
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. Maketu was hanged at the corner of Queen and Victoria Streets in Auckland for the murder of Mrs Roberton, her two children and two others at the Bay of Islands the previous November.
Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand
Painting by Merrett, Joseph Jenner
Reference: E-216-f-141
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