1.
New Zealand
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New Zealand /njuːˈziːlənd/ is an island nation in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The country geographically comprises two main landmasses—the North Island, or Te Ika-a-Māui, and the South Island, or Te Waipounamu—and around 600 smaller islands. New Zealand is situated some 1,500 kilometres east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and roughly 1,000 kilometres south of the Pacific island areas of New Caledonia, Fiji, because of its remoteness, it was one of the last lands to be settled by humans. During its long period of isolation, New Zealand developed a distinct biodiversity of animal, fungal, the countrys varied topography and its sharp mountain peaks, such as the Southern Alps, owe much to the tectonic uplift of land and volcanic eruptions. New Zealands capital city is Wellington, while its most populous city is Auckland, sometime between 1250 and 1300 CE, Polynesians settled in the islands that later were named New Zealand and developed a distinctive Māori culture. In 1642, Dutch explorer Abel Tasman became the first European to sight New Zealand, in 1840, representatives of Britain and Māori chiefs signed the Treaty of Waitangi, which declared British sovereignty over the islands. In 1841, New Zealand became a colony within the British Empire, today, the majority of New Zealands population of 4.7 million is of European descent, the indigenous Māori are the largest minority, followed by Asians and Pacific Islanders. Reflecting this, New Zealands culture is derived from Māori and early British settlers. The official languages are English, Māori and New Zealand Sign Language, New Zealand is a developed country and ranks highly in international comparisons of national performance, such as health, education, economic freedom and quality of life. Since the 1980s, New Zealand has transformed from an agrarian, Queen Elizabeth II is the countrys head of state and is represented by a governor-general. In addition, New Zealand is organised into 11 regional councils and 67 territorial authorities for local government purposes, the Realm of New Zealand also includes Tokelau, the Cook Islands and Niue, and the Ross Dependency, which is New Zealands territorial claim in Antarctica. New Zealand is a member of the United Nations, Commonwealth of Nations, ANZUS, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Pacific Islands Forum, and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. Dutch explorer Abel Tasman sighted New Zealand in 1642 and called it Staten Landt, in 1645, Dutch cartographers renamed the land Nova Zeelandia after the Dutch province of Zeeland. British explorer James Cook subsequently anglicised the name to New Zealand, Aotearoa is the current Māori name for New Zealand. It is unknown whether Māori had a name for the country before the arrival of Europeans. Māori had several names for the two main islands, including Te Ika-a-Māui for the North Island and Te Waipounamu or Te Waka o Aoraki for the South Island. Early European maps labelled the islands North, Middle and South, in 1830, maps began to use North and South to distinguish the two largest islands and by 1907, this was the accepted norm. The New Zealand Geographic Board discovered in 2009 that the names of the North Island and South Island had never been formalised and this set the names as North Island or Te Ika-a-Māui, and South Island or Te Waipounamu
2.
Wellington
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Wellington is the capital and second most populous urban area of New Zealand, with 405,000 residents. It is at the tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range. Wellington is the population centre of the southern North Island and is the administrative centre of the Wellington Region. It is the worlds windiest city, with a wind speed of over 26 km/h. Situated near the centre of the country, Wellington was well placed for trade. In 1839 it was chosen as the first major planned settlement for British immigrants coming to New Zealand, the settlement was named in honour of the Arthur Wellesley, the first Duke of Wellington and victor of the Battle of Waterloo. As the nations capital since 1865, the New Zealand Government and Parliament, Supreme Court, despite being much smaller than Auckland, Wellington is also referred to as New Zealands cultural capital. The city is home to the National Archives, the National Library, architectural sights include the Government Building—one of the largest wooden buildings in the world—as well as the iconic Beehive. Wellington plays host to artistic and cultural organisations, including the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. It has an urban culture, with many cafés, restaurants. One of the worlds most liveable cities, the 2014 Mercer Quality of Living Survey ranked Wellington 12th in the world, Wellingtons economy is primarily service-based, with an emphasis on finance, business services, and government. It is the centre of New Zealands film and special effects industries, Wellington ranks as one of New Zealands chief seaports and serves both domestic and international shipping. The city is served by Wellington International Airport, the third busiest airport in the country, Wellingtons transport network includes train and bus lines which reach as far as the Kapiti Coast and Wairarapa, and ferries connect the city to the South Island. Wellington takes its name from Arthur Wellesley, the first Duke of Wellington and victor of the Battle of Waterloo, his title comes from the town of Wellington in the English county of Somerset. One of the founders of the settlement, Edward Jerningham Wakefield, reported that the settlers took up the views of the directors with great cordiality, in Māori, Wellington has three names. In New Zealand Sign Language, the name is signed by raising the index, middle and ring fingers of one hand, palm forward, to form a W, and shaking it slightly from side to side twice. The citys location close to the mouth of the narrow Cook Strait leads to its vulnerability to strong gales, legends recount that Kupe discovered and explored the district in about the 10th century. The earliest date with hard evidence for Maori living in New Zealand is about 1280, European settlement began with the arrival of an advance party of the New Zealand Company on the ship Tory on 20 September 1839, followed by 150 settlers on the Aurora on 22 January 1840
3.
