What Kiwis Googled in 2023: Cyclones, the census and King Charles’ coronation

Among what’s been a year of heavy news events, we also looked for light relief through Google searches. Photo / Getty Images

In 2023 Kiwis have seen it all, from natural disasters to the rising cost of living, three Prime Ministers and conflict overseas.

We’ve watched on as the new King Charles III was crowned, we took part in the Barbenheimer box office battle, we mourned the loss of celebrities like Sinead O’Connor and Matthew Perry.

So, what captured our attention - and dominated our Google search history - this year? Google has released its Year in Search and the results may or may not surprise you.

The Black Ferns featured high on Kiwis' Google searches this year. Photo / Photosport

Sports-loving Kiwis had a huge year, from the record-breaking Fifa Women’s World Cup to the heartbreaking Rugby World Cup final that saw the All Blacks lose to South Africa. But it wasn’t just our home teams that captured our attention - the search data shows Kiwis were also curious about Jake Paul vs Tommy Fury, and the teams Inter Miami, Wrexham and Manchester City, thanks to Netflix’s Beckham.

It’s no surprise that the Kiwis we Googled the most included sportspeople, from Israel Adesanya to Liam Lawson and Lydia Ko, while comedian Dai Henwood and Newstalk ZB host Simon Barnett also figured in the top 10.

Cyclone Gabrielle, which hit the North Island in February this year, was top of mind for many Kiwis in 2023. Photo / Katrina Harris

The weather was top of mind for most of us, with the devastating Cyclone Gabrielle the most-searched news term this year, followed by “Auckland flooding” in sixth place due to the Auckland Anniversary floods.

Matthew Perry was the second-most Googled searched news term for Kiwis this year - the beloved Friends star’s death shocked the world. We lost some truly iconic entertainment figures this year, from Sinead O’Connor to Tina Turner, who all featured high in our Google searches, as did a few people closer to home: MasterChef Australia judge Jock Zonfrillo, Kiwi comedian Cal Wilson and Christchurch real estate agent Yanfei Bao.

Jacinda Ardern's shock resignation featured high on New Zealanders' Google searches this year. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Politics and civic duties also featured high in our Google searches, as we saw Jacinda Ardern’s resignation, took part in a national census and voted in this year’s election. After Ardern, we searched the most for her successor Chris Hipkins, then Labour’s Kiri Allan, and our new PM Christopher Luxon.

As we Googled how to register for voting and where to cast our ballots, we also kept up with global events - King Charles’ coronation had us looking up chicken and quiche recipes. We looked up the missing Titan submarine and followed the news of its implosion, and searched for updates on the devastating conflict in Gaza and Israel.

But among what’s been a year of heavy news events, we also looked for light relief. Oppenheimer and Barbie were the top two movies we searched for, followed by James Cameron’s long-awaited Avatar sequel and the Oscar-winning Everything Everywhere All At Once.

It’s no surprise Barbie herself, Margot Robbie, was high on the list of celebrities we searched for, as well as those who paid us a visit this year: Harry Styles, Ed Sheeran and Elton John (though his show didn’t go ahead due to flooding) and those who didn’t: Taylor Swift, though many of us will have lined up for tickets to her Australia shows.

We Googled Taylor Swift a lot this year, despite the fact she's not coming to New Zealand as part of her Eras tour. Photo / AP

Most of us Google recipes now instead of turning to a cookbook, and it looks like we were all after comfort food this year - the top search term for baking recipes was “cookie”, followed by “scone”, “afghan”, “icing” and “mud cake”. Those of us who don’t have a sweet tooth searched “yorkshire pudding”, “focaccia”, “coronation quiche”, “coronation chicken” and “teriyaki sauce” for inspiration.

