Events In History
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18 February 1957New Zealand's last execution
Walter Bolton, a 68-year-old Whanganui farmer, became the last person executed in New Zealand. Read more...
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18 August 195520-year-old hanged for murder
Edward Te Whiu was one of the last four people executed in New Zealand. He admitted to killing 75-year-old widow Florence Smith, but his underprivileged background and childlike mental state led some to question the appropriateness of the death penalty. Read more...
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17 September 1941Flogging and whipping abolished
As well as (temporarily) doing away with capital punishment for murder, the Crimes Amendment Act 1941 abolished judicial provision for flogging and whipping. Read more...
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25 August 1916New Zealand soldier executed
After being found guilty of desertion, 28-year-old Private Frank Hughes was killed by a firing squad in Hallencourt, northern France. He was the first New Zealand soldier executed during the First World War. Read more...
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12 August 1895Winton baby-farmer Minnie Dean hanged
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 for many women in this period. Read more...
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29 December 1880Tuhiata 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. He wrote to the governor days before his execution, asking that 'my bad companions, your children, beer, rum and other spirits die with me'. Read more...
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16 November 1869Hamiora Pere executed for treason
Hamiora Pere was hanged at the Terrace Gaol, Wellington. He is the only New Zealander to have been executed after being convicted of treason. Read more...
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5 October 1866Maungatapu murderers hanged in Nelson
Burgess, Kelly and Levy were hanged. Joseph Sullivan, the fourth member of the 'Burgess gang', received a life sentence after turning Queen's evidence and helping convict his co-accused. Read more...
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7 March 1842New Zealand's first official execution
17-year-old Maketū Wharetōtara was hanged in public, at the corner of Queen and Victoria streets in Auckland, for the 1841 murder of Elizabeth Roberton, her two children, and two other adults. Read more...
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20 November 1841Mass murder in the Bay of Islands
Maketū Wharetōtara, the 17-year-old son of the Ngāpuhi chief Ruhe, killed five people at Motuarohia in the Bay of Islands. In March 1842 he became the first person to be legally executed in this country. Read more...
Articles
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.
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Page 2 – The first execution
On 7 March 1842 Maketu Wharetotara, the 17-year-old son of the Ngāpuhi chief Ruhe of Waimate, became the first person to be legally executed in New Zealand.
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Page 3 – Mokomoko and Völkner
The Te Whakatōhea chief Mokomoko was one of five Māori executed on 17 May 1866 for being involved in the murder of the missionary Carl Volkner at Ōpōtiki in 1865. The
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Page 4 – The last execution
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
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Page 5 – List of executions
Between Maketu's execution in 1842 and Walter Bolton in 1957, there were a further 82 executions.
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Page 6 – Further information
This web feature was written by Steve Watters and produced by the NZHistory.net.nz team. Information about the execution of Maketū Wharetōtara was updated in 2021.
Maungatapu murders, 1866
The 'Burgess gang' murdered and thieved their way around the South Island during the 1860s. Their most notorious crime was five killings over two days in June 1866, on the Maungatapu track near Nelson. Now you can read their story in a virtual comic book.
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Page 6 – The executions
Members of the Nelson Volunteers surrounded the gaol on the morning of the execution to ensure that 'good order was maintained' by the public.
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Page 8 – Further information
Further reading and links to information about the Maungatapu murders
Related keywords
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Main image: Victor Spencer - shot for desertion
After being wounded on the Western Front Victor Spencer suffered from 'shell-shock' and was eventually shot by firing squad for desertion.