Palmerston North
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Palmerston North, commonly referred to by locals as Palmerston, or colloquially Palmy, is the main city of the Manawatu-Wanganui region of the North Island of New Zealand. Palmerston North is located inland, in the eastern Manawatu Plains, the city is 35 km from the rivers mouth and 12 km from the end of the Manawatu Gorge. It is about 140 km north of the capital, Wellington, the city covers a land area of 395 square kilometres. The citys location was once more than a clearing in a forest and occupied by small communities of indigenous Māori. In the mid 19th century, it was discovered and settled by Europeans, on foundation, the settlement was bestowed the name Palmerston, in honour of Viscount Palmerston, a former Prime Minister of Great Britain. The suffix North was added in 1871 by the Post Office to distinguish the settlement from Palmerston in the South Island, the Māori transliteration of Palmerston North, is Pamutana. However, Te Papaioea is the preferred Māori name, Palmerston North is the countrys seventh-largest city and eighth largest urban area, with an urban population of 84,300. Ngāti Rangitāne were the local Māori iwi living in the known as Te Ahu-ā-Tūranga. He came on a ship and explored possibly as far inland as the site of Woodville. He reported his discovery on arrival back to Porirua, colonel Wakefield heard of the potential that the Manawatu had for development and visited in 1840. In 1846 Stephen Charles Hartley, another trader, heard from tangata whenua of a clearing in the Papaioea forest and he proceeded through the bush and forest. In 1858, the Government began negotiations with local iwi to purchase land in Manawatu, there was a dispute at the time between rival iwi Ngāti Rangitāne and Ngāti Raukawa as to who has the right to sell. The dispute is resolved in favour of Rangitāne, in 1864, Te Ahu-a-Turanga Block was sold by Rangitāne to the Government for £12,000, in an effort to open the Manawatu to settlement. Stewart returned in 1866 on behalf of the Wellington Provincial Council and made the original survey, the focal point was an open space of 17 acres subsequently known as The Square. On 3 October 1866, Palmerston was formally endorsed after Isaac Earl Featherston signed a proclamation defining the boundaries of the settlement, the first sections were sold after. Among the first settlers included Scandinavians, who arrived in 1871 and they established settlements at Awapuni and Whakarongo/Stoney Creek. Later the same year, the suffix North was added to distinguish the settlement of the name in the South Island. In 1872 a petition was launched to change the name of the settlement, a public meeting in 1873 ends with no clear decision on the name
4.
