Aotearoa NZ 2026
(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.”
Seascape: the state of our oceans. ‘Small changes can make a big difference’: how getting farmers, fishers and beavers together could save a Cornish river
A local initiative is testing simple ways to stop algal blooms in the River Fal threatening some of England’s most biodiverse marine habitats. On a rocky beach in Cornwall, a group of wetsuit-clad freedivers and snorkellers are wading into the shallows. Below St Mawes Castle, built by Henry VIII to defend Falmouth harbour, they disappear in a swish of florescent pink and green fins. They are volunteers, trained by the Cornwall Wildlife Trust.
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Source. theguardian.com, 25.08.2026
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Capture the Dark 2026: Winning photographs
A selection of winning images from DarkSky International’s 2026 Capture the Dark photography contest. It is the sixth edition of the annual night-time photography competition, which drew 2,288 submissions from 30 countries. A starlit campfire in Otago, New Zealand. The image came third in the Night-time Adventures category. Second place in the International Dark Sky Places went to an image of New Zealand’s South Island sky.
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Source. theguardian.com, 20.08.2026
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Nelson skate park aims to ‘grow Olympians’
A multi-million-dollar skate park plan for Saxton Field is hoped to be a training ground for local Olympians. Concept designs for the $6.3 million facility were unveiled during a joint council committee meeting earlier this month and included plans for one of the biggest skate bowls in the country.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 25.08.2026
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Ōtāhuhu roller doors could be transformed by artwork telling the area's stories
Blank roller doors across Ōtāhuhu town centre could be transformed into artworks telling the stories of the area's Māori, Pacific and diverse communities under a new community-led proposal. Te Manawa o Ōtāhuhu was presented to the Māngere-Ōtāhuhu Local Board at its meeting on Wednesday. The project, which has applied to the local board for funding, would involve local schools, rangatahi, businesses & residents in developing stories. Click her for more information
Source. rnz.co.nz, 20.08.2026
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Plans unveiled for major Okains Bay Museum redevelopment
Banks Peninsula's Okains Bay Museum has unveiled design plans for a major redevelopment the board says is essential to protect its precious displays. The museum opened in 1976 and houses a nationally significant collection of more than 20,000 Māori and colonial artefacts. The board asked MAP Architects to develop concept plans for a new whare taonga and upgrades to the wider museum complex, which are on the museum's website.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 19.08.2026
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Hamilton's first social supermarket officially opens
Hamilton's first social supermarket has officially opened its doors, but it is a stark reminder that many are unable to afford basic necessities. Unlike a traditional food bank, Tamariki Tū Tamariki Ora's new social supermarket is set up much like a regular supermarket. Customers are allocated a certain number of points, according to their circumstances, and can use those to choose the items they need.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 18.08.2026
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Aucklanders get first look inside new Karanga-a-Hape Station
Thousands of Aucklanders are expected to get their first look inside the City Rail Link's (CRL) Karanga-a-Hape Station Saturday, as the city counts down to the opening of the $5.5 billion project. The station is the second of three new or redeveloped stations to be opened to the public as part of a series of free "First Look" events ahead of the CRL opening to passengers on 13 September.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 15.08.2026
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Kea Aerospace opens new hub in Christchurch
A Christchurch company building solar-powered aircraft has marked a major milestone by opening a new manufacturing and operations hub in the city. Kea Aerospace said the 3000 square-metre facility has been customised to help develop the company's solar powered aircraft, the Kea Atmos Mk2. The aircraft has a 35-metre wingspan, and is designed to operate at altitudes over 60,000 feet (18,288m), over a third higher.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 06.08.2026
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‘Thrilling’: Young kiwi sighting a milestone for iwi restoration efforts
The sighting of a young kiwi at Ngā Roto-o-Rangataua near Ohakune is being celebrated as a significant milestone in decades-long recovery efforts. The juvenile kiwi, estimated to be about seven to nine months old, was spotted running across the track at Lakes Reserve in Ohakune. It is the first kiwi heard of at Rangatauanui. The Department of Conservation said it was "a wonderful moment" for DOC, Save the Kiwi and local iwi Ngāti Rangi.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 11.08.2026
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‘How can anyone stop me’: Meet the 89-year-old man who helped transform his town
It's been a challenging few months for 89-year-old Mackenzie councillor Frank Hocken as he found himself at the centre of a council investigation. But, with that business behind him, Hocken has no plans to slow down. Over the past 40 years, Hocken has helped transform Twizel from a small settlement to a popular holiday destination.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 08.08.2026
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'It's amazing': Aucklanders get first look at new City Rail Link station
Aucklanders have been getting their first chance to see inside the new City Rail Link, with a busy turnout for the first of a series of public open day events at new railway stations - this one at Maungawhau Station. City Rail Link (CRL) is the country's largest transport infrastructure project to date, with about three and a half kilometres of tunnels, and set to cost $5.5b. It has been long-awaited and is scheduled to open on 13 September.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 08.08.2026
