Black Sheep

A cottage burns down, three mutilated bodies are found inside and there are fears the whole city of Auckland could be at risk. In this episode of Black Sheep, William Ray investigates the story of the first European to be judicially executed in New Zealand history. October 10th, 1847. The brutal murder of a Devonport family leaves Auckland fearing an invasion of vengeful Māori. But when that threat fails to materialise the police are left trying to solve New Zealand's first ever whodunnit...It began just after midnight, when lookouts on the HMS Dido spot flames rising from the house of Lieutenant Robert Snow.The sailors rush ashore and extinguish the blaze but after, find the badly mutilated bodies of Lt. Robert Snow, his wife Hannah and their four year old daughter, Mary.Pieces of flesh had been cut from all three bodies. The sailors know what that means... Cannibalism.The New Zealander (one of Aotearoa's very first newspapers) is quick to lay blame for the murder of the Snow family:"There can be no doubt that the natives were perpetrators of this foul deed. Our native police pronounced the wounds to be Maori handiwork at once. The mutilation of the bodies, from all three of which large pieces of flesh had been cut by knives, and the parts from whence they were cut, is conclusive evidence."The only controversy is whether the Māori killers were motivated by personal revenge against Snow, or if this is a precursor to a wider attack on Auckland itself.As The New Zealander put it: "If the matter be political, this act, according to Maori custom, is a declaration of war."Most of the prominent Māori chiefs who live near Auckland are equally convinced the murders were committed by Māori and are even more anxious than the European colonists to find the perpetrators."Chief Patuone over on the North Shore was very friendly towards Pakeha and chief Te Whero Whero in the Northern Waikato was also" says Terry Carson, author of The Axeman's Accomplice - a book about the Snow family murders. "They were quite keen that nothing interfere with the relationship" he explains.Māori leaders assure the colonists that they will track down the person responsible and at first they have some success. A few weeks after the murders a group of prominent chiefs from Ngāti Maru and Waikato-Tainui arrive in Auckland with a prisoner; a man called Mamuku, who they say killed the Snows.Mamuku is publicly interrogated on the veranda of Government House, but the questioning quickly reveals he knows nothing about the murders.Police and Māori are stumped. But then, a break; the killers give themselves away…Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

In 1981 Dunedin teenager Chris Lewis tried to shoot Queen Elizabeth. Then, at least according to some, authorities tried to cover it up. In this collaboration with Stuff.co.nz journalist Hamish McNeilly, Black Sheep looks into Chris Lewis's bizarre life story. On October 14th, 1981 Dunedin teenager Chris Lewis tried to shoot Queen Elizabeth. Then (at least according to some) the authorities tried to cover it up. In this collaboration with Stuff.co.nz journalist Hamish McNeilly, RNZ's Black Sheep podcast looks into Lewis's bizarre life story.For more on Chris Lewis you can read Hamish McNeilly's series The Snowman and the Queen.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

It's 1871 and the city of Auckland is being terrorised by a string of major fires. Fears are raised that a gang of anarchist fanatics could be responsible but the real culprit turns out to be a well known businessman with an axe to grind against Auckland high society.Cyrus Haley burned down several of the most famous buildings in 19th century Auckland and tried to kill the family of a prominent businessman. To this day we still don't know why...Music in this episode courtesy of Chris Priestly.THE CHASEJanuary 27th, 1872. Auckland's chief of police, Inspector Broham, is hot on the trail of a fugitive who'd been terrorising the city.Over the previous year, this mysterious figure had burned down five major buildings and sent threatening letters to newspapers. He claimed to be the leader of a group that had vowed to "destroy £100,000 worth of property and to take 5 of the lives of the most obnoxious persons."Things got even more serious on January 22nd, 1872. The mystery man fired eight shots into the home of New Zealand's most prominent businessman, Thomas Russell (who featured in a previous Black Sheep episode).But then the criminal slipped up. Returning to Russell's home a few days after the shooting, he set two haystacks on fire. The police were quickly alerted and Inspector Broham spotted a man trying to leave the scene. The New Zealand Herald described the chase:"In the pursuit Mr. Broham had to leap a massive stone wall, cross through an orchard, and again over an hawthorn fence, following up the chase over some very rough ground, across ditches, and through thick scrub. The man was still considerably ahead, as he also proved a swift runner: yet the pace of Mr. Broham told at last, and every minute the distance between the two lessened."Finally, the shadowy figure realised there was no escaping Inspector Broham who the Herald described as "remarkably swift of foot".The man turned on Inspector Broham, raised a gun, and pointed it directly at the police chief."But before he can fire he trips and falls," says historian Mark Derby. " subdues the man... and by the moonlight he recognises him."To everyone's shock the man who'd been terrorising the city was a well known figure in Auckland's commercial scene - an investor and engineer called Cyrus Haley. BAD BEGINNINGSCyrus