Whanganui
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Whanganui, also spelt Wanganui, is a city on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. The Whanganui River, New Zealands longest navigable waterway, runs from Mount Tongariro to the sea, Whanganui is part of the Manawatu-Wanganui region. Like several New Zealand centres, it was designated a city until administrative reorganisation in 1989. Whanganui is located on the South Taranaki Bight, close to the mouth of the Whanganui River and it is 200 kilometres north of Wellington and 75 kilometres northwest of Palmerston North, at the junction of State Highways 3 and 4. Most of the lies on the rivers northwestern bank, due to the greater extent of flat land. Much of the town is on the rivers northwest bank, the river is crossed by four bridges – Cobham Bridge, City Bridge, Dublin Street Bridge and Aramoho Railway Bridge. Suburbs of the include, Gonville, Castlecliff, Tawhero, Springvale, St. Johns Hill, Otamatea, Aramoho, Wanganui East, Bastia Hill, Durie Hill. Of these, all except Wanganui East, Bastia Hill, Durie Hill, both Mount Ruapehu and Mount Taranaki can be seen from Durie Hill and other vantage points around the city. The area around the mouth of the Whanganui river was a site of pre-European Māori settlement. The pā named Pūtiki was and is home to the Ngāti Tūpoho hapū of the iwi Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi and it took its name from the legendary explorer Tamatea-pōkai-whenua, who sent a servant ashore to find flax for tying up his topknot. In the 1820s coastal tribes in the area assaulted the Kapiti Island stronghold of Ngāti Toa chief Te Rauparaha, Te Rauparaha retaliated in 1830 sacking Pūtiki and slaughtering the inhabitants. The first European traders arrived in 1831, followed in 1840 by missionaries Octavius Hadfield, on 20 June 1840, the Revd John Mason, Mrs Mason, Mr Richard Matthews and his wife Johanna arrived to establish a mission station of the Church Missionary Society. Revd Richard Taylor joined the CMS mission station in 1843, the Revd Mason drowned on 5 January 1843 while crossing the Turakina River. By 1844 the brick built by Mason was inadequate to meet the needs of the congregation. A new church was built under the supervision of Taylor, with the timber supplied by each pā on the river in proportion to its size, after the New Zealand Company had settled Wellington it looked for other suitable places for settlers. The settlement was threatened in 1846 by Te Mamaku, a chief from up the Whanganui River, the British military arrived on 13 December 1846 to defend the township. Two stockades, the Rutland and York, were built to defend the settlers, two minor battles were fought on 19 May and 19 July 1847 and after a stalemate the up river iwi returned home. By 1850 Te Mamaku was receiving Christian instruction from Revd Taylor, there were further incidents in 1847 when four members of the Gilfillan family were murdered and their house plundered
5.
Jews
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The Jews, also known as the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group originating from the Israelites, or Hebrews, of the Ancient Near East. Jews originated as a national and religious group in the Middle East during the second millennium BCE, the Merneptah Stele appears to confirm the existence of a people of Israel, associated with the god El, somewhere in Canaan as far back as the 13th century BCE. The Israelites, as an outgrowth of the Canaanite population, consolidated their hold with the emergence of the Kingdom of Israel, some consider that these Canaanite sedentary Israelites melded with incoming nomadic groups known as Hebrews. The worldwide Jewish population reached a peak of 16.7 million prior to World War II, but approximately 6 million Jews were systematically murdered during the Holocaust. Since then the population has risen again, and as of 2015 was estimated at 14.3 million by the Berman Jewish DataBank. According to the report, about 43% of all Jews reside in Israel and these numbers include all those who self-identified as Jews in a socio-demographic study or were identified as such by a respondent in the same household. The exact world Jewish population, however, is difficult to measure, Israel is the only country where Jews form a majority of the population. The modern State of Israel was established as a Jewish state and defines itself as such in its Declaration of Independence and its Law of Return grants the right of citizenship to any Jew who requests it. The English word Jew continues Middle English Gyw, Iewe, according to the Hebrew Bible, the name of both the tribe and kingdom derive from Judah, the fourth son of Jacob. The Hebrew word for Jew, יְהוּדִי ISO 259-3 Yhudi, is pronounced, with the stress on the syllable, in Israeli Hebrew. The Ladino name is ג׳ודיו, Djudio, ג׳ודיוס, Djudios, Yiddish, ייִד Yid, ייִדן, Yidn. The etymological equivalent is in use in languages, e. g. but derivations of the word Hebrew are also in use to describe a Jew, e. g. in Italian. The German word Jude is pronounced, the corresponding adjective jüdisch is the origin of the word Yiddish, in such contexts Jewish is the only acceptable possibility. Some people, however, have become so wary of this construction that they have extended the stigma to any use of Jew as a noun, a factual reconstruction for the origin of the Jews is a difficult and complex endeavor. It requires examining at least 3,000 years of ancient human history using documents in vast quantities, as archaeological discovery relies upon researchers and scholars from diverse disciplines, the goal is to interpret all of the factual data, focusing on the most consistent theory. In this case, it is complicated by long standing politics and religious, Jacob and his family migrated to Ancient Egypt after being invited to live with Jacobs son Joseph by the Pharaoh himself. The patriarchs descendants were later enslaved until the Exodus led by Moses, traditionally dated to the 13th century BCE, Modern archaeology has largely discarded the historicity of the Patriarchs and of the Exodus story, with it being reframed as constituting the Israelites inspiring national myth narrative. The growth of Yahweh-centric belief, along with a number of practices, gradually gave rise to a distinct Israelite ethnic group
6.
