New Zealand Woman’s Weekly Celebrates 85 Years.
She might be the oldest girl on the newsstand – blowing out an impressive 85th candles on her birthday cake this month –
but New Zealand Woman’s Weekly is looking glossier and better than ever in a special birthday edition hitting shelves
this week.
New Zealand’s most-read newsstand magazine raises a toast to love, life and growing older gracefully, with a special
super-sized perfect-bound issue to mark the milestone birthday.
Editor Alice O’Connell says the easiest decision in making this issue was choosing her cover star. “We really had our
pick of the bunch of celebrities to feature on this celebratory issue, but to me, there was only ever one choice – Kerre
McIvor. Kerre has long been a key part of the Weekly and is joined by our wonderful Weekly columnists who include the
likes of Kevin Milne, Nici Wickes, Wendyl Nissen and Jeremy Corbett. They’re the second family our readers turn to each
week for advice, practical information, reassurance and a good laugh, so it was only fitting that they were the ones to
champion this special issue.”
The columnists are joined by a host of well-known Kiwis for special features, alongside regular columns like Food,
Travel, Puzzles, and - of course – Over the Teacups. Readers are taken on a trip down memory lane, recounting the
Weekly’s history which has provided a unique record of the changing role that women have played in NZ society.
But the biggest feature belongs to the readers themselves: a beautiful 15-page section that puts fellow 85-year-old Kiwi
women front and centre, who each tell their own stories – their triumphs, their heartbreaks and the lessons they’ve
learnt to pass on to the next generation. “We live in a world that is so preoccupied and fixated with youthfulness and
appearances, so I felt our 85th issue was the perfect time to flip that focus,” says Alice O’Connell. “Each week the New
Zealand Woman’s Weekly celebrates the Kiwi woman who is proudly aged 40+. But in this issue we look to our older
generation – those women who were born in 1932, just like the Weekly – and asked them to pass onto us their stories,
their advice and their insights, in a celebration of true beauty and wisdom.”
The collector’s edition has a unique retro design, paying tribute to the magazine’s rich history which stretches back to
its first issue in 1932. It was an ambitious concept, launching such a title in the depths of the Great Depression, but
the Weekly proved itself to be an essential part of Kiwi living – something it continues to be today.