The first execution - capital punishment

First official execution in New Zealand, 7 March 1842

On 7 March 1842 Maketu Wharetotara, the 17-year-old son of the Nga Puhi chief Ruhe of Waimate, became the first official execution in New Zealand. The previous November at Motuarohia in the Bay of Islands, he had split Thomas Bull's head open with an axe while he slept. Maketu then killed Elizabeth Roberton, her two children and Isabella Brind, the granddaughter of the Nga Puhi leader Rewa, who lived with the Robertons.

Maketu worked with Bull on a farm owned by Roberton, a widow. He killed them because he believed they had offended his mana. Bull had been verbally and physically abusive towards him, and Mrs Roberton had sworn at him. Maketu failed to explain why he felt it necessary to kill Mrs Roberton's two children or Isabella. In the end it was perhaps the killing of Isabella alone that sealed his fate.

Maketu sought refuge in his father's village. Local settlers feared the killings were the start of something bigger. The local police magistrate, Thomas Beckham, refused to act for fear of provoking Maketu's kin.

Nga Puhi reaction

What many settlers overlooked, however, was that Maketu had killed the granddaughter of a high-ranking chief. Should Rewa demand utu for the death of Isabella, a significant intertribal conflict was possible. To avoid war with Rewa, Ruhe surrendered his son, and other Nga Puhi leaders distanced themselves from Maketu's action. A statement to this effect was sent to the government at Auckland, requesting that Maketu not be allowed to return to the north. Clearly there was some concern that Maketu's actions might provoke a widespread response from the Pakeha authorities. A lone voice in opposing handing Maketu to the authorities was Hone Heke.

Many Europeans felt that, as they were still in the minority, they had to tread carefully when it came to imposing British authority on Maori. Thomas Beckham's initial reaction to Maketu's actions suggests this. This case was to be hailed by some European observers as a significant turning point, a triumph of British law and order and an acceptance on the part of Maori of British jurisdiction in affairs between Maori and Pakeha. Ruhe would not have seen his actions in the same light.

The trial

Maketu's trial began on 1 March 1842. He had a Crown-appointed lawyer, C.B. Brewer, and the missionary George Clarke and his son (also George) served as his interpreters. Maketu pleaded not guilty. Brewer pointed out that all the witnesses to the killings were dead, but Maketu had spoken of his guilt to others who were called as witnesses. Under the circumstances a not guilty verdict was highly unlikely. Maketu was duly convicted and hanged on 7 March 1842.

Maketu asked to be baptised on the morning of his hanging. The Anglican Reverend John Churton baptised the condemned teenager with the name Wiremu Kingi. His family was initially denied his body, but in early 1843 his remains were returned for burial in the family cemetery at the Bay of Islands.

European judicial process versus utu

Maketu was the first person to be legally hanged in New Zealand. As the case involved a Maori and interracial killings, it was a highly contentious affair that had to be handled carefully.

In order to reassure Maori of the impartiality of the British judicial process, Maketu's trial was postponed for a day to enable a European to be tried for murder. This man was found guilty of manslaughter, however, and escaped the death penalty. A year later Maori would question how the British justice system could fail to convict and execute the European murderer of Rangihoua Kuika despite what was seen as overwhelming evidence of guilt.

There were no great concerns over the guilty verdict, but there was a degree of shock and concern among Maori over the manner of Maketu's execution. The British legal process was seen as drawn-out and cold-blooded. Maori custom would have resulted in almost immediate death and, as the son of a chief, Maketu could have expected to receive a blow from a mere to the back of his head. The fact that the execution was public was considered to be a great source of shame and humiliation.

The colonial government viewed Maketu's case as the first major test of the application of British law to a Maori offender; in its opinion, the authority of the Crown and its officials had been upheld. The government believed this now assured its jurisdiction over cases of interracial violence. An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand 1966 claims that 'the natives of that area' were 'much impressed with the effectiveness, impartiality, and fearlessness of British justice'. The missionary Henry Williams believed that in the end Maketu had been handed over not because there was overwhelming support for the British judicial process but because he had killed Rewa's granddaughter.