Aotearoa NZ 2025 Qtr 3
(Jul-Sep)
“In some ways I believe I epitomise the average New Zealander: I have modest abilities, I combine these with a good deal of determination, and I rather like to succeed.”
Starwatch: Moon, Jupiter and Venus form centre of exquisite gathering
The celestial triangle will take place in the constellation of Gemini, beside bright stars Castor and Pollux. There is an exquisite gathering of celestial objects to look out for this week when a beautifully slender crescent moon forms a triangle with the planets Jupiter and Venus, close to the bright stars Castor and Pollux. The chart shows the view looking east-north-east from London at 04:00 BST on the morning of 20 August.
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Source. theguardian.com, 18.08.2025
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'It's really nasty': Toxic plants destroyed in high school competition
A competition dreamed up by high school students and a dedicated teacher has stopped as many as 10 million seeds of a toxic pest plant spreading into the Northland environment. Kerikeri High School's Northland Moth Plant Competition, which wrapped up last month, encouraged people around the region to collect seed pods from the invasive vine, as well as pulling the plants up by the roots.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 18.08.2025
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Twenty years of 'Bird of the Year' in one book
E koekoe te tūī, e ketekete te kākā, e kūkū te kererū - The tūī chatters, the kākā cackles and the kererū coos. That is a whakataukī (proverb) mentioning just three of the 80 birds - and one bat - included in the new Bird of the Year book. Writer Ellen Rykers, the former campaign lead, told Saturday Morning that New Zealand's largest book publisher, Penguin Random House, had asked Forest & Bird to turn the competition into a book subject.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 17.08.2025
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Zealandia celebrates once again being weasel-free
A Wellington eco-sanctuary is once again celebrating weasel-free status after being confronted by multiple trespassers. Over the course of a week in June, Zealandia rangers discovered the bodies of mustelids who had weaselled their way inside the sanctuary. Zealandia confirmed the total body count in the traps was five.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 16.08.2025
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The Flaxmere tenor following his dreams in Florence
Young Hawke's Bay tenor Taylor Wallbank will soon be following in the footsteps of his operatic heroes. This month, Taylor Wallbank embarks on a two-year stint in Florence, Italy, for a programme in opera studies and performance at Opera Mascarade. “The greats for me are the old Italian bel canto singers, Carlo Bergonzi, Luciano Pavarotti obviously, Lauri-Volpi, all these amazing tenors, even sopranos as well, like Maria Callas.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 16.08.2025
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Why do Cambodian bakers make the best pies in New Zealand?
Hard work, resilience, community support as well as a sensitive palate to pastry influenced by French colonisation all seem to play a part. From New Zealand pie making legend Patrick Lam to emerging award winners, Cambodian bakers dominate the domestic pastry scene. This year, Cambodian bakers won seven out of the 11 categories in the prestigious Bakels Supreme Pie Awards.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 14.08.2025
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Aussie angler reels in world-record catch in Twizel
After 30 minutes battling a river monster in Ōhau Canal, Aussie angler Paul Rahman decided to take matters into his own hands - literally. It was after midnight. The sun had long hidden behind the Southern Alps and the chill of autumn hung in the air. But Rahman did not hesitate as he dived into the canal in South Canterbury to drag out the massive brown trout on the end of his line.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 13.08.2025
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Past the point of safe return, nowhere to go but Antarctica
The Defence Force's Antarctic rescue mission involved hot refuelling, night vision goggles, minus 30 degree temperatures and the black hole effect. Just two hours into a dangerous rescue mission to Antarctica, the crew on board the Royal New Zealand Defence Force super hercules hit their first snag. They were told that Christchurch, the designated airport they would divert to if they had to turn around, was too risky for landing.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 13.08.2025
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Dagger beaks and strong wings: New fossils rewrite the penguin story and affirm NZ as a cradle of their evolution
Remarkable new fossil discoveries in New Zealand are driving a significant reassessment of our understanding of the early evolution of penguins. We know Antarctica was home to at least ten species, including giant penguins, during the Eocene epoch from about 56 to 34 million years ago. Now, our latest findings based on fossils from a site in North Canterbury reveal an even richer and earlier period of diversification.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 13.08.2025
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NZ popstar stuns judges on The Voice Australia
26-year-old Cassie Henderson recently won Best Pop Artist at the Aotearoa Music Awards. She sang Chappell Roan’s ‘Good Luck, Babe!’ on the Aussie talent show. Award-winning Kiwi singer Cassie Henderson has blown away the panel of celebrity judges at an audition for reality competition show The Voice Australia. The 26-year-old, who recently won Best Pop Artist at the Aotearoa Music Awards.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 12.08.2025
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Is Mr Ed New Zealand’s longest-serving shared class toy?
