A Guardian columnist points out an eerie similarity between the recent elections in NZ and Germany. Both were held on the same weekend and both delivered a spectacularly close finish between the two dominant centre-right and centre-left…
Former Prime Minister David Lange died on Saturday 13 August aged 63 after a long battle with ill health. He was regarded as “the best loved New Zealand political figure of the last 20 years” (Guardian Unlimited). Elected…
Literary doyenne Liz Calder, co-founder of Bloomsbury Press and nurturer of such talents as Salman Rushdie, Anita Brookner, Julian Barnes and J.K Rowling, has continued her success with the establishment of the Festa Literaria…
Political activist, peace campaigner and renowned author, Sonja Davies, has died aged 81, leaving an inspiring legacy in her wake. According to her Guardian obituary, Davies – known to many as ‘Mrs Peace’ – ranks…
“Ah, NZ. Land of outdoor beauty, fresh air, long walks over rugged terrain – but, come on, do you really want to fly halfway around the world for something you could find in Cornwall?” The Guardian…
A new development in the South Island’s Hurunui region hopes to provide a focus for the area’s flourishing wine industry. The Waipara Wine Village will eventually comprise a hotel, villas, wine bar, ale house and a food…
NZ scientists at the Institute of Environmental Science and Research have developed a high-tech yet cost-effective new crime -fighting technique. The revolutionary system uses DNA analysis of the bacteria in soil to match a database of samples…
The Economist reports on ructions to repair the dire finances and arcane structure at Oxford University. Proposals by new vice chancellor John Hood to centralize decision-making and change the way in which dons’ work…
Former All Black captain, agricultural economist, and leading NZRU administrator – Bob Stuart, OBE – died in May aged 84. Although Stuart’s best playing years were taken up by military service during WW2, he successfully lead NZ…
NZ ranks sixth overall in a new study measuring the gap between genders by the Geneva-based World Economic Forum. The top five positions went to Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Norway and Iceland. The WEF appraisal of 58 countries…
Cambridge-MIT Institute director, NZer Michael J Kelly, speaks about the importance of combining entrepreneurial and business skills with academic learning in the Guardian.”Governments around the world realise that it shouldn’t be left to chance as to whether…
Zane Lowe, the NZ-born DJ single-handedly credited with making BBC Radio One cool again, was named Music Broadcaster of the Year at the Sony Radio Academy Awards in London. He also picked up the…
In a show of commitment to the Kyoto Protocol, NZ became the first country in the world to levy a public carbon tax. NZers will now pay an extra $2.90 per week for electricity, petrol and…
Julie Maxton will join former Auckland University colleague John Hood at Oxford University next year, as the institution’s first ever female registrar. The 550 year old post is similar to that of a company secretary, with…
Mark Greatbatch comes in at number four on the Guardian‘s list of all-time greatest Test cricket rearguards. “He was better known as the man who invented pinch-hitting at the 1992 World Cup, but Mark Greatbatch could knuckle…
John Crace interviews Joanna Bourke, lecturer, historian and author of numerous academic books including the controversial An Intimate History of Killing and her most recent publication, Fear: A Cultural History. “Historians tend to come…
The Guardian profiles Rachel Hunter, host of new reality TV show Make Me a Supermodel. “In the 1980s, the age of the supermodel, she was as ubiquitous as Linda, Christy, Naomi and Cindy -…
NZ GPS innovators, Navman, showed off their latest creations at Germany’s prestigious CeBit electronics trade fair. These included the PIN 57, a Windows-based PDA, and the X300, which uses GPS to tell joggers, skiers and cyclists how…
The Guardian ran an overview of NZ media coverage of Prince Charles’ recent tour of the country. Commentary ranged from the Christchurch Press dismissing the Prince as “a faintly comic participant in a toffee-nosed soap opera” to…
Magazine editor, Auckland native and former Craccum muse, Louise Chunn, interviewed in the Guardian. Since leaving NZ in the early 1980s, Chunn has worked on such esteemed titles as Fashion Weekly, Just 17, Elle,…
The Guardian celebrated NZ-based academic weblog Arts & Letters Daily‘s 100 millionth hit by profiling its founder, Canterbury University’s Denis Dutton. Quoted is Robert Fulford, a columnist with Canada’s National Post: “The idea of Christchurch, NZ, as the…
The British government is officially considering modeling its pension system on NZ’s current superannuation scheme, which is described in the Guardian as “a model of elegant simplicity compared with Britain’s multi-layered mixture of private and state provision, means…
Toast Martinborough features in a Guardian overview of the world’s greatest wine festivals. “Martinborough is one of the few ‘old world’ wine villages in the southern hemisphere and home to much- lauded pinot noir and sauvignon blanc….
John Ziman, NZ-born scientist and humanist, has died aged 79. “After a brilliant youthful career in physics research he turned increasingly to reflection on the values and societal entanglements of the scientific endeavour as a whole ……
Australian-born Guardian columnist, Andrew Mueller, can’t understand the ongoing attraction of NZ to British holidaymakers. “Australia is worth spending 30 hours in a plane for,” he says. “NZ is Wales with more sheep.”
A Guardian travel special on remote retreats features Bethell’s Beach Cottages, run by Trude and John Bethell-Plaice. “The cottages have decking for alfresco dining, private gardens and sea views. A short walk away is Bethell’s beach: huge,…
Colonel John Blashford Snell tells of “losing his heart in NZ” in a Guardian travel feature: “We are so overcrowded here but they have the most beautiful empty country with scenery that is stunning, like a high-altitude…
The Guardian pays tribute to Duncan Forrest, NZ born surgeon and renowned anti-torture campaigner. An “outstanding and innovative paediatric surgeon,” Forrest spent his career at the vanguard of surgical developments in spina bifida, hydrocephalus and cleft palate….
