The first execution in New Zealand was that of a young Maori named Maketu, convicted at Auckland in 1842. Walter Bolton became the last to be executed when he was hanged at Mount Eden prison in 1957. In total there were 83 verified executions for murder and one for treason in New Zealand between these dates.
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.
Don McKenzie, a former prison psychologist at Mt Eden and retired director of research in the Justice Department, describes reactions to a hanging in the prison.
The Te Whakatohea chief, Mokomoko was one of five Maori executed on May 17 for being implicated in the murder of the missionary Carl Volkner at Opotiki in 1865. The government punished Te Whakatohea further for Volkner's death by confiscating of much of Te Whakatohea 's land.
Walter Bolton was the last person to be executed in New Zealand when he was convicted of poisoning his wife, Beatrice. He was hanged for her murder at Mount Eden prison. The death penalty for murder was abolished in New Zealand in 1961, and there were claims that this was due partly to the circumstances surrounding Bolton's case.
