This Waitangi Day the New Zealand Herald revisits some of the remarkable New Zealanders profiled in Canvas.
No funny business. Bret McKenzie gets serious
Thousands of times now, Brett McKenzie has played the songs with which he and Jemaine Clement reinvented musical comedy. They're no longer funny to him. Hesays they stopped being funny after the first 10 or so performances.
It's 14 years since at Quinton Hita quit playing ambulance driver Nelson Copeland on Shortland Street. Today, he heads Kura Productions, a joint venture with South Pacific Pictures.
"Some people are in this industry because they live and breathe film and television, but that's not my motivation. My motivation is Māori development. I see this as a burgeoning industry and it has really positive benefits for the reo."
Karen O'Leary is known for her role as Officer Policewoman O'Leary in Jemaine Clement's hit television show Wellington Paranormal. Photo / Nicola Edmonds
Anne-Marie Brady's series of unfortunate events
A lot of time, firepower and resources has been put into investigating the burglary of Anne-Marie Brady's suburban Christchurch home.
The burglary which was likely related to the publication of her paper titled "Magic Weapons: China's political influence activities under Xi Jinping".
Anne-Marie Brady is a New Zealand politics academic who specialises in Chinese politics. Photo / Michael Craig
The Design Junkies host who painted his way out of depression
Shane Hansen lives on the intersection of creativity and commerce. An artist who can pay his bills, but is unlikely to be selected for the Venice Biennale et al, any time soon.
"I think it's quite nice sometimes just for art to be something that looks pretty and people like it because it's that. Why does there have to be elitism? I'll never be in that realm. I think I sit in that space of being a bit more commercial and a bit more, I don't know - mainstream?"
Artist Jacqueline Fahey in her Grey Lynn studio. Photo / Dean Purcell
'Holy crap, what have I done?': The teen who egged politician
Three hours after watching the Christchurch mosque shooting on Facebook, Will Connolly read then-Australian senator Fraser Anning's thoughts about it on Facebook - Anning blamed the massacre on "the immigration programme which allowed Muslim fanatics to migrate".
It provoked Connolly to post: "I'd like to be face to face with this muppet." His assumption was that he never would be - he lived in Melbourne; Anning lived in Queensland. But then Anning paid a visit to Moorabbin, just a short bike ride from Connolly's house.
Footage of Connolly cracking an egg on Anning's head would soon go viral.
He might not be a Kiwi but Connolly's response in the wake of the Christchurch massacre won hearts across New Zealand.