Haley was 28 when he arrived in New Zealand in 1870 with his wife Emily and their two children.The couple came from relatively wealthy backgrounds and were determined to rise in Auckland's elite social circles. At first, they tried to make a splash in the art scene…Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Charlotte Badger was one of the first European women to live in New Zealand. She was also a pirate... or at least that's the traditional story. This special episode of Black Sheep, recorded live at Charlotte's Kitchen restaurant in Paihia, investigates Charlotte's pirate mystery.Charlotte Badger was one of the very first European women to live in New Zealand. She was also a pirate... or at least that's the traditional story.In a special episode of Black Sheep recorded live at Charlotte's Kitchen restaurant in Paihia, William Ray and his guests, historians Jennifer Ashton and Kate Martin, investigate Charlotte's pirate mystery.Charlotte Badger was born in 1778 in Bromsgrove, a small village outside Worcester in England. Her father was a labourer and the family probably struggled to make ends meet. In desperation, 18 year old Charlotte committed what would be considered a fairly minor crime today - she stole a number of small items, including a silver coin, from her employer.In 17th century England however, housebreaking was a hanging offence and Charlotte was sentenced to death. Luckily, her sentence was commuted and she was instead given seven years transportation to the New South Wales penal colony at Port Dalrymple, now known as Sydney."She arrived in Sydney in 1801 and then she disappears until 1806," says Jennifer Ashton, a historian who's been investigating the supposed pirate's story.Charlotte's reappearance came in the form of a wanted notice posted in the Sydney Gazette in 1806:"The persons under-mentioned and described did, on the 16th day of June 1806, by force of arms and violently and piratically take away from His Majesty's settlement of Port Dalrymple, a Colonial Brig or Vessel called the Venus."The notice went on to name and describe about a dozen mutineers. Last on the list were two women:"Catherine Hagerty, convict. Middle sized, fresh complexion. Much inclined to smile. Hoarse voice.Charlotte Badger, convict. Very corpulent, full face, thick lips, infant child."Later, the Gazette published official depositions from people who witnessed the mutiny, including the ship's captain who said the leaders of the mutiny were the first mate, the pilot of the ship and a soldier. The two women convicts are hardly discussed at all aside from a mention that Catherine Hagerty was "cohabiting" with the first mate, Benjamin Kelly, and had thrown some papers overboard.It seems strange that the captain didn't say much about the two women given that a 1895 newspaper article depicts both Catherine Hagerty and Charlotte Badger taking an active part in the mutiny, armed with swords and pistols…Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Richard Burgess may be New Zealand's most prolific serial killer. In the 1860s he and his outlaw gang roved the West Coast, robbing and murdering dozens of people. The full number of victims is still unknown."Potentially he was New Zealand's worst serial killer..."Richard Burgess may be the most prolific murderer New Zealand has ever seen.It's estimated the death toll his gang of outlaws inflicted while roving the goldfields of the South Island in the 1860s ranged anywhere up to 35 people.The Burgess gang are best known for the so-called Maungatapu murders, crimes which saw all but one of the gang hanged. The lone survivor was Joseph Sullivan, who turned traitor to save his own skin.Burgess' story has inspired several books and magazine features. Currently, a play about his gang's exploits is touring the Marlborough Region.He sealed his place in New Zealand history with a 46-page confession described as "without peer in the literature of murder" by the famous American author Mark Twain."It certainly does make for amazing reading," says Wayne Martin, author of Murder on the Maungatapu. "Right the way through he's quoting anecdotes from classic texts and scripture."Burgess had a love of literature instilled by his mother while growing up in London's Hatton Garden in the 1840s. But although she passed this interest on to her son, she wasn't able to curb his violent, criminal streak ."He followed your classic Victorian street criminal way of life," says Wayne Martin. " from pick-pocketing to crimes of violence eventually caught up with him and saw him transported to Australia."Martin describes Burgess as "hopelessly addicted to crime". And with more than 80 percent of the police force having resigned to seek their fortune in the gold rush in the 1850s, Australia wasn't the best place to kick a criminal addiction.From his late teens and into his twenties Burgess roved the goldfields of Melbourne as part of a gang, robbing miners. Eventually those crimes caught up with him and he was introduced to the horrifically brutal colonial justice system - in particular, the floating prison hulks anchored off the coast of Melbourne where he spent eight years of his sentence.Wayne Martin believes the brutality of those prison ships is what turned Burgess from a relatively normal criminal into a monster."The prisoners on those hulks swore that if they got out they were not coming back to a place like this. They were not going to leave witnesses to testify against them," he says. "That was the seed of the monster he became and also this policy of killing not to leave witnesses."…Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