New Zealand State Highway 1
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State Highway 1 is the longest and most significant road in the New Zealand roading network, running the length of both main islands. It appears on maps as SH1 and on road signs as a white number 1 on a red shield. SH1 is 2,033 kilometres long,1,081 km in the North Island and 952 km in the South Island, for the majority of its length it is a two-lane single carriageway, with at-grade intersections and property accesses, in both rural and urban areas. These sections have some passing lanes, around 215 km of SH1 is of motorway or expressway standard as of February 2017,191 km in the North Island and 23 km in the South Island. Current road construction will see an extra 102 km in the North Island and 11 km in the South Island upgraded to motorway or expressway standard by 2022. SH1 starts at Cape Reinga, at the tip of the Aupouri Peninsula. The highway crosses into the Auckland Region, and passes through Wellsford and Warkworth, near Puhoi, on the Hibiscus Coast, SH1 becomes the Auckland Northern Motorway, the main road north of New Zealands largest urban area. The first 7.5 km of the motorway is a toll road. At Orewa, the motorway becomes toll-free, crossing farmland to the North Shore of Auckland, the road crosses through suburbs to the Waitemata Harbour, which it briefly follows before crossing it by the Auckland Harbour Bridge. The motorway comes off the bridge into Aucklands city centre, at this junction, SH1 becomes the Auckland Southern Motorway, and, after sweeping around the southern end of central Auckland, proceeds in a south-easterly direction. The motorway continues in a broadly southeast direction across the Auckland isthmus, then through Manukau and Papakura to the top of the Bombay Hills, at Bombay, SH1 becomes the Waikato Expressway, a four-lane dual-carriageway expressway. The expressway takes the highway down the Bombay Hills to Mercer, where SH1 meets the Waikato River, the Waikato Expressway temporarily ends at Longswamp and becomes a three-laned dual carriageway, resuming at Te Kauwhata before reverting to single carriageway just south of Ohinewai. SH1 runs as a single carriageway through Huntly to Taupiri, the expressway ends in north-western Hamilton. The highway bypasses the city centre to the west, before crossing to the east side, the expressway resumes at Tamahere, bypassing Cambridge to the north before reverting to a single carriageway east of the town. The highway continues eastward to the town of Tirau, where it turns south to pass through Putaruru and Tokoroa, at Wairakei, SH1 takes an eastern route to bypass Taupo and meet the Lake Taupo shoreline south of the town near the airport. SH1 follows the shore of the lake for 50 km to Turangi. The road between Rangipo and Waiouru is commonly known as the Desert Road, and is closed by snow during winter. At km 794 on the Desert Road, SH1 is 1,074 metres above sea level - the highest point on the New Zealand State Highway network
7.
