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Report of executions - Maungatapu murders
Execution of Burgess, Kelly and LevyUse the scroll bar at the top of the article to increase the font size. Move around the article by click and dragging your mouse. codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,29,0" width="499" height="350"> Report of the executions on 5 October 1866. The report leaves out the gruesome detail that the hangman had to jump to the ground and swing on Kelly's legs until his 'struggles ceased'.
Dunedin gaol
Dunedin gaol where Joseph Sullivan was kept from 1868-74. Richard Burgess and Thomas Kelly (then Noon) were sent here from 1862-65 for robbery and associated charges
Felix Mathieu - Maungatapu murders
Felix Mathieu, a publican and storekeeper who was murdered at Maungatapu
Trial report - Maungatapu murders
Trial summing up, 17-18 September 1866 Use the scroll bar at the top of the article to increase the font size. Move around the article by click and dragging your mouse. codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,29,0" width="499" height="350"> Report of the last two days of the trial of the Burgess gang. Article source: Nelson Evening Mail 18 September 1866 from Paperspast (see issues of 12-17 October 1866 for rest of the trial). You can also download this file as a pdf (1mb).
The remission of Sullivan - Maungatapu murders
Letter regarding remission of Sullivan's punishment codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,29,0" width="499" height="350"> Use the scroll bar at the top of the article to increase the text size. You can also download this file as a pdf (2.1mbs). Superintendent Nelson to Superintendent Canterbury: reasons for remission of punishment for [Joseph] Sullivan in Maungatupatu [Maungatapu] murder case, 31 December 1866.
Map showing movements of the Burgess gang
Map showing main locations of Burgess gang crimes
The Burgess gang
The Burgess gang photographed at Nelson gaol in 1866
James De Pontius - Maungatapu murders
James de Pontius, the American miner killed at Maungatapu on 13 June 1866
Confession of Burgess - Maungatapu murders
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Aftermath - the Maungatapu murders
When Joseph Sullivan returned to Hokitika to give evidence about the robbery of the Hokitika police camp and the murder of George Dobson, a mob called for him to be lynched
The executions - Maungatapu murders
Members of the Nelson Volunteers surrounded the gaol on the morning of the execution to ensure 'good order was maintained' by the public.
The trial - Maungatapu murders
Depositions against the gang began on 2 August 1866 and attracted great excitement. It was only now that it was revealed that Sullivan had informed on the others.
Sullivan's betrayal - the Maungatapu murders
Joseph Sullivan claimed to have acted solely as a lookout for the gang, and informed the police about the killing of James Battle, incriminating the others
The crimes - Maungatapu murders
For a few short months the Burgess gang embarked upon a crime spree along the west coast of the South Island that would culminate in the murder of five men on the Maungatapu Track.
The Burgess gang - Maungatapu murders
Richard Burgess, the gang's ringleader, originally known as Richard Hill, had been transported from London to Melbourne for theft at the age of 16, arriving in 1847
Venn Young - homosexual law reform in New Zealand
Venn Young (left) stands with two National Party members in 1980. In 1974 Venn Young introduced a Crimes Amendment Bill to legalise homosexuality for those 21 and over but failed to get it passed into law.
Criminal Code against homosexuals, 1893
The 'Crimes against Morality' section of the 1893 Criminal Code included punishments of flogging, whipping and hard labour for homosexual acts. These provisions continued until removed under the Crimes Act 1961.
Birth of the gay movement - homosexual law reform
Social and political groups for homosexuals in New Zealand began with the Dorian Society in the 1960s. By the next decade, sexual and social liberation was in the air.
Youth and crime
In 1950s New Zealand there were a number of serious criminal cases involving young people. Such court cases received heavy media coverage and intensified public fears about delinquency.
Conscientious Objectors at Hautu Detention Camp, 1943
Conscientious objectors, behind a barbed wire fence at Hautu Detention Camp, November 1943

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