Check out the full trending Search data for New Zealand in 2023:

News

1. Cyclone Gabrielle

2. Matthew Perry

3. Election Results

4. Census 2023

5. Auckland Airport

6. Auckland Flooding

7. Jacinda Ardern

8. War in Israel and Gaza

9. Auckland Shooting

10. Submarine Missing

Sporting events

1. Rugby World Cup

2. FIFA World Cup

3. NRL Ladder

4. Cricket World Cup

5. Warriors vs Broncos

6. All Blacks vs Ireland

7. ASB Classic

8. Ashes

9. All Blacks vs France

10. Jake Paul vs Tommy Fury

Sports teams

1. Warriors

2. All Blacks

3. Black Caps

4. Inter Miami

5. Lakers

6. Football Ferns

7. Wrexham

8. Chiefs

9. Breakers

10. Manchester City

Loss

1. Matthew Perry

2. Sinead O’Connor

3. Jock Zonfrillo

4. Ken Block

5. Tina Turner

6. Nicola Bulley

7. Yanfei Bao

8. Cal Wilson

9. Angus Cloud

10. Lance Reddick

Global figures

1. Posie Parker

2. Andrew Tate

3. Taylor Swift

4. David Beckham

5. Harry Styles

6. Prince Harry

7. Margot Robbie

8. Jeremy Renner

9. Elton John

10. Ed Sheeran

Notable New Zealanders

1. Ryan Fox

2. Israel Adesanya

3. Liam Lawson

4. Lydia Ko

5. Dai Henwood

6. Shaun Johnson

7. Rachin Ravindra

8. Simon Barnett

9. Sam Whitelock

10. Michael Boxall

New Zealand politicians

1. Jacinda Ardern

2. Chris Hipkins

3. Kiri Allen

4. Christopher Luxon

5. Winston Peters

6. David Seymour

7. Carmel Sepuloni

8. Wayne Brown

9. Chloe Swarbrick

10. Marama Davidson

Movies

1. Oppenheimer

2. Barbie

3. Avatar

4. Everything Everywhere All At Once

5. Guardians of the Galaxy

6. John Wick 4

7. The Menu

8. Sound of Freedom

9. Puss in Boots

10. Glass Onion

Series

1. The Last of Us

2. Ginny & Georgia

3. The Night Agent

4. Daisy Jones & The Six

5. Wednesday

6. Queen Charlotte

7. Succession

8. Beef

9. White Lotus

10. The Idol

Definitions

1. Culvert

2. Cis white male

3. Wan

4. Woman

5. Proclaim

6. Staid

7. Credo

8. Snafu

9. Contempt

10. Misogyny

Sweet recipes

1. Cookie

2. Scone

3. Afghan

4. Icing

5. Mug cake

6. Red velvet cake

7. Pancakes

8. Muffin

9. Orange cake

10. Pikelets

Savoury recipes

1. Yorkshire Pudding

2. Focaccia

3. Coronation Quiche

4. Coronation Chicken

5. Teriyaki Sauce

6. Fry Bread

7. Pulled Pork

8. Bagel

9. Big Mac Sauce

10. Chicken Nibbles

How To

1. How to vote

2. How to lock Facebook profile

3. How to watch Rugby World Cup

4. How to deactivate Facebook

5. How to solve a Rubik’s cube

6. How to get rid of my AI on Snapchat

7. How to say happy Matariki

8. How to register to vote

9. How to watch women’s world cup

10. How to find Matariki

What is...?

1. What is Threads?

2. What is happening in Israel?

3. What is Hamas?

4. What is a blue moon?

5. What is ALS?

6. What is the Willow Project?

7. What is Oppenheimer about?

8. What is ChatGPT?

9. What is a culvert?

10. What is Matariki day?

Why?

1. Why are Israel and Gaza fighting?

2. Why is Book Depository closing?

3. Why were chainsaws invented?

4. Why is there an egg shortage?

5. Why did Hamas invade Israel?

6. Why was the Interislander ferry Kaitaki in the news last week?

7. Why did Jacinda Ardern retire?

8. Why is China upset with Japan?

9. Why were some roads closed and the public asked to avoid an area in central Auckland last week?

10. Why is it called a blue moon?

D.I.Y

1. Headboard

2. Chicken Coop

3. Lash Extensions

4. Easy Halloween Costumes

5. Chocolate Gift Box Ideas

6. Mother’s Day Gifts

7. Solar Panels

8. Dog Wash

9. Fly Screen

10. Advent Calendar

How to cook

1. How to cook pasta

2. How to cook steak

3. How to cook lamb chops

4. How to cook brown rice

5. How to cook tofu

6. How to cook choko

7. How to cook rhubarb

8. How to cook salmon

9. How to cook crayfish

10. How to cook frankfurters