For 15 years, the students of Piha Community Preschool have brought Mr Ed all over the world, around New Zealand and Auckland. Somehow, he hasn’t been lost. In Mr Ed’s 15-plus years of service to Piha Community Preschool in Auckland, he has travelled to Florida and New York, including a photo op outside the firehouse made famous by the Ghostbusters movie. He has been to Australia, Rotorua, Taranaki & some of the most fun places in Auckland.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 12.08.2025
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Why we need to grow more rice in New Zealand
Pretty much the last place you'd think you'd find a rice paddy growing is on a hill in Nelson, but Yuki Fukuda is doing just that. Yuki Fukuda says as New Zealand’s appetite for rice increases, growing more of the staple crop here makes sense. Fukuda is an ecologist, who studied horticulture at Lincoln University, and says growing rice locally will give New Zealand more food security for a crop which is currently entirely imported.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 11.08.2025
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Bret McKenzie and NZSO win over the whole family with creepy-crawly carnival
On a wintry Wellington Sunday night an insect themed classical concert for children was just the ticket. The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra has just the ticket. A Creepy-Crawly Carnival and the band has brought in a big gun for the child-focussed gig; Bret McKenzie. The Flight of the Conchorder is compere and narrator in a double bill feature of The Spider’s Feast’s by Albert Roussel, which came with film footage of some of Aotearoa’s own.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 11.08.2025
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Country Life: Lowering costs and enriching the soil - one farmer's regenerative journey
Imagine soil like a sponge, crawling with worms, beetles dragging dung down from the surface and a riot of vegetation on top. It's not everyone's idea of paradise, but it's like heaven for Kaukapakapa farmer Stephen Newman. Newman, a founder of the Kaipara Regenerative Farming Group and a member of farmer-led network Quorum Sense, told Country Life he used to farm very conventionally, until "the penny dropped" a few years ago.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 09.08.2025
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Needy pet owners get helping paw
Many people in need are going without food to feed their pets, according to the manager of a Taranaki foodbank. Nearly two-thirds of New Zealand households own a pet and, for households with children, that number is 71 percent. New Plymouth Community Foodbank manager Sharon Wills has seen evidence of people putting their pets' needs before themselves all the time.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 09.08.2025
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Wellington Airport unveils replacement for iconic giant eagles
Wellington Airport has officially unveiled its latest terminal centrepiece, Manu Muramura - an illuminated sculpture representing the local bird spirit, created by the award-winning Wētā Workshop. The new sculpture was revealed on Friday morning during a ceremony that included a powerful kapa haka performance.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 08.08.2025
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Drawing from memory: Auckland-based Tongan artist brings Pacific nostalgia to life
Auckland-based artist and animator Luca Tu'avao Walton is an emerging voice in the Pacific creative landscape, with a distinctive style rooted in memory, identity, and the 'nostalgia' of island life. In fact, his work resonated so strongly that one woman messaged him directly, saying his portrayal of Pacific women inspired her to cancel a plastic surgery appointment she had made to change her "wide-set nose".