Waikanae
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Waikanae is a small town on New Zealands Kapiti Coast. The name is a Māori word meaning waters of the yellow-eyed mullet, the township lies about 60 kilometres north of Wellington, New Zealands capital city, between Paraparaumu, eight kilometres to the southwest, and Otaki,15 kilometres to the northeast. Another settlement called Waikanae Beach exists near Gisborne on the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand, Waikanae lies in a setting of open farmland and forest between the Tasman Sea and the rugged Tararua Ranges. Together with its settlement of Waikanae Beach, the township comprises a quiet locale. Just north of Waikanae is the community of Peka Peka. The area surrounding the township is notable for its 5-kilometre long beach and its river mouth opposite Kapiti Island. The Kapiti Island Nature Reserve includes the Waikanae Estuary Scientific Reserve, the Te Araroa Trail leads through Waikanae. The waters between Waikanae Beach and Kapiti Island comprise the Kapiti Marine Reserve, with whales and Hectors dolphins sometimes spotted on their routes through the narrow corridor. Inland, behind Waikanae, are the bush clad Hemi Matenga Reserve, the Tararua Ranges, a road through the valley over the Akatarawa Saddle provides a link with the Hutt Valley via Reikorangi and Cloustonville. The headwaters of the Waikanae River form where a number of streams converge in the inland Reikorangi Basin, from here the river runs through a gap in the foothills, across the coastal plain and sand dunes to the sea. Prior to human settlement the Waikanae coastal plain comprised wetlands divided by a pattern of natural waterways. The community draws its water from the source of the Waikanae River. Waikanae Beach is populated by terns, seagulls, oystercatchers, inland wetlands provide refuge for pukeko, crake and New Zealand dabchicks. White fronted herons and shags range across the coastal plain, the ready availability of both birdlife and seafood encouraged early Māori settlement of the area. Introduced species such as ducks and black swans have also flourished over the last century, Waikanae is backed by the heavily forested 330-hectare Hemi Matenga Reserve covering a range overlooking the township. Rising to 514 metres above sea level, the forest comprises one of the most extensive areas of woodland left in New Zealand. The reserve is named after its owner, Hemi Matenga Waipunahau of the Ngati Toa. It is traversed by several walking tracks and forms an extension of the Tararua Range, archaeological and ethnographical research suggests that Waikanae may have been first inhabited by the Waitaha moa-hunters as early as a thousand years ago
8.
George Silk
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He was born in New Zealand, and served as a photojournalist for Life for 30 years. Silks career as a war began in 1939, when he was a combat cameraman for the Australian government, covering action in the Middle East, North Africa. Trapped with the famed Desert Rats at Tobruk in Libya, he was captured by German Field Marshal Erwin Rommels forces and he began working for Life magazine in 1943. He photographed many events from World War II and he covered the war on the Italian front, the Allied invasions of France and the Pacific. In New Guinea, Silk walked 300 miles with Allied forces and he was with U. S. forces in the Battle of the Bulge in 1944 and was wounded by a grenade during a river crossing in Germany. His co-worker Will Lang Jr. reported on the Battle of the Bulge and he shot the first pictures of Nagasaki, Japan, after the atomic bomb was dropped, as well as Japanese war criminals awaiting trial in postwar Tokyo. He became a U. S. citizen in 1947, in December 1972, Silk was in Nepal, shooting an assignment on Himalayan game parks, when he received news that the magazine had folded. According to the 1977 book That Was the Life, he replied by saying, please send one-half million dollars additional expenses. He was named magazine photographer of the four times by the National Press Photographers Association
9.
North Island Main Trunk
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The North Island Main Trunk is the main railway line in the North Island of New Zealand, connecting capital city Wellington with the countrys largest city, Auckland. The line is 682 kilometres long and passes through Paraparaumu, Palmerston North, Taihape, National Park, Taumarunui, Te Kuiti, Hamilton, most of the NIMT is single track with frequent passing loops, built to the New Zealand rail gauge of 1,067 mm. The line is double track between Wellington and Waikanae, between Hamilton and Te Kauwhata, and between Meremere and Auckland Britomart, the first section of what became the NIMT opened in 1873 in Auckland. Construction of the Wellington end began in 1885, and the line was completed in 1908, the line is credited for having been an economic lifeline for the young nation, and for having opened up the centre of the North Island to European settlement and investment. In the early days, a journey could take more than 20 hours, today. Aucklands first railway was the 13 km line between Point Britomart and Onehunga via Penrose, opened in 1873, the section from Penrose to Onehunga is now called the Onehunga Branch. This line reached Mercer by 20 May 1875, with 29 km from Ngaruawahia being constructed by the Volunteer Engineer Militia and it was extended to Frankton by December 1877, and to Te Awamutu in 1880. An economic downturn stalled construction for the five years. There were also protracted negotiations with local Māori, and the King Country was not accessible to Europeans until 1883, the Wellington-Longburn section was constructed between 1881 and 1886 by the Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company. The company was acquired by the New Zealand Railways Department in 1908, from Te Awamutu it was proposed that the line be built via Taupo or via Taumarunui, the eventual route. Construction of the central section began on 15 April 1885. It was 23 years before the two met, as the central section was difficult to survey and construct. The crossing of the North Island Volcanic Plateau with deep ravines required nine viaducts, by the beginning of 1908, there was a 39 km gap between Erua and Ohakune, with a connecting horse-drawn coach service. From Ohakune south to Waiouru the Public Works Department operated the train, but much of the new section was temporary, with some cuttings north of Taonui having vertical batters and some unballasted sections of track. Ward drove the last spike on 6 November 1908, and the Last Spike monument is at Manganui-o-te-Ao 39°16. 44′S 175°23. 37′E, a two-day NIMT service started on 9 November, with an overnight stop at Ohakune. The dining car went on the express from Wellington to Ohakune, then transferred to the southbound express. Under T. Ronaye the general manager from 1895 to 1913 the section south to Parnell was duplicated and improvements made to the worst gradients, under his successor E. H. Hiley the second Parnell Tunnel with two tracks and an easier gradient was completed in 1915-1916. On the Kakariki bank between Halcombe and Marton a deviation reduced the 1 in 53 grade to 1 in 70, in 1927 automatic colour light signalling was installed from Otahuhu to Mercer
10.
