New Zealand in London
Dame Fiona Kidman penned a novelisation of Jean Batten’s life as a pioneering aviator, The Infinite Air. The French pilot was the first to cruise solo from England to New Zealand in 1936. There are a handful of novelists and children’s authors who are prominent Down Under, but lack international recognition.
Earlier this year, the New Zealand Society in London awarded Mark Wilson as the UK New Zealander of the Year. The award is a recognition of New Zealanders hard work - business or community-wise - in the United Kingdom.
Kiwis are a serious artistic bunch that love to travel around the world. They understand what it means to look at something with fresh eyes. That is why the Australia & New Zealand Festival of Literature & Arts in London has been a huge success for the past two years.
There is a part of New Zealand in London. The New Zealand War Memorial in Hyde Park is a design collaboration between New Zealand firms Dibble Art Co and Athfield Architects. The memorial, made up of 16 bronze standards on a grassy slope and unveiled in 2006, was set up to remember the New Zealand fallen during the First and Second World Wars.