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 08.08.2025
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Beam me up, jellyfish: experts unveil spaceships to take us to the stars
Winner of Project Hyperion design contest envisions polyamorous people thriving onboard cigar-shaped craft. Spaceships modelled on jellyfish, 3D-printed homes, polyamorous relationships and vegetarian diets are among the ways in which experts have envisaged making interstellar travel feasible. The ideas from scientists, engineers, architects and social theorists came in response to a global competition to develop plans for “generation ships.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 06.08.2025
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The students gathering for New Zealand's biggest maths competition
Thousands of students from 300 schools are competing in a maths competition. As many as 15,000 children between the ages of 7 and 13 are participating in the Times Tables Rock Stars Mathematics Competition, a UK-based competition now touring the world. Organiser Bruno Reddy told Morning Report he was running two competitions in parallel, one for the North Island and another for the South Island.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 07.08.2025
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Auckland environmentalist wins battle to protect urban style jungle
A long time Auckland environmentalist has won the battle to protect a number of berms he has planted in an urban style jungle over decades. But plants on another grass verge will be removed by Auckland council after complaints from some residents in nearby apartments. Freeman's Bay resident Mark van Kaathoven has worked on the berm gardens outside his home and neighbouring properties for more than three decades.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 05.08.2025
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Building programme helps hard-to-reach kids into construction careers
A building programme for college kids in Opotiki is giving hard to reach students career options they never thought possible, while boosting school attendance. The Eastern Bay Trades Academy is owned and run by John Gilmour and Steve Mahy, and is funded by the Bay of Plenty Futures Academy. They take on about 15 students a year who learn on the job and gain their NCEA level 3 at the same time.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 06.08.2025
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University building AI tool to help te reo Māori learners with real time pronunciation feedback
Auckland University is building a new AI tool that will give te reo Māori learners real time, personalised feedback on their pronunciation. The three-year project is funded with a $1 million research grant from the Ministry of Business and Innovation's Smart Ideas. Head of Auckland Universities' Te Puna Wananga, Dr Piata Allen told Checkpoint the idea is to give te reo Māori learners confidence so they use more te reo more of the time.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 05.08.2025
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The savvy students growing, hunting and gathering
Four Otago University students are saving hundreds of dollars by growing, hunting and gathering their kai. RNZ podcast Thrift paid a visit to their Dunedin flat. Kieran Halforty, Angus Henry, Jake Corney and Cam Pooley are all eating better than the average student by applying some thrifty smarts. None of them had gardening experience, but by chance they stumbled on a gardening show on TV.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 05.08.2025
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Queenstown Shotover Jet turns 60: From river ferry to iwi-led tourism icon
One of New Zealand's best-known adventure rides is celebrating 60 years in business after evolving from a simple five-person riverboat into an iconic thrill-seekers' attraction. Ngāi Tahu Tourism said the milestone was about much more than commercial success; it was a moment of pride for mana whenua who have taken the wheel. Shotover Jet business manager Donald Boyer said Shotover Jet rose from humble origins.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 01.08.2025
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Game developer and physics teacher to make STEM school
Physics teacher and academic Tristan O'Hanlon, and Grinding Gear Games co-founder Jonathan Rogers, have been given resource consent to build a new Auckland high school focussed on sciences and computer programming. 'The Academy' in West Auckland is expected to open in 2027. The pair say the school will start with year 7s and year 9s to then build up into a full intermediate and high school.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 01.08.2025
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Marine reserve's 25-year review: 'When things aren't fished the place changes'
The jewel of the East Cape's coastline is under review for the first time in 25 years, with locals hoping the marine reserve will remain protected for many generations to come. Te Tapuwae o Rongokako Marine Reserve is about 20 minutes north of Gisborne city and begins at Pouawa Beach. It was created in 1999, with an iwi condition that it be reviewed in 2025. The reserve stretches along a rugged slice of the East Coast.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 29.07.2025
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Week in wildlife: a rescued monkey, squabbling jays and an amputee camel
The best of this week’s wildlife photographs from around the world.
