Some Pig
A miniature variant of the NZ kune kune pig has become the must-have pet in Britain. Chris Murray, co-owner of Pennywell Farm in Devon, began breeding the pigs nine years ago. He crossed kune…
Tag Archives: New Zealand
Trans-Tasman Netball Goes Semi-professional
A new trans-Tasman netball tournament will be launched in April next year, bringing together five teams each from NZ and Australia. The Tasman Trophy has secured ANZ Bank as its naming rights sponsor, and will screen…
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 punishment is the ultimate form of…
Curse of the Perennial Favourites
Another NZ Rugby World Cup campaign has ended in tatters, with the All Blacks bowing out 18-20 to France in the quarterfinal. Despite being consistently ranked first in the world, and NZ being the only…
Triathlon Success in Rhodes
Kris Gemmell is the latest in a string of NZ athletes to win a World Cup triathlon event this year. Gemmell finished first at the inaugural Rhodes World Cup in Greece, beating the UK’s Alistair…
The Gift of Sight
A photographic exhibition celebrating the work of the Fred Hollows Foundation opened in Sydney on World Sight Day, October 11. Together with Nepalese surgeon Sanduk Ruit, NZ-born Hollows pioneered a cheap and effective form of eye…
Passchendaele Remembered
NZ and Australian leaders led commemorations at the 90th anniversary of the battle of Passchendaele in Belgium this month. PM Helen Clark and Australian Governor General Michael Jeffery paid tribute to the 10,000 ANZAC…
Car-boot Camaraderie
With its own spring carnival brought down by horse flu, the Sydney Morning Herald sent writer Rachel Oakes-Ash across the Tasman to check out NZ’s racing season. Oakes-Ash headed south for the Christchurch Casino Cup and…
Edge Dynamics in Action
NZ social researcher Brent D Taylor has applied Edge theory to economics in his new book Outsider’s Edge: The Making of Self-Made Billionaires. Taylor has spent the past four years studying the backgrounds of some of…
NZ Neuroscientists Spark Alcohol Rethink
A new study co-authored by two NZ researchers suggests that long-term, moderate alcohol consumption can help improve the memory. The study, which was published in The Journal of Neuroscience, was undertaken by Maggie Kalev, a research fellow…
Influential Exports
Two New Zealanders made The Bulletin‘s annual list of the 50 most influential businesspeople in Australia. Fairfax Media Chief Executive David Kirk is ranked fifteenth on the list. The former All Black Captain has headed the publishing…
NZ Sets Pace on Climate Change
A recent Guardian op-ed hailed NZ as “the new climate change pioneer”, after the unveiling of an ambitious new environmental plan by the NZ government. The plan’s stated targets include generating 90% of the country’s electricity from…
A Wine Tourist’s Paradise
Telegraph wine writer Adrian Woodford spent six days in NZ on an intensive wine-tasting tour that encompassed Marlborough, Hawkes Bay and Gisborne. He pronounces NZ the “finest country in the world for a wine tourist” and agrees…
NZ Wine, Now and Then
Features in two US newspapers discuss the past, present and future of NZ wines. The Palm Beach Daily News outlines the development of the NZ industry, from the first grapes planted by the Rev. Samuel Marsden…
NZ Commits to Climate Change Cause
NZ will introduce a carbon trading scheme next year in a bid to cap greenhouse gas emissions at the lowest possible cost to the economy. Under the plan, every industry will be allocated an agreed level…
Three Ways to See NZ
Three travel articles on NZ appeared in North American newspapers this month, each offering a different way to experience Aotearoa. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writer Naomi Koppel chose to tramp around the South Island, taking in “one breathtaking vista…
Taipei Gold Rush
NZ athletes have won seven gold, one silver and two bronze medals at the 2007 IWAS World Wheelchair and Amputee Games in Taipei, Taiwan. Christchurch swimmer Sophie Pascoe topped the medal haul, winning four gold medals…
Technology High-fliers
Marketing entrepreneur Andy Lark is the latest New Zealander to land a top job at a leading US technology firm. Lark has been appointed global vice-president of marketing and communications at Dell, one of the world’s…
Moko in Vogue
A French fashion designer’s use of moko in advertisements for his latest collection has caused a stir in NZ. Jean Paul Gaultier’s campaign shots, featuring male and female models with Maori facial tattooing, have…
Incredible Journey
