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 August 1895, became the first (and only) woman to be hanged for murder
in New Zealand.
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.
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.
This law change also ended flogging and whipping as punishments for murder. National reintroduced the death penalty in 1950 but it was finally abolished as the penalty for murder in 1961.
Tuhiata, known as Tuhi, was hanged in Wellington for the murder of the artist Mary Dobie at Te Namu Bay, Ōpunake. Tuhi wrote to the governor days before his execution asking that ‘my bad companions, your children, beer, rum and other spirits die with me'.
The sensational murder trial of Daniel and
Martha Cooper revealed that the difficulties facing single mothers and unwanted children continued well into the 20th century.
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.