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Getting commercial with seaweed farms in Rakiura/Stewart Island
Rakiura/Stewart Island fisherman Zane Smith has deployed New Zealand’s first commercial seaweed farm using a special Norwegian infrastructure. It's growing giant kelp in partnership with the Greenwave Aotearoa venture set up by the consultancy firm, EnviroStrat. Greenwave Aotearoa specialises in regenerative ocean seaweed farming. The aim is to use the seaweed in food, skin care products and nutraceuticals.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 03.08.2026
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New exhibition tracing evolution of Māori carving over 700 years
He Toi Whakairo: The Art of Māori Carving opens at Te Papa next month, with 147 taonga from the 1300s to the modern day. Visitors to Te Papa's latest exhibition spanning 700 years of Māori carving will be able to trace an artform and culture in motion from the Pacific to modern Aotearoa. He Toi Whakairo: The Art of Māori Carving opens on 29 August, with 147 taonga spanning from the 1300s through to contemporary pieces commissioned.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 29.07.2026
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Art brings tikanga Māori to one of Auckland's busiest streets
New Māori art is bringing tangata whenua narratives into the heart of Tāmaki Makaurau, ready to welcome in thousands of visitors who will descend on one of Auckland's busiest streets. People will now be able to see and touch two new taonga toi (public art) which were blessed and unveiled at a formal dawn ceremony led by Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei early on Wednesday morning.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 29.07.2026
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Meet the astronomer digging into the Milky Way's 'fossils'
Amina Helmi's passion for the Milky Way is clear as soon as one steps into her small office at the University of Groningen, in the north of the Netherlands. Alongside family photos and piled-up dissertations with impenetrable titles sits a bowl stacked with the chocolates named after the star system she has spent her career studying. Digging into the Milky Way's violent past has earned this 55-year-old astronomer, originally from Argentina.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 30.07.2026
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NZ wheelchair designs go around the world
A Christchurch wheelchair manufacturer is delighted to see its chairs being used at major events like the Commonwealth Games. Melrose Kiwi Concept chairs started life in a garage more than 30 years ago when wheelchair-user Phil Melrose became frustrated at the options available. After injuring his spinal cord in a power boat accident in 1992, he started making himself a wheelchair that better suited his needs in his garage.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 03.08.2026
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Commonwealth Games: Lewis Clareburt completes double defence to win second gold
New Zealand's champion swimmer Lewis Clareburt says he's felt confident in his ability to succeed at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games. Clareburt has won his - and New Zealand's - second gold medal of the games, successfully defending his 400m individual medley title. It follows the defence of his 200m butterfly title yesterday. "I've been quietly confident this week," Clareburt told RNZ.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 29.07.2026
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Hunters donate 700 meals' worth of venison to Wellington food banks
A group of hunters has donated a hundred kilos of venison to Wellington food banks, enough for more than 700 meals. Hunters from the Wellington Deerstalkers Association donated the deer as part of Game Changer, a charity drive run by the Wild Game Recovery Trust. The trust's founder Wayne Langford said it would provide six food banks with hundreds of nutritious meals.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 28.07.2026
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Forest & Bird announces election dates for 2026 Bird of the Year
Election year is on not just for the country's politicians, but also for Aotearoa's manu. Forest & Bird have set the date for Te Manu Rongonui o te Tau - Bird of the Year 2026 voting, set to kick off from 4 September and close on 20 September. Forest & Bird's Group Manager Rebecca Hatch they were "leaning all the way in" for election year.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 27.07.2026
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US demand for apple industry robotics driving change at Hawke's Bay manufacturer
A surge in global demand for robotics and AI from the apple industry is driving big changes for a Hawke's Bay robot manufacturer. Hawk Technology is making the robots in Hastings, then shipping the machines to the US where apple packhouses in Washington DC are lining up to get them. General manager Sam Combs told RNZ it had built a few hundred machines for the New Zealand market over the past few years, and now the US market.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 29.07.2026
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How learning te reo Māori in her 70's transformed one Pākehā grandmother's view of Aotearoa
"Open your heart." Those are the kupu one Pākehā grandmother hopes will encourage more New Zealanders to take their first step toward te reo Māori and te ao Māori. Gael Finlayson-Davis, grandmother of six and great-grandmother of two, now in her 70s, became an unexpected symbol of this year's Matariki celebrations after speaking through tears at the national hautapu ceremony at Takaparawhau.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 25.07.2026
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No bridge too far for man behind new Aoraki Mt Cook bridge
There is virtually no bridge too far for the man behind the new Hooker Valley suspension bridge at Aoraki Mount Cook. The marvel of design and modern engineering is due to open next week and replaces the old one that closed due to erosion caused by storms in April last year. It spans 189 metres across the Hooker River, making it the longest suspension bridge in the country.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 24.07.2026