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Source. theguardian.com, 25.07.2025
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Hundreds of babies to benefit from Northland's first milk bank
Northland's first human milk bank is expected to benefit hundreds of premature and unwell babies every year. Whangārei mum Ashlee Robinson was the first person to donate milk when the new service opened at the city's Te Kotuku maternity unit on Friday afternoon. She said her own baby spent a month in the hospital's neo-natal unit, so she knew how much the milk bank was needed.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 26.07.2025
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Autistic kids are learning chess - and communication skills - with a former teenage champion
Students at an Auckland specialist school are getting valuable practice in the art of connection as they learn to play the strategic two-player board game. For autistic kids, even shaking hands can be a tricky prospect, says Evguenia Charomova, a Russian-born NZ women's chess champion turned speech therapist. As her students at Parkside School learn to interact with other people over a chessboard, they're building confidence.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 26.07.2025
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Roadworker 'Mr Wave' sparks joy throughout Eastbourne's coastal community
A roadworker on site in a Wellington coastal suburb is making waves with the locals - literally. Since a major seawall upgrade kicked off in 2022, Eastbourne locals have been navigating an obstacle-course of road cones and single-lanes. But among the sea of construction activity, they said it was impossible to miss Ciaran Hogben, a traffic management worker on a mission to greet every single car with a mana wave, a shaka or something else.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 25.07.2025
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Renewable energy could help get climate targets back on track - commission
The Climate Change Commission says there are big opportunities in renewable energy and clean farming that could cut household bills, help businesses - and get the country back on track for its climate targets. "It's important to acknowledge that costs really matter and people are doing it tough right now and that's why it's really important to do this well and think about those benefits," said Jo Hendy, the commission's chief executive.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 25.07.2025
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New podcast aims to help young songwriters break into into a difficult industry
A new podcast series aims to help young songwriters break into the music industry. On The Record With Rei is produced by Play It Strange - an organisation which provides secondary school aged musicians with guidance. Across ten episodes, the podcast contains practical advice for getting songs played on the radio, artist wellbeing, and making the most of studio time, and using social media, amongst other things.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 25.07.2025
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Welby Ings: Kids are being labelled 'dumb' when they're not
He looks at how we measure intelligence and children's educational progress - and why that often ends up marginalising children. Welby argues that we need to appreciate the other ways kids can demonstrate their intelligence - through creativity, humour or non-linear thinking.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 24.07.2025
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Tingling and buzzing - what's the point of ocean water swimming in the middle of winter?
"If you can get up to your neck, your whole body seems to equalise, I guess, and then after a while it'll tingle, and it'll be really nice." It's just shy of five degrees in Wellington - but a balmy 10 in Seatoun Harbour - where a group of about a dozen hardy women prepare to wade in. There's no splashing, dashing, whooping, hollering, or shouts of "shit, it's cold" as you might expect.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 25.07.2025
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Te Awamutu farmer and his cows find TikTok fame
A Te Awamutu farmer is making a name for himself on social media making videos with his dairy cows. Wesley Nicholas has more than 60,000 followers and millions of views on TikTok, where he posts videos of himself teaching his cows te reo, how to be safe around an angry bull, and describing his wife the same way as his favourite cow. While the 26-year-old, known as thatmadguy2.0 on TikTok, loves milking the 400 odd cows.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 23.07.2025
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Kiwis take home top board game award
Two New Zealanders have taken home one of the top prizes in the Spiel de Jahres, an annual awards event considered the Oscars of the board game world. Kiwis Carl de Visser and Jarratt Gray have won the Expert Game Award for their game called Endeavor Deep Sea. The game has players representing an institute of oceanographers doing research and conservation work. Players can compete competitively for a score or cooperatively.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 23.07.2025
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Selwyn College students arrange more than 100 care packages for Auckland refugees
More than a hundred care packages have been given out to refugees thanks to three Auckland high school students. Georgia, Zakia and Ella came up with the idea as part of a school assessment on the global refugee crisis. They handed out box after box to grateful refugees at Selwyn College's Refugee Education for Adults and Families centre.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 23.07.2025
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New kaupapa Māori health hub opens for young parents in East Auckland
A new kaupapa Māori health and social services hub will open on Tuesday in East Auckland, offering wrap-around support for young parents and whānau to "come together again". Te Whare Piringa, located on Ngāti Pāoa whenua in Glenn Innes, is the first iwi-led space of its kind in Aotearoa. A whare designed not just for parenting support but to reconnect whānau across generations.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 22.07.2025
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Iwi support name change for St Arnaud to Rotoiti
Three iwi at the top of the South Island have put their support behind a proposal to change the name of the village of St Arnaud to Rotoiti. The move is supported by the iwis Rangitāne o Wairau, Ngāti Kuia and Ngāti Apa ki te Rā Tō. New Zealand Geographic Board secretary Wendy Shaw confirmed the board had received the proposal.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 22.07.2025
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The famous Dunedin Study gets world-wide attention