In 1877 Chief Justice James Prendergast ruled the Treaty of Waitangi was "a simple nullity", in part because it was signed by "simple barbarians" and "savages". Those words have seen him condemned as an arch-villain of NZ history, but was he really? He really is as close as we have to a legal villain"A simple nullity" - three words which damned the man who uttered them to become the most reviled judge in New Zealand history.The quote referred to the Treaty of Waitangi and were part of a ruling which helped justify the separation of Māori from their lands for more than a century. Other words in that ruling include "simple barbarians" and "savages".James Prendergast arrived in New Zealand during the Otago gold-rush in 1862.The son of a judge, he trained as a lawyer at Cambridge University and rose rapidly through the ranks of the New Zealand legal profession. He was appointed Attorney General just three years after arriving in the country."That is just a classic colonial ," says Grant Morris, Victoria University legal historian and author of Prendergast: Legal Villain? "They just don't have the people with enough experience to fill these roles, or at least they only have a few so there is not a lot of competition."In the role of Attorney General, Prendergast provided legal justification for horrific acts of the New Zealand Wars, including the use of 'dead or alive' bounties for Māori leaders.In one legal opinion he wrote that "the revolt has now been carried out in defiance of all the laws of nature, and there can be no doubt that all who have taken part in it have forfeited all claim for mercy."He also dismissed the legitimacy of Māori grievances against the Crown saying:"The Māoris now in arms have put forward no grievance for which they seek redress. Their objective, so far as can be collected from their acts, is murder, cannibalism and rape. They form themselves into bands and roam the country seeking prey"- James Prendergast"There were definitely people in the colony at the time who saw his opinions as being overly harsh," says Grant Morris. "Some would have seen them as not even abiding by the law of the time."Prendergast served as Attorney General until 1875 when he was appointed Chief Justice.In that role, alongside a fellow judge - William Richmond, he presided over the Wi Parata case. As part of his ruling he declared the Treaty of Waitangi was a "simple nullity" insofar as it purported to cede sovereignty to the Crown because the Crown's sovereignty came from 'discovery and occupation' rather than the Treaty…Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

"The most vile criminal ever to be tried in New Zealand" Thomas Hall's crimes scandalised New Zealand when it was revealed he had attempted to murder his wife in order to steal her family fortune."You have achieved in the annals of crime the position of being the vilest criminal ever tried in New Zealand."That's what the judge said to Thomas Hall as he sentenced him to life in prison in 1886.Tom Hall was part of a rich and influential family in Timaru. His uncle, Sir John Hall, was a former Premier of New Zealand. You can imagine the scandal when news broke that a member of that family had attempted to poison his wife in an effort to steal her family fortune.But while the initial reaction was a sort of morbid glee, it quickly turned to horror when the full extent of Tom's crimes were revealed.The son of a rich sheep farmer, Tom Hall was born during a gigantic wool boom in the 20 years from 1850 to 1870. That boom saw Timaru grow from a few shacks on the beach to one of the wealthiest places in the country.Tom initially went into the family business working a sheep run in the Mackenzie Country but quickly abandoned that line of work, due to harsh conditions as revealed in his diary."July 20: stayed a night with Parkerson on the way up. Lots of snow and severe frost. My horse had icicles three inches long on his nostrils. Twenty inches of snow fallen. Twelve inches still lying."Instead, Tom Hall became a businessman... and a con-artist."People thought he was good at what he did," says Peter Graham, author of Vile Crimes: the Timaru Poisonings. "No one had any reason to suspect there was anything wrong with company."Tom's business was in finance, property and insurance, which he used as a cover to steal clients' money and forge documents to get loans from banks."He was shuffling money around left, right and centre," Peter Graham says. "He was trying to stave off the day when he was going to be exposed."A worldwide credit crisis in the 1880s proved disastrous for Tom's scam. With credit drying up he was forced to look elsewhere for money."His way out was to marry a wife with money," Peter says. "He picked upon Kitty Cain. She was one of two stepdaughters of Captain Cain really a founding father of Timaru."But it wasn't enough to simply marry a rich woman, Tom wanted Kitty's money all to himself. Even before they were wed, he was planning on killing her."Tom Hall travelled to Christchurch to get legal advice before he married Kitty," says Peter…Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Arthur Desmond, a New Zealand author with a controversial past, discusses his journey from labor activist to far-right figure. He reflects on his provocative book, 'Hard Cash,' which critiques mainstream media and traditional values, attracting extremists. The conversation reveals Desmond's complex duality, exploring his passionate beginnings in Māori rights alongside his troubling later views. They also examine the lasting impact of his work, particularly 'Might is Right,' and how it resonates with today's political landscape.

