post of Vice Chancellor at Waikato University to NZ’s current It status: “Oh, Australia must be annoyed. For centuries it’s been top dog…
Review of the Market Years
Illinois’ Hillsdale College, published an overview of New Zealand Government reforms in the 80s and 90s, penned by former NZ MP Maurice McTigue. The article argued that high living standards result from significant ingenuity operating in a…
Flexible, Shock-proof, and Room for Growth
The NZ economy received a big tick in the annual IMF report. According to the Washington-based lender, a combination of sensible policies and reforms over the last 20 years had “contributed to NZ’s robust economic growth, made…
Grant Works His Magic
Malcolm Grant – former Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge University, now Provost of University College London – profiled in the Guardian. UCL’s retiring professor of English, John Sutherland, noted his ‘impeccable academic pedigree’ (Grant is a lawyer and…
Lest We Forget
Russell Crowe provided the narration for a “ground-breaking” documentary series on Anzac soldiers, recently aired on NZ television and screening in Australia later this year. The series celebrates the bond between NZ and Australian soldiers, from WW1 to…
“For Many NZ is the New Utopia”
20 April 2004 – The flood of US immigrants seeking a better life in NZ continues – with good reason, according to a lengthy San Francisco Gate article. “It’s like California, it’s like San…
Flax Attack
After a brief 1960s hey-day, NZ flax (phormium) has returned as “the drama queen of trendy garden designs” in LA. According to TV horticulturist Maureen Gilmer, “Phormiums are the most exciting new plants to enter the American…
“the Most Influential American Criminologist of His Time”
Pioneering criminologist and novelist, Norval Morris, has died in Chicago aged 80. Born in Auckland, Morris studied in Australia, France, and England before embarking on his 30-year academic career at the University of Chicago…
Around the World in 58 Days
NZers Mike Beasley and Fraser Brown were part of the 12-strong crew in billionaire adventurer Steve Fossett’s record breaking round-the-world sailing victory. Fossett and co. circumnavigated the globe in 58 days, 9 hours, 32 minutes, and 45…
A Sporting Life
NZ-born BBC sports producer and director, Malcolm Kemp, has died aged 57 of cancer. Kemp’s illustrious career saw him executive produce seven Grand Nationals, the 1994 football World Cup and 1996 European Cup, and…
Giant Kauri Tragically Felled
NZ mourns the loss of its preeminent cultural historian, Michael King. The author of 34 books – including the groundbreaking autobiographical work Being Pakeha and acclaimed biographies of Dame Whina Cooper, Hone Tuwhare, and…
World Gender Role
Amanda Ellis – formerly head of women’s banking for Westpac Australia – now has a global role leading the World Bank’s work on gender in Private Sector Development. Ms Ellis also serves on the OECD’s international…
Te Reo On Air
BBC notes the launch of NZ’s first nationwide Maori language TV station. The inaugural broadcast comes 13 years after the Supreme Court ruled that the government was legally bound (by the Treaty of Waitangi) to protect its…
Comic Genius
20 March 2004 – Martin Emond, internationally renowned comic-book artist, illustrator, and tattooist, died in LA on March 19 aged 34. Emond created the popular character Switchblade (star of NZ clothing brand Illicit) and…
“The New Zealand Native Who Helped Open the Door to the Stars”
17 March 2004 – William Pickering, one of the leading figures in US space exploration, died of pneumonia in California aged 92. A graduate of Canterbury University and the California Institute of Technology, Wellington-born…
A Voice to Remember
A Stanford University obituary paid tribute to Susan Okin, the Auckland-born author, lecturer, and activist described by a Stanford University colleague as “perhaps the best feminist political philosopher in the world.” The author of three acclaimed books – Women…
Belated Honour for White Mouse
3 March 2004 – Nancy Wake, the most decorated female veteran of WW2, was made a Companion of the Order of Australia on March 3. Born in NZ and raised in Australia, Wake was a leading…
The Good Life
Auckland was ranked 5th and Wellington 15th out of 215 cities in the annual quality of life survey by Mercer Human Resource Consulting. Said Mercer director, Rob Knox, “Despite NZ’s geographic location and distance…
DOC Plays Tag
NZ’s Department of Conservation plans to use state-of-the-art satellite tagging in its fight to save the Maui’s Dolphin, whose numbers have plummeted to less than 150. The tags will help researchers better understand the dolphins’ territorial range…
Smells Like Green Spirit
A Californian company claims to have captured the essence of Aotearoa in a bottle. The Demeter Fragrance Library produces scented candles and room sprays ranging in weirdness from Chocolate Chip Cookie to Fuzzy Navel. The recently released…
Edge Eco-system
19 February 2004 – The unique bird-life native to NZ and its surrounding islands is the subject of major articles in The Japan Times and The New York Times. The first, by a Japan-based natural historian,…
Mother of Invention
Age feature charts former Thompson Twin Alannah Currie’s career trajectory from 80s popstar to the face of MadGE (Mothers Against Genetic Engineering) – NZ’s most visible opponent of genetically modified crops. Currie is credited with making the…