The landmark Dunedin Study of babies born in the early 1970s has caught the eye of the OECD. The study followed the lives of 1037 babies babies born at Queen Mary Maternity Hospital, Dunedin, in 1972. The participants were assessed every two years, then as adults every five to seven years. Using over 52 years of data, the Dunedin researchers identified eight different pathways strongly linked to early factors like mental health and cognitive skills.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 22.07.2025
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How you can soon get a closer look at Gareth Morgan's giant Transmission Gully sculptures
The economist and philanthropist will be inviting the public to wander through his private sculpture park on the western hills north of Pāuatahanui. Ever driven along Wellington's Transmission Gully road and thought, 'is that a giant park bench in the distance?' You're not alone. The bench is one of several sculptures on the property of economist, businessman and philanthropist Gareth Morgan.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 20.07.2025
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Real-time flood alert sensors installed on Havelock North streams
Residents living near five Havelock North streams will have a real-time view of their water levels. Hastings Havelock North ward councillor Malcolm Dixon described the new water flow sensors as "wonderful progress". "The sensors monitor the level, flow and pressure of the streams and quickly put out alerts on rising water levels, allowing people to be prepared during weather events," Dixon said.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 18.07.2025
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The business of playing for neurodiverse kids
Parents of a young autistic boy took his diagnosis head on, creating New Zealand's first play zone for children with disabilities and attracting international attention and recognition. Mac and Maria Pouniu couldn't take their autistic son Mattias to a playground without feeling overwhelmed and judged by onlookers. Instead of staying at home, isolated and alone, the couple decided to take a negative experience and turn it into something positive.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 19.07.2025
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256-year-old relic of European contact with NZ rediscovered in RNZ podcast
A 256-year-old anchor described by Heritage New Zealand as "one of the oldest relics of early European contact with New Zealand" has been located after vanishing for 43 years. The anchor, lost by a French ship more than 250 years ago, had been located by the famous underwater treasure hunter Kelly Tarlton in 1982, but nobody had seen it since.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 18.07.2025
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Marlborough council approves $72k upgrade to Blenheim Skate Park
New lighting, shade and a mural is on the way for Blenheim Skate Park. The Marlborough District Council has approved $72,000 for the upgrades, which were requested by the recently established Skate Marlborough organisation in the 2024 Long Term Plan. The lighting improvements would allow skaters to safely use the park after dark, & shading, including two cantilever umbrellas, would help the skaters through hot Marlborough summers.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 17.07.2025
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Astronomers see formation of new solar system around distant sun for first time
Seeds of rocky planets forming in gas around star Hops-315 is called glimpse of ‘time zero’, when new worlds start to gel. Astronomers have discovered the earliest seeds of rocky planets forming in the gas around a baby sun-like star, providing a precious peek into the dawn of our own solar system. It’s an unprecedented snapshot of “time zero”, scientists reported on Wednesday, when new worlds begin to gel.
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Source. theguardian.com, 16.07.2025
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Little spotted kiwi found on New Zealand's mainland for first time in 50 years
Conservationists are delighted after a unique kiwi was rediscovered in Aotearoa for the first time in 50 years. The little spotted kiwi, or kiwi pukupuku, was first spotted in the remote Adams Wilderness Area in the West Coast by a Department of Conservation (DOC) hunter. It prompted DOC biodiversity ranger Iain Graham, alongside his conservation dog Brew, to fly in to locate the bird.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 16.07.2025
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Wēta FX gets two Emmy Award nominations
The nods for Outstanding Special Visual Effects are for its work on the second seasons of TV shows House of the Dragon and The Last of Us. Special effects company Wētā FX has secured two Emmy Award nominations. The nods for Outstanding Special Visual Effects are for its work on the second seasons of TV shows House of the Dragon and The Last of Us.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 16.07.2025
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Kiwi couple the first over-70s Hyrox world champions
Sophia and Bob Warren started training for the endurance event just weeks before their first competition. They've now done it three times, including a spin at the World Champs in Chicago. Kerikeri couple Sophia and Bob Warren show up every morning to the gym at 9am. Before their one hour workout, they eat a bowl of oats to fuel their 70-year-old tanks.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 16.07.2025
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Getting hands on with science creating 'good scientific citizens'
Te Tūkohu Ngāwhā - a science fair based in Rotorua - is hoping to attract more young women into the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Te Tūkohu Ngāwhā Mātauranga Māori Science and Design Fair is run by Te Arawa Lakes Trust and this year will be held from 23-25 July at the Rotorua Energy Events Centre.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 15.07.2025
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Chatham Islands waka find detailed in new report
A new report has shed light on the potential origins of a partially excavated waka in the Chatham Islands. The report concluded the waka was of pre-European construction and likely from a time before significant cultural separation between Aotearoa and the Pacific. But questions around the exact age and size of the waka remain, and experts recommend the Chatham Island community be properly resourced to uncover the waka.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 14.07.2025
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Scientists detect biggest ever merger of two massive black holes
Ripples in space-time from collision recorded by gravitational wave detector forces a rethink of how the objects form. Scientists have detected ripples in space-time from the violent collision of two massive black holes that spiralled into one another far beyond the distant edge of the Milky Way. The black holes, each more than 100 times the mass of the sun, began circling each other and slammed together 10bn light years from Earth.