The NZ bar-tailed godwit is officially the migratory champion of the avian world. The bird has been tracked from its summertime home in NZ to its breeding ground in Alaska, and back again, by…
Hong Kong Follows NZ’s Lead
Hong Kong sees NZ as a role model for renewable energy and environmental technology, according to its government’s website. “New Zealand is renowned for its high environmental standards and its use of new technologies to protect the…
Benchmark Branding
A leading Korean trade group is using NZ as a benchmark for competitive national branding. Research by the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) has shown the long-term effectiveness of NZ’s “100% Pure New Zealand” and “New Thinking…
Been There, Done That
A selection of readers’ NZ travel tips appeared in the Guardian‘s travel pages this month. The information was gathered from the newspaper’s “I’ve been there” website, which features six pages of travellers’ suggestions for Aotearoa. The tips…
Milking It
NZ is reaping the benefits of a global milk boom, according to the New York Times. Milk is in high demand and short supply due to a combination of global factors, including climate change, trade policies…
MX Star Takes Second World Title
Auckland teen Katherine Prumm has won her second consecutive women’s motocross world title at the series final in the Netherlands. The 19-year-old rider dominated the final day of the competition, beating Kawasaki team-mates Livia…
Rowing Champs Bode Well for Beijing
NZ athletes continue to dominate world rowing, with another impressive medal haul at this year’s world championships in Munich, Germany. Single sculler Mahe Drysdale, lightweight sculler Duncan Grant and the men’s four of…
Down Under Planter
Next month sees the NZ launch of the Antipode Planter, an award winning upside-down planter by the Matakana-based Morris Design Office. Designed by Patrick Morris, the Antipode Planter won the UK New Designers Award in 2006 and…
Adventure Sports in Aotearoa
A Telegraph feature on NZ adventure tourism gives a comprehensive overview of the range of activities on offer. Tourist operators specialising in adventure sports have moved beyond Queenstown’s borders and can now be found all over the…
Golden Vili
Shot put star Valerie Vili has won gold at the IAAF Athletics World Championships in Osaka, Japan. Vili threw a personal best of 20.54 meters, beating defending champion Nadzeya Ostapchuk of Belarus by six centimetres. “It’s pretty…
The Future of Transport
Transport Communications, a new book by two NZ professors, predicts an end to congestion, terrorist threats and increasing fuel prices through the widespread adoption of nanotechnologies and satellite communications over the next 50 years. Authors Chris Kissling…
Lock-up Lodge
A Napier prison-turned-backpackers features in a Guardian travel story on jail-themed hotels. Decommissioned in 1993, the Napier Prison was reopened in 2002 to offer tours and budget accommodation. Guardian: “You can have it the easy way -…
A NZ Space Odyssey
A NZ company has plans to launch rockets into space, carrying scientific packages, DNA and human ashes. Auckland-based Rocket Lab, co-directed by Peter Beck and Mark Rocket, will start sending its 17-foot carbon-fiber “Atea” rockets…
Surf Up-and-comer
Oakura teen Paige Hareb has been ranked fourth in the world in women’s under-18 surfing since the junior world championships in May. The 17-year-old was also the first New Zealander ever to compete…
Design Mobel Goes Global
Tauranga bed and furniture maker Design Mobel has launched the first of its Okooko global concept stores in Wellington and Hong Kong, with more to follow in the US later this year. Okooko stores integrate award…
Green Choice for NZ Motorists
NZ has launched its first commercial biofuel – Gull Force 10. Available through Gull Petroleum stations, the “green” fuel blends 90 per cent premium gasoline with 10 per cent bioethanol made from cows’ milk. “We are serious…
Golden Axes
NZ athletes dominated at the 48th annual Lumberjack World Championships in Hayward, Wisconsin. Jason Wynyard beat fellow New Zealanders David Bolstad and Dion Lane to win his ninth All-Around Lumberjack title. The Aucklander described the…
1,3 NZ Finish in Austria
Christchurch Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Andrea Hewitt has won her first World Cup triathlon title at Kitzbuhel, Austria. The 25-year-old beat Austrian Eva Dollinger by three seconds in a sprint finish, after leading the field in…
Two Down, One to Go