David Norton, associate professor at Wellington’s Victoria University, recently completed the decade-long task of re-editing the English speaking world’s most important religious text: the King James Bible. The New Cambridge Paragraph Bible is accompanied…
All Black captain Tana Umaga received the Pierre Coubertin Trophy from theInternational Committee of Fair Play on December 9. Previous awardees include Martina Navratilova and Nelson Mandela. The trophy recognised his good sportsmanship in helping Welsh…
The All Blacks resumed their world No.1 ranking after a compelling 45-6 victory over European champions France. “I felt powerless,” said French coach Bernard Laporte. “I had the feeling that we could play for hours and…
Research undertaken at Victoria University suggests a positive side to gossiping and whining at work. According to the report, “whingeing to a sympathetic co-worker both reflects and constructs the close relationship between team members, thus consolidating the…
Once again, NZ features in the Guardian‘s “long-haul trips of a lifetime” travel feature. Highly recommended are Lake Rotorua’s On the Point chalet and Big Tom’s Cottage in Hawkes Bay.
‘I Love My Leather Jacket’ by Flying Nun legends, The Chills, makes the Guardian‘s list of 10 great singles from the golden age of indiepop. “The Chills … took the so-called ‘Dunedin sound’…
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…
NZ topped the list of holiday destinations inspired by films in a British survey by Thomson Holidays. 40% of voters picked NZ in response to its LotR exposure. Cephalonia (Captain Corelli’s Mandolin), Thailand (The Beach), Malta (Troy),…
Karen Walker and Zambesi turned many a well-coiffed head at last month’s London Fashion Week. Guardian critic, Jess Cartner-Morley, picked Walker’s show one of the highlights of the week: ” … took as her…
Guardian names Selfish Cunt (made up of singer Martin Tomlinson and Kiwi guitarist Patrick Constable) one of the top 40 bands in Britain today, alongside Franz Ferdinand, Blur, The Darkness, and Radiohead. “Dividing the…
Wellington-based British author Neil Cross, has made the 2004 Man Booker Prize long-list with his fourth novel, “Always the Sun”. The story tells of a father’s attempts to prevent his son from being…
Metra, the commercial sector of NZ’s government-owned meteorological service, is helping the BBC propel its TV weather reports into the 21st century. Thanks to cutting edge technology used in video games and the LotR trilogy, viewers will…
Observer reviews Other Ways of Speaking, the latest offering from Russell Crowe’s band Twenty Odd Foot of Grunts, and is pleasantly surprised. “hat should be an easy target and, on the face of it,…
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…
“New Zealand’s fourth most popular folk parody act,” Flight of the Conchords (a.k.a Bret McKenzie and Jermaine Clement), made a triumphant return to this year’s Edinburgh Festival, with a new show entitled ‘Lonely Knights.’…
Guardian writer Giles Smith test drives the Gibbs Aquada and pronounces it “the most fun thing that has ever happened to cars.” A shining example of Kiwi ingenuity, the Aquada is the world’s first high-speed amphibian (HSA)…
BritKiwi singer Natasha Bedingfield (sister to Brit Award winner Daniel) is a welcome addition to an increasingly bland, Idol-dominated British pop scene, according to a lengthy Guardian feature. ” possesses that elusive balance of…
Guardian Travel discovers Sir Richard Hadlee’s preferred holiday destination, Hanmer Springs. Hadlee explains his choice in the accompanying interview: “I’ve been going since I was nine, when the whole family would decamp there for holidays. It’s quiet…
A Guardian feature uncovers the Wairarapa’s latest tourist attraction: Stonehenge Aotearoa. Built by NZ’s Phoenix Astronomical Society, the henge is a map and calendar for the southern hemisphere’s skies. “The whole objective here is that people can come out…
Guardian film writer Diana Dobson visits Whangara, home of the Ngati Konohi people and inspiration behind Witi Ihimaera’s Whale Rider. Rather than touring the location made famous by Niki Caro’s film adaptation, Dobson focuses on the local…
The All Blacks beat Australia 16-7 in miserable Wellington conditions to retain the Bledisloe Cup for the first time in seven years. Guardian: “For all the major effect the elements had in ruining this contest as a…
The Black Caps cruised to victory in the NatWest ODI tri-series against England and the West Indies, beating the latter by a resounding 107 runs in the final. Daniel Vettori was named Man of the Match for…
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 -…
New Zealand-born political cartoonist for the Daily Telegraph since 1966, Nicholas Garland has provided 40 woodcut illustrations for the new Novela by son Alex “The Beach” Garland. The book describes the dream-like interior life…
Marina Warner recommends Anne Salmond’s The Trial of the Cannibal Dog: Captain Cook in the South Seas as essential holiday reading in the Guardian‘s annual summer poll of leading authors, journalists, and critics. “The historian…
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…
The Return of the King won the coveted prize for Best Film at this year’s MTV Awards in LA. Other big winners were Pirates of the Caribbean and Kill Bill Vol.1.
NZ composer John Psathas applauded in the Guardian‘s review of his collaboration with the Netherlands Wind Ensemble in Bath. “This concert, entitled Zeibekiko, threw a puckish girdle round the world as … John Psathas…
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