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Source. theguardian.com, 14.07.2025
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Denver museum known for dinosaur displays finds fossil under its parking lot
A hole drilled 750ft deep to study museum’s geothermal potential yielded an unexpected surprise. A Denver museum known for its dinosaur displays has made a fossil bone discovery closer to home than anyone ever expected: under its own parking lot. It came from a hole drilled more than 750 ft (230 meters) deep to study geothermal heating potential for the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.
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Source. theguardian.com, 11.07.2025
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Lowest rat numbers yet since monitoring began in New Plymouth
Rat numbers in New Plymouth are the lowest they have been since a community group began monitoring their numbers in the city seven years ago. Towards Predator-Free Taranaki began in 2018 with the goal of removing rats, possums and mustelids (stoats, weasels and ferrets) from across the region. Each year the community project led by Taranaki Regional Council carries out rat monitoring in the same 10 locations across New Plymouth.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 13.07.2025
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More city cyclists get on their bikes - but there is untapped demand for more
More people are getting on their bikes in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, with numbers up year-on-year. But researchers and council staff say there is untapped demand from those who do not have bikes, or the confidence to ride them. Christchurch city council's transport planning manager Jacob Bradbury says the post-quake rebuild gave the city a chance to become more bikeable for the many people who wanted safety.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 14.07.2025
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'I never thought I'd be cooking hangi-style lamb on the steps of the Met'
Thousands of New Yorkers got a taste of New Zealand kai last month at the grand reopening of the Oceania Wing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, courtesy of New Zealand chef Anthony Hoy Fong. Expats and art lovers flocked to the Met where New Zealand, now New York-based, chef Anthony Hoy Fong, served up hangi-style New Zealand lamb. His food stall was part of a large pop-up showcasing culinary traditions from across the Pacific.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 13.07.2025
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New Zealand Youth Choir wins top award
New Zealand Youth Choir has won the top award at an international competition in Wales. The singers, aged between 18 and 25, have been awarded Choir of the World at the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod in Wales. The choir blends waiata and kapa haka with traditional choral repertoire. It is comprised of around 50 singers and operates on a three-year membership.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 13.07.2025
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Country Life: City to Farm - how leftovers are giving back to the land
It's prep time in the kitchen at Evelyn Page Retirement Village in Orewa, north of Auckland, and another load of food scraps has just gone into the bin. Senior lead chef Dylan Hatt sprinkles some special sawdust over the top and closes the lid. A few kilometres away in rural Wainui, a dedicated team of Year 8 students in masks and gloves, are collecting caddies from the classrooms and emptying the lunchtime food scraps into larger bins.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 12.07.2025
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Virtual tour of Scott's Discovery Hut debuts at Te Papa Museum
Wellingtonians can explore a section of Antarctica, using cutting edge virtual reality technology at Te Papa this week. Developed by the Antarctic Heritage Trust and Auckland-based tech company StaplesVR, the first virtual reality experience of Captain Robert Falcon Scott's Discovery Hut made its debut in Wellington on Monday. Scott led the National Antarctic Expedition of 1901-04.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 11.07.2025
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Scientists spot mystery object believed to come from beyond solar system
Astronomer says object could be further evidence that ‘interstellar wanderers’ are common in galaxy. It isn’t a bird, it isn’t a plane and it certainly isn’t Superman – but it does appear to be a visitor from beyond our solar system, according to astronomers who have discovered a new object hurtling through our cosmic neighbourhood.
