Being a single mother is never easy. In the days before state benefits, life could be very tough. Women relied on their families and friends, church or community groups to help financially or to mind the children while they went out to work. Public disapproval was strong – society expected children to be born within marriage and raised by two parents.
Capital punishment in New Zealand
The death penalty
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.
Minnie Dean
The 'Winton baby-farmer'
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.
The first execution - capital punishment
First official execution in New Zealand, 7 March 1842
Reporting the Daniel Cooper baby farmer case
For much of the first six months of 1923, the New Zealand Truth featured dramatic reports of the trial and execution of Newlands baby famer Daniel Cooper.
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Death penalty abolished...for the time being
The Labour Party had long opposed capital punishment, and after taking office in 1935 it commuted all death sentences to life in prison. This policy was confirmed by the abolition of the death penalty for murder in 1941. It was reintroduced by the National government in 1950 before being finally removed from the statute book in 1961.
Tuhiata hanged for murder of Mary Dobie
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 Newlands baby farmers
The sensational 1923 murder trial of Daniel and Martha Cooper revealed that the difficulties facing single mothers and unwanted children continued well into the 20th century.
The last execution - capital punishment
The last execution in New Zealand: Walter Bolton, 18 February 1957
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.
Bolton's execution raised the usual questions about the death penalty. Some people believed that capital punishment was legalised murder and that it was morally wrong to take another human's life in this way. Others opposed capital punishment on religious grounds or on the grounds that mistakes were made.
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