Levi
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Levi was, according to the Book of Genesis, the third son of Jacob and Leah, and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Levi. Certain religious and political functions were reserved for the Levites and these scholars suspect that it may simply mean priest, either as a loan word from the Minaean lawiu, meaning priest, or by referring to those people who were joined to the ark of the covenant. In the Book of Jubilees 28, 14-15, it says that Levi was born in the new moon of the first month which means that he was born on 1 Nissan, in the narratives found in the Book of Genesis, Levi’s youth is marked by impetuosity. He and his brother, Simeon, exterminate the city of Shechem in revenge for the rape of Dinah, seizing the wealth of the city and killing the men. The brothers had earlier misled the inhabitants of Shechem by consenting to Dinahs rapist marrying her, in the Blessing of Jacob, Jacob is described as imposing a curse on the Levites, by which they would be scattered, in punishment for Levis actions in Shechem. Nevertheless, Isaac, Levis grandfather, give a special blessing about the lineage of priest of God, in the Book of Genesis, Levi is described as having fathered three sons—Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. The Masoretic Texts version of Levis genealogy thus implies that Levi also had a daughter, the names of Levis sons, and possible daughter, are interpreted in classical rabbinical literature as being reflections on their future destiny. In some apocryphal texts such as the Testament of Levi, and the Book of Jubilees, Levis wife, his childrens mother, is named as Milkah, a daughter of Aram. Some scholars attribute the genealogy to a hypothetical Book of Generations, some Biblical scholars suspect that the Elohist account offers both matrilinial and patrilinial descent from Levites in order to magnify the religious credentials of Moses. In accordance with his role as founder of the Levites, Levi is referred to as being particularly pious, in the Testament of Levi, Levi is described as having had two visions. The first vision covered eschatological issues, portraying the seven heavens, the Jewish Messiah, and Judgement Day. According to some scholars this is to be expected, since the Testament of Levi is believed to have been written during Maccabean rule. Levite Miscegenation Testament of Levi Tribe of Levi “The Tribe, The Cohen-Levi Family Heritage”
11.