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Source. theguardian.com, 03.07.2025
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NZ Game developers are confident of continued growth
Game developers in New Zealand are confident of continued growth in the industry as it aims for $1 billion in export revenue by 2028. In the last week, the industry here has caught the attention of developers around the world as Grow a Garden - a game scaled up and developed by Nelson based Splitting Point Studios - hit 20 million players online. The national game development association says the sector is one of the country's fastest-growing.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 02.07.2025
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What it took for Sammie Maxwell to reach the top of the mountain biking world
When Sammie the person comes first, Sammie the cyclist thrives. Sammie Maxwell is sitting top of the World Cup rankings, halfway through the season. And while the mountain biker says she hasn’t found one specific magic key to her success, there’s been a big change that has helped. Very open about her journey with anorexia, 23-year-old Maxwell has been working with the NZ Eating Disorders Clinic to help her in her time overseas.
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Source. stuff.co.nz, 09.07.2025
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Our Changing World: Tauranga’s living sea wall
Coastal critters have new habitat options along the Tauranga waterfront, thanks to the installation of 100 'sea pods' or 'living boulders' in May 2024. Weighing up to 1.2 tonnes each, the sea pods are indented with holes and crevices that mimic rocky tide pools, providing space for tiny organisms from shrimp to anemones to find a home.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 08.07.2025
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Country Life: A haven for rescued farm animals
A kunekune pig called Paul was Sharlene Wilson's first rescue eight years ago. He joined Kevin and Frankie, and, from that moment, Canterbury Tails Animal Rescue and Sanctuary was born. The trio of pigs was joined by Nellie. She is easy to spot as her curly tail's always wagging. Sharlene says she tried for six months to find a home for Nellie, but no one came forward. "She's part of our family now. We've integrated her with the other pigs".
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 05.07.2025
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Beyond playgrounds: how less structured city spaces can nurture children’s creativity and independence
Children’s play is essential for their cognitive, physical & social development. But in cities, spaces to play are usually separated, often literally fenced off, from the rest of urban life. In our new study, we compare children’s use of such spaces in Auckland, New Zealand, and Venice, Italy. Our findings present a paradox: playgrounds built for safety can stifle creativity & mobility, while self-organising open spaces offer rich opportunities to explore & belong.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 05.07.2025
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Kiwi knights do medieval battle in niche sport of buhurt
Some have rugby or football as their sports of choice, but an Auckland group spend their free time donning full suits of medieval armour, and battling it out with swords and shields. While extreme sports like the 'Run It Straight' events have caught headlines recently, Buhurt is a combat sport with a keen eye on safety - although it's not without risk. Training at a warehouse on Auckland's North Shore, these noble knights say it's all about the community.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 04.07.2025
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Remember the point-and-shoot digital cameras? Gen Z wants them
Young people are embracing the grainy, nostalgic vibe of early digital cameras so they can spend less time on their phones. Anna Ly, 19, is a victim of her own success - or at least the popularity of the trend she is catering to. The 19-year-old university student started using a 2000s-era, point-and-shoot digital camera. Soon, others began asking her where they could get a similar camera, so she opened the Instagram store Retrovision.nz
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 04.07.2025
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Auckland's Zig Zag track reopens after closure due to storm-damage in 2023
A popular track in Auckland's suburb of Titirangi has reopened this week, following closure after storm-damage from the weather events of early 2023. Auckland Council said the Zig Zag track, which links Titirangi Beach Road to the beach, has undergone significant upgrades to stabilise its path and improve drainage since the storms.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 04.07.2025
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The people trying to make Auckland buses cool online
Bus drivers share glimpses of their life on social media and one teen was inspired to release an Auckland Transport themed game on popular platform, Roblox. Coming from two generations of bus drivers, Aucklander Robert Richards wasn't always keen on following his father and grandfather's footsteps, but it has turned him into a social media influencer.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 02.07.2025
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Tommy Solomon statue on Rēkohu - Chatham Islands to be restored
Work to restore the statue of the man widely regarded as the last known full-blooded Moriori has begun on Rēkohu - Chatham Islands. The statue of Tame Horomona-Rehe - known as Tommy Solomon - had degraded after standing near Manukau Point for nearly 40 years. Spokesperson Tāne Solomon said the statue commemorated a respected ancestor and honoured more than 800 years of Moriori presence in the region.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 02.07.2025
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