The All Blacks have completed the final leg of their World Cup build-up by retaining both the Bledisloe and TriNations trophies, with a 26–12 defeat of the Wallabies…
NZ a Top Foodie Destination
The past 15 years have seen a seismic shift in NZ gastro-tourism, according to Telegraph wine columnist Susy Atkins. Since her last visit in 1992, NZ has shrugged off its reputation for “unappetising food, grim…
Woods & Williams Still a Team
Steve Williams, Tiger Woods’ NZ-born caddie, has denied reports he is intending to end the pair’s lucrative eight-year partnership. “I have no idea where this has come from,” Williams told NZ’s Sunday Star-Times. “Perhaps Tiger may…
Precious Metal
NZ athletes won four gold, two silver and a bronze medal at last week’s rowing world championships in Lucerne, Switzerland. Gold medals were won by Mahe Drysdale (single scull), Georgina and Caroline Evers-Swindell…
Barclay Founder Rates
NZ Barclay founder and president William J. Buechler gives NZ investments the thumbs up in a column for Forbes. Buechler predicts that NZ’s rising short-term interest rates, combined with Fonterra’s 27% share increase, the discovery of new…
Health, Wealth and Honey
A NZ health company has teamed up with a German university to promote the use of manuka honey products to heal wounds, treat stomach and skin problems and, potentially, to help in the fight against cancer….
Fourth World Cup for Docherty
NZ Olympic silver medallist Bevan Docherty has won his fourth International Triathlon Union (ITU) World Cup at Edmonton, Canada. Docherty’s win is the culmination of seven straight top-eight finishes and boosts him to second place on the…
During Breaks New Ground
A groundbreaking study by NZ neuroscientist Matt During has been applauded in leading British medical journal, The Lancet. During has pioneered a controversial gene therapy for Parkinson’s Disease that involved inserting synthetic copies of human genes…
Lions Share
NZ agencies won 18 awards at this year’s Cannes Lions, the world’s most prestigious advertising awards. Auckland agency TBWA\Whybin won the Grand Prix award in both the Media and Promo categories for its ASB “Pago” and NZ Rugby…
Taking Issue with Food Miles
A UK Times eco-columnist’s suggestion to reduce food miles by drinking French rather than NZ wine has stimulated a response by NZ winemakers and politicians. She argued that transporting wines from France results in fewer greenhouse…
Eslinger in All Things Interactive
Tom Eslinger, worldwide interactive creative director for Saatchi & Saatchi, was president of the Cyber jury at this year’s Cannes International Advertising Festival. He spoke about the importance of ideas and the growing respect for media as…
Mind Over Matter
NZ neuroscientist Dr Kerry Spackman is working with Team McLaren to uncover the workings of a racing driver’s mind. “In most sports now, the modern athlete is pushing his brain to the limit,” he says….
Tour of Beauty
Times journalist Paul Grogan undertook a two-day kayaking tour of Abel Tasman National Park with local company Wilson’s Experiences. “Gaining in confidence, we rock-hop along the coast, ducking in and out of little lagoons and darting through…
Burger Boom
A restaurant chain founded by three New Zealanders has become one of the most successful businesses in the booming UK “posh burger” market. Gourmet Burger Kitchen was established six years ago by school…
Backstage Essential
NZ-born osteopath to the stars Garry Trainer has released a new book, Back Chat, with health writer Tania Alexander. Back Chat examines 40 individual case studies of back pain, identifying common causes and…
Brand Passion Paramount
Sean Fitzpatrick and the All Blacks are held up as inspiring examples for business leaders by American finance blogger, Jim Citrin: “No other sports franchise in the world has achieved a 72 percent winning percentage over…
Cinema Success Story
Auckland-based Vista Entertainment Solutionshas become one of the world’s leading cinema software providers since its launch in 1995. Vista’s systems, which run entire movie theatres from selling tickets to calculating studio royalties, are used in nearly 600…
Top of His Game
New Zealander Bob Hayward has found success in the highly competitive US film industry. Based in Los Angeles, Hayward is the Chief Operating Officer and founding partner of Summit Entertainment, an independent distribution company…
Peace of Mind
NZ has been named the world’s second most peaceful country in the inaugural Global Peace Index, a study commissioned by Australian IT entrepreneur and philanthropist Steve Killelea and sponsored by peace advocates such as…
