Baby
farmers were paid caregivers who allegedly neglected children in their care, concealed their deaths or
deliberately murdered the infants. The most notorious was Minnie Dean, who, in 1895, became the first (and only) woman to be hanged for murder
in New Zealand.
In 1895 Southland's Williamina (Minnie)
Dean became the first – and only – woman to be hanged in New Zealand. Her story
exposed the stark realities of paid childcare and the lack of choice that
many women faced in this period.