Kay Cohen
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Kay Cohen is an Australian fashion designer and business woman based in Sydney, Australia. Cohen was raised on a farm and first discovered fashion at the age of 12 and she attended Wellington Polytechnic in nearby Wellington, majoring in Clothing and Textile design. After graduation, she qualified and continued as a lecturer at the school, the first 15 years of Cohens career were spent designing fashion outerwear. Cohen later qualified with an MBA from Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, Cohen transitioned to Lingerie design in 1992 when she joined Triumph International, in Brisbane, Australia. At Triumph she was responsible for direction for brands including Triumph, Sloggi. In 1997 Cohen returned to New Zealand and was appointed Group General Manager of Brands for the New Zealand Lingerie group Bendon, during her tenure as creative director of Elle Macpherson Intimates, the label was credited as the top fashion underwear brand in Australian and UK department stores. In 1997 Cohen launched Macpherson Men, Elle Macphersons mens underwear label which rapidly achieved success in the Australian. The combined success of both Elle Macpherson Intimates and Macpherson Men prompted Bendon to increase the distribution of the Elle Macpherson underwear brands to the United Kingdom, in 2001 it was announced that the label would be stocked in Selfridges and House of Fraser in their London Stores. In 2002, Cohen relaunched Expozay, a swimwear label employing Sophie Monk, Cohens Expozay swim launch in Auckland New Zealand also featured Jennifer Hawkins two years before Hawkins won the Miss Universe title. In 2002 after the Bendon group was acquired by the Pacific Retail Group, within 6 months Cohen had become disillusioned by the prospect of putting new blood into old brands. Cohen perceived a niche in Lingerie design, a fusion of fashion, fit, by early April 2004 reports of an Australian Fashion Week launch of Cohens new luxury lingerie brand Pleasure State began to appear. Cohen Launched Pleasure State at the Mercedes Australian Fashion Week 2004 in Sydney, prior to launch the brand had been picked up by Australian department store David Jones and Harrods, Selfridges, Bentalls, Liberty and House of Fraser in the United Kingdom. The initial collection featured vintage French leavers laces and silks, complemented by the reintroduction of woven fabrics, the garments were accented with Swarovski crystal details, and are credited with originating this trend in lingerie design. The first collection was underpinned by wider bra straps and smooth-line tailoring, the fabrics included blends of pure silk with tactel and lycra, intended to enhance the performance of garments for everyday wearability, which are predominantly sourced from France and Italy. By March 2005 Cohens label had over 300 stockists globally, including department stores Galeries Lafayette in Paris, in November 2005 Cohens label was available across Russia in 90 Wild Orchid Stores and opened the retailers fashion show at the Moscow Manege, quickly becoming their best selling brand. Pleasure State is currently available in 35 Countries and over 1000 stores globally, concurrently the brand shifted its Australian department store distribution to rival retailer Myer with a national roll out of in store boutiques. Cohens designs were further bolstered by celebrities Jessica Simpson, Ashlee Simpson, by mid-2007 Cohens label was turning over more than $30 million per annum AUD, at this time Cohen announced the launch of the Biofit Bra. Cohens Biofit uplift bra had the biggest Bra launch in Limited Brands history, Cohens innovation was to engineer a push up bra customized to each cup size, delivering a graduation of cleavage appropriate to the womans bust size
12.
Nicky Hager
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Nicky Hager is a New Zealand investigative journalist. He has produced six books since 1996, covering such as intelligence networks, environmental issues. He is the only New Zealand member of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, Hager was born in Levin to a middle-class socially aware family. His father was from Vienna, Austria, a manufacturer who emigrated to New Zealand as a refugee from the Nazis. His mother was born in Zanzibar, where her father studied tropical medicine and his surname Hager is pronounced Har-gar, rhyming with lager. Hager studied physics at Victoria University of Wellington, where he also did a degree in philosophy. He stood as a Values Party candidate for Pahiatua in the 1978 general election, Hager is an investigative journalist who has written six books. Hager works on a number of projects at any time, gathering information about them and looks for sources. Some projects come together but others can continue for a number of years, secret Power – New Zealands Role in the International Spy Network, published in 1996, was Hagers first book. The book investigates various spying techniques, including Signals Intelligence, a form of electronic eavesdropping between countries, the book makes special mention of GCSBs facilities at Waihopai and Tangimoana. It revealed aspects of New Zealands participation in the UKUSA Agreement facilitating intelligence gathering and sharing between the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, since the Edward Snowden revelations, this partnership has become more commonly known as the Five Eyes. As a result, the insights into the workings of the GCSB provide information about the allied agencies as well. In particular, Hager documented the US-coordinated ECHELON system, through which the five agencies intercept and process huge volumes of international e-mail, fax, Hager was one of the earliest to write about the secretive ECHELON worldwide electronic spy network. As a result of his book, in 2001 he testified before the European Parliament on his research into the network, secrets and Lies, The Anatomy of an Anti-Environmental PR Campaign was co-authored with Bob Burton and published in 1999. It documents the public relations information put out by Timberlands West Coast Limited in order to win support for logging of native forests on the West Coast of New Zealand. Seeds of Distrust, The Story of a GE Cover-up was a study of government processes, the book traces the stages of industry lobbying and government decision making leading up to a decision to regard the incident as insignificant and keep it secret from the public. The book was released in July 2002, just as an election was called. The Christchurch newspaper The Press studied the documents and concluded, In November 2006 Hagers book The Hollow Men
