One afternoon, after playing live in Radio New Zealand’s Auckland studio, Don McGlashan was handed a phone. On the other end, calling from the other end of the country, was Otago-based luthier Ian Davie who’d been listening to the radio in his workshop. He said: “I like your music. I’ve never heard of you before [...]

The digital switchover was never going to be cheap but when you’re a 100-year-old cinema with a bill for $90,000, you’re going to need to do more than a sausage sizzle. That’s how much the Victoria Cinema in Devonport needs to upgrade to new DCP (digital cinema package) technology by the end of this year. [...]

The Devonport-Takapuna Local Board is likely to close Takapuna’s 80-year-old campground when its lease expires on March 31, despite strong public opposition. Takapuna Beach Holiday Park owner Marius Rothmann says he is devastated by the possibility. “[The plan] happened overnight. We were not even asked for our input.” A hearings panel, made up of five [...]

The Auckland Council paints a busy picture of the future. According to its long-term plan thousands of houses need to be built for the hundreds of thousands of people expected to swarm the country in the years to come, roading is needed to connect the far flung among them to the rest of the city, [...]

Te Waha Nui meets the rising stars of Auckland’s arts and culture scene. In the last of a four-part series, SARAH ARGYLE talks to multi-award winning opera trio O Sol3 Mio. Those who love opera – and even those who do not – are swooning at the breathtaking song, quick wit and humbling success story [...]

Te Waha Nui meets the rising stars of Auckland’s arts and culture scene. In the second of a four-part series, SARAH KRIEG and CARMEL TOLHURST talk to fashion designer Celine Chapman. Celine Chapman is delicate. In her boutique of fabric samples, cut patterns and finished works, a candle scents the room, and flowers and a [...]

Despite his astonishing success in the international rowing world, New Zealand’s Dick Tonks says there is no mystery to his coaching methods.  “It’s all pretty basic. There’s no magical workout or anything, just steady miles. “There’s no easy way of doing it. Most sports aren’t a very natural thing so you’ve got to practise and [...]

Benjamin Mugisho seems like any other university student. He lives away from home, has a Facebook page and makes plans for the future. But his life was not always like this. Mugisho is a refugee from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, one of the most war-stricken countries on earth. Now he is raising money [...]

Even people who oppose the sale of state-owned assets on political or economic grounds will admit to considering investing themselves. Adam Speakman, a 24-year-old software developer, is one such potential investor. Speakman thinks the sales are a bad idea for the country overall, but says since he is going to invest his money somewhere anyway, [...]