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Commonwealth Games: Zoe Hobbs sprints her way into NZ sporting history
Zoe Hobbs has sprinted her way into New Zealand sporting history at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, winning gold in the women's 100 metres. The Kiwi sprint queen produced a blistering run to clock 10.93s, beating her own Oceania record and securing New Zealand's first Commonwealth Games women's sprint gold medal. Previously, Don Jowett won men's 220 yards gold at Vancouver 1954.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 29.07.2026
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Two years until 'one of most majestic sights' in Dunedin
The countdown is on as Dunedin prepares for daytime darkness for the first time since 1163 AD. On Wednesday at 4.15pm, the city marked exactly two years until the region's total solar eclipse when the moon's shadow passes directly over parts of Otago. Claudia thought she would only see one eclipse in her lifetime. She experienced one while working in a university hospital in Munich.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 23.07.2026
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Kurahaupō waka returned to shores of Lake Horowhenua
The modern waka Kurahaupō has returned to it's home on the shores of Lake Horowhenua in Levin, after a brief sojourn to Wairarapa. Te Waka Wairua o Kurahaupō was built and launched to celebrate 150 years of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1990 and, while it shares a name with the waka hourua that once brought people to Aotearoa, it was never designed to be a replica.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 19.07.2026
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Community newspaper The Akaroa Mail celebrates 150 years
Newspapers in New Zealand and around the world are under increasing pressure with many businesses facing restructures, going digital or closing all together but a free newspaper on Banks Peninsula is celebrating its 150th anniversary. The Akaroa Mail was first published on 21 July, 1876, and prints 10,000 paper copies every fortnight.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 21.07.2026
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DOC makes progress with rare kiwi on the West Coast
The Department of Conservation says it is making progress with securing rare kiwi populations on the West Coast, with the return of 17 Haast tokoeka for the first time from the Orokonui Ecosanctuary near Dunedin, and the addition of two more pukupuku (little spotted kiwi) to the monitored population. A status report tabled with the West Coast Conservation Board said the tokoeka had been returned to the Haast kiwi sanctuary.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 15.07.2026
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Māori word 'kaitiakitanga' named world's most beautiful by language app
A Māori word describing the responsibility to care for the natural world has been named the world's most beautiful word by language-learning platform Babbel. The kupu, kaitiakitanga topped a list of 223 words from 75 languages after Babbel analysed discussions across online communities including Reddit and TikTok before an international panel of linguists, writers and cultural experts selected a winner.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 17.07.2026
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How one West Auckland art collective is changing the lives of vulnerable rangatahi
For some young people, success is getting a job or finishing school. And for others, success is simply getting out of bed. For some young people, success is getting a job or finishing school. For others, success is simply getting out of bed. That's the reality Kākano Youth Arts Collective founder & director Mandy Patmore has come to understand after spending more than a decade working alongside some of West Auckland's most vulnerable rangatahi.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 16.07.2026
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Matariki's message for the Pacific: 'We need each other more than we understand'
As conflicts and division dominate news headlines around the world, Professor Rangi Mātāmua (Tūhoe), said Matariki sends this message: "Like the ocean connects us, the sky connects us, and we are connected to each other. And these are unusual, difficult times for many of us, we need each other more than we probably understand. We are all related, we come from the same place, and we actually come from the stars."
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 10.07.2026
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Wellington artists put final touches on Matariki-inspired mural
A collective of Wellington artists have put the final touches on a larger-scale mural inspired by the stars of Matariki. Dreamgirls Art Collective, made up of artists Miriama Grace-Smith, Xoë Hall and Gina Kiel, collaborated with jewellery brand Pandora to create the mural at the intersection of Ghuznee and Leeds Streets in central Wellington.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 11.07.2026
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Exhibition celebrates Porirua's trailblazing Pacific women
The stories of Pacific women who helped shape Porirua have been brought into the spotlight in a new exhibition celebrating the 50th anniversary of Pacific Allied (Women's) Council Inspires Faith In Ideals Concerning All. Incorporated (P.A.C.I.F.I.C.A. Inc.) Marama Malama: Te Manava Moana Women at Pataka Art and Museum honours generations of women whose leadership, advocacy and service have impacted NZ Pacific communities.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 03.07.2026
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Te Koutu from Rotorua wins Secondary Schools Kapa Haka Title
A University of Auckland team responsible for optimising life-saving treatment for oxygen-deprived infants has won the 2025 Prime Minister's Science Prize. The awards were handed out in a ceremony in Wellington on Tuesday night. The Fetal Physiology and Neuroscience group has been researching the effects of mild brain cooling for resuscitated newborns for over three decades.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 03.07.2026
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