Annie Aves was a famous abortionist from the 1930s. She was tried four times but each time the jury failed to reach a verdict. Her career finally came to an end when she was shot and killed by the boyfriend of a woman who'd sought her services.Content Warning: This podcast deals with abortion and infanticide. Some may find it distressing.On October 3, 1938 the city of Napier was in an uproar. That night, a 51 year old woman in the upmarket suburb of Westshore had been gunned down in her front doorway after she opened the door to a stranger.The funeral for the woman drew a big crowd. It followed the hearse through the street and covered her coffin in flowers, but when the man who shot this woman was sentenced the judge all but said the victim had brought her death on herself.That's because Chief Justice Sir Michael Myers knew this woman very well - she was Annie Aves, the famous abortionist who had been tried four times for "using an instrument with intent to procure a miscarriage".All four juries failed to reach a verdict.Annie was orphaned at an early age. Her father committed suicide while she was still in the womb and her mother died when she was three years old.After school she went into domestic service and married Hawke's Bay grape grower, John Craike. The pair had two children but separated after 12 years of marriage. After John's death in 1931 Annie remarried. This time to a music teacher called Charles Aves.Otago University historian Barbara Brookes says it was probably around this time that Annie began her illegal trade in abortion. It was the middle of the Great Depression - Annie would have needed the money and women needed her services."Many women said they just couldn't afford another mouth to feed," Barbara says. "Young women were often very vulnerable. If you were a domestic servant in a house and you got pregnant you lose your job."So-called 'back-street' abortionists could make a lot of money as long as they weren't caught. Annie's records suggest that over an 18 month period she dealt with 183 clients and what would have translated into more than $200 thousand.She used a method called the "sea tangle tent" where a stick of seaweed is inserted into the mouth of the uterus to induce a miscarriage. It was a relatively safe technique which is still sometimes used today by obstetricians to help bring on labour.But the law caught up with Annie Aves in June 1936. "There is a tip-off to the police and the police raid her premises. They find 22 sets of foetal remains," Barbara says…Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Nazi "assassins", mischievous con-artists and power hungry spies... Black Sheep investigates how a pair of hoaxers convinced the government that New Zealand had been infiltrated by Nazi agents. In 1942 the head of New Zealand's first spy agency, the Security Intelligence Bureau (SIB), sent a shocking letter to the Prime Minister.Major Kenneth Folkes told Peter Fraser that Nazi agents had infiltrated New Zealand. He said the Germans had established a network of saboteurs and were planning on blowing up critical infrastructure and assassinating top level politicians.But... the Nazi conspiracy was a hoax, and some historians think Major Folkes deliberately expanded that hoax in an effort to get more power for the SIB.The hoax was dreamed up by two criminals Alfred Remmers and Sydney Ross, who were serving time together in Waikeria prison."Remmers was a policeman," says Sherwood Young, a retired police historian. "He was dismissed because he committed a crime - burgling houses while he was on the beat."Young says Remmers was the mastermind of the hoax but needed a partner in crime to pull it off. " was a man who is sadly dying. Within a very short time he's dead of leukemia and he's in need of some conman to do the legwork."That conman was Sydney Ross, a fraudster and safebreaker."He saw himself as a clever guy who could get away with things," says Beverly Price, who helped her late husband Hugh Price write a book on the Syd Ross hoax, The Plot to Subvert Wartime New Zealand.After being released from prison in March 1942, Ross rang the Minister for Public Works and told him he'd been approached by Nazi conspirators who wanted to use his experience in safebreaking to blow up critical infrastructure to weaken New Zealand ahead of a German invasion."Ross started off with utter honesty," says Beverly Price. "His way of handling his hoax all along was a mixture of what was true and verifiable; and the fantasy - that there were conspirators trying to get in touch with him."The government might have dismissed his story if not for a remarkable coincidence. The Prime Minister had just been told that a plot very similar to the fake conspiracy Ross was describing had just been uncovered in Australia. Just days after Ross came forward, the headline of the Evening Post looked like this:It turned out a proto-fascist group called "Australia First" (no relation to the current Australia First political party) were planning on blowing up infrastructure and distributing propaganda to smooth the way for a Japanese invasion…Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details