100 Years of ZB: The big and memorable moments of Newstalk ZB

While Newstalk ZB strives to cover the nation's —and the world's— major events and memorable moments, we've also had our own. 

It would be impossible to discuss the station's big moments without mentioning Sir Paul Holmes – Newstalk ZB's first breakfast host. He took on the role in March 1987, holding it for over 21 years before deciding to pass the baton to our current host, Mike Hosking, at the end of 2008.  

Mike's first show as the permanent host was on Monday, January 12th, 2009, and it set the stage for what was to come for the next 18 years.  

Although he was gone from the breakfast show, Paul was not gone from ZB itself – instead he hosted the Saturday Morning show from 2009 until his retirement at the end of 2012, as a result of ill-health. 

So a new host was found, a 26 year old journalist from Canterbury – Jack Tame. In his very first show —both for ZB and radio itself— he admitted he was flying a bit blind, but has well and truly found his stride after over a decade behind the mic.  

Unfortunately, it was only a few months later when we received some heartbreaking news – Sir Paul Holmes had passed away. We broadcast his funeral live, with tearful tributes from a suite of speakers including his daughter and former station head Bill Francis.  

ZB mourned another of its icons in 2022, when Bruce Russell suddenly passed away just before he was due to host his overnight show. Tim Dower led the tributes immediately after we learned the news, and then Tim Roxborough hosted a special In My Day show in his memory.  

Bruce Russell hosted ZB's Overnights and In My Day. Photo / Newstalk ZB

One of the secrets to our success is the longevity of our hosts. Many have spent decades behind the mic, but eventually the time comes to hang up the headphones.  

At the end of 2018 and after 33 years, Leighton Smith hosted his final Mornings show. He went out on a high note – the switchboards the busiest they'd been in his entire career.  

Kerre Woodham took on the job in 2019, and that wasn't the only changing of the guard that year, as Larry Williams decided it was time to give up his Drive slot after 27 years.  

A couple months after Larry's emotional final broadcast, Heather du Plessis-Allan hosted Drive for the first time, asking —somewhat ironically considering the assertive approach she's now known for— the audience to be gentle with her.  

ZB has always prided itself on giving the audience what it wants and needs, and in 2013, a growing number of listeners were tuning in earlier in the morning. So we created a new show, Early Edition, hosted first by Rachel Smalley, then Kate Hawkesby, and now, Ryan Bridge. 

Sport has always been a big part of our offering, and a huge part of that was the iconic Murray Deaker. He hosted Scoreboard, Sportstalk, and at the tail-end of his career, Deaker on Sunday. 

Murray Deaker in the Newstalk ZB studio ahead of announcing his retirement in 2013. Photo / Richard Robinson 

He hung up the headphones in 2018, capping off his ZB career with a mammoth six hour broadcast that brought the number of hours he'd spent on air to a tidy 12,570. Nowadays ZB's main sport offering is split between two hosts – Jason Pine on Weekend Sport, and D'Arcy Waldegrave on Sportstalk.  

Newstalk ZB's history is filled with thousands of memorable and iconic moments, but there are a few in particular that our hosts hold close to their hearts.  

Heather du Plessis-Allan  

"My moment on ZB, when I think about it, was probably actually something quite personal – which was telling everybody I was pregnant with my first child." 

"The longer I'm in this job, the more I realise how much my personal life is intertwined with my job, and how much I share about my personal life, and how much the audience, people listening, you, are kind of like friends in a way, because you know all of the stuff that's going on, 'cause I talk about it, so you're, in a way, part of my life." 

Jason Pine 

"My favourite moment on Newstalk ZB was the honour of covering the All Whites at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. New Zealand's return to football's biggest stage for the first time since 1982."  

"The All Whites, unbeaten at the FIFA World Cup – the only unbeaten side at that FIFA World Cup. Covering the tournament on and off the field, being able to connect the team with the hundreds of thousands listening back home, was a privilege and a pleasure."  

Kerre Woodham 

"It's impossible to pin down one moment ... but I do have one call from 2013 that I always think of and always makes me laugh." 

"I was heading off to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, and I had a week afterwards, and I was telling the audience, 'Oh my goodness I'm so excited, I'm going on safari, hopefully I'll see elephants, and lions, and tigers, and it's going to be so exciting'.  

"I finished wittering and Louis came up ... 'I thought people on the radio knew everything'. And I said, 'Oh Louis,' (in a slightly condescending tone) 'Nobody knows everything.' 'Yeah, but I'm only 12 and I know there's no tigers in Africa ... I listen to learn things and you don't know anything, you're stupid. I'm never listening again'. And he hung up!"  

Ryan Bridge  

"This is a hard one ... but I'd have to say, one that springs to mind is an interview I did in November of 2025 with Sonya Rockhouse."  

"Sonya's son died in the Pike River Mine explosion, and these guys are still fighting to try and hold somebody accountable for what happened." 

Pike River Mine family members Anna Osborne, left, and Sonya Rockhouse, right, in 2018. Photo / Mark Mitchell 

Francesca Rudkin 

"The favourite thing about my job is the people I meet ... and I've been really fortunate as the host of the Sunday Session to talk to a really wide range of talented, interesting, and successful people." 

"One of the most memorable interviews I did was with Robbie Williams, and not just because it was with Robbie Williams, but because I had to record it at two in the morning ... there aren't many people I would get up and come in and interview for fifteen minutes at 2am, but he was absolutely worth it." 

D'Arcy Waldegrave 

"It's almost impossible to identify one key moment ... I want to isolate one particular individual though, who has been a constant ever since I turned up, representing this company – his name is Scott Dixon."  

"I first connected with him before he was an IndyCar champion, before he won Indy 500 ... before anything big happened he was always there. Then he started winning championship titles, but he still remained a constant. He's remained the same, super enthusiastic and willing to share his experience in international motorsports with the people from his homeland who he cares about very, very much." 

Jack Tame  

"For what I reckon is an ultimate career highlight ... I interviewed the British writer, A. A. Gill. I don't reckon there is a word he's published over the years that I haven't consumed." 

"So I thought very carefully about the question line, I thought very carefully about the breadth of his work over the years, and at the very end of the interview, I had the chance to tell A. A. Gill in person just how much how writing had meant to me over the years."  

Matt Heath 

"The most, sort of touching thing, and this is something that you don't experience at other radio stations, but it's the reach that the radio station has." 

"Just the other day actually we were having a discussion about SRRIs and we got a call from a guy that is suffering PTSD and was on antidepressants after he had been the chief ground crew for that horrific hot air balloon crash and carted in back in 2012." 

"The next caller through was from a listener whose sister had been one of the people that had died in the fire and had jumped out of the balloon ... and she wanted to ring in and send her love to the previous caller."  

Tyler Adams  

"For me, Newstalk ZB has always been about the listeners and the callers, but one caller from my Christchurch days has always stuck with me." 

"His name was Jim Hutton, or old Jim as listeners and us knew him. He was a former veterinary pathologist and a regular, regular caller on all sorts of issues ... his other great passion, as we found out, was the Prebbleton Nature Park, and he talked about it so often when he rang through that eventually we took him up on his invitation to come and have a look." 

"I will always remember that visit."  

These are just a few snippets of a few of our hosts' favourite moments – hear the full details and a few more of our hosts in Episode 5 of the 100 Years of ZB Podcast.