Black Sheep

RNZ•www.rnz.co.nz

The shady, controversial and sometimes downright villainous characters of NZ history. Join William Ray as he explores history through the lens of Kiwi dirtbags in NZ's most awarded podcast.

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Episodes

Epidemic: the story of Robert Logan

Can you imagine if 20 per cent of the people you know suddenly died? How would you feel if the people in charge blocked doctors from helping them? For Samoans in 1918 this wasn't a hypothetical question. Imagine if one fifth of all the people you know suddenly died. Let's say you closely know about 200 people. Friends, coworkers, family - maybe a few local shopkeepers. Within a few weeks 40 of them are dead. Imagine how you would feel burying 40 people who were close to you. Now, how would you f...

Sep 03, 2017•27 min•Season 2Ep. 1

Grave Robber: the story of Andreas Reischek

In the 1880s Austrian naturalist and ethnographer Andreas Reischek stole four mummified Māori corpses and smuggled them out of the country so they could be displayed at a museum in Vienna. He also shot hundreds of native New Zealand birds to preserve them "for science". In the 1880s Andreas Reischek stole four mummified corpses from an urupa near Kawhia so he could sell them to a museum in his native Austria. The bodies made up just a fraction of a gigantic collection of preserved birds, lizards...

Nov 27, 2016•21 min•Season 1Ep. 7

War profiteer: the story of Thomas Russell

The worst kind of villain in New Zealand history was... an Auckland property speculator. In this week's episode, we learn about the worst kind of villain in New Zealand history... an Auckland property speculator. Historian and author Vincent O'Malley tells the story of Thomas Russell and his victims, both Māori and Pakeha. Today these baby boomer 'bastards' are accused of driving house prices through the roof but in the past they helped start and push along the Waikato War, one of the most unjus...

Nov 20, 2016•19 min•Season 1Ep. 6

Eugenics: the story of a really bad idea

Did you know that after WWI New Zealand established an official eugenics board? We tend to think of eugenics as being something the Nazis invented but really it was embraced all around the world in the 19th and early 20th centuries. In this episode of Black Sheep historian and disability researcher Hilary Stace traces the history of New Zealand's eugenicists. CORRECTION: The elderly Chinese man murdered by Lionel Terry was named Joe Kum Yung. He was killed in Haining Street, Wellington, on 24 Se...

Nov 13, 2016•22 min•Season 1Ep. 5

Warrior Chief: the story of Hongi Hika

Hongi Hika is a man with a difficult legacy. He's one of the greatest figures in New Zealand history, but he's also often held responsible for starting the Musket Wars. Hongi Hika is a man with a difficult legacy. He's one of the greatest figures in New Zealand history, but he's also often held responsible for starting the Musket Wars - an outpouring of inter-tribal violence which may have claimed the lives of as many as 20,000 Maori. History Professor Paul Moon tells how Hongi's skill as a poli...

Nov 06, 2016•21 min•Season 1Ep. 4

Faith Fraud: the story of Arthur Worthington

Arthur Worthington was a con artist who travelled the USA, marrying rich women then abandoning them and stealing all their money. With private detectives hot on his tail, he jumped on a ship bound for Christchurch where he set up his own religion and his own church. Arthur Worthington was a con artist who travelled the USA, marrying rich women then abandoning them and stealing all their money. With private detectives hot on his tail in 1890, he jumped on a ship bound for Christchurch where he se...

Oct 30, 2016•21 min•Season 1Ep. 3

Bad cop: the story of John Cullen

In 1916 John Cullen led a small army of police deep into the forests of Te Urewera to arrest the Tuhoe prophet Rua Kenana - his crime? Preaching that his followers shouldn't sign up to fight in the First World War. But the raid is a complete disaster. Cullen oversees the shooting of two men in cold blood and the whole case against Rua unravels due to a huge legal blunder. In 1916 John Cullen led a small army of police deep into the misty forests of Te Urewera to arrest the Tuhoe prophet Rua Kena...

Oct 17, 2016•17 min•Season 1Ep. 2

Broken Blossom: the story of Alice Parkinson

"Four shots, and then another one" - that's how the story of Alice Parkinson begins as the 25 year old waitress gunned down her fiancé, Bert West, in the middle of a street in Napier. So why did thousands of New Zealanders sign a petition demanding her release? "Four shots, and then another one." That's how the story of Alice Parkinson begins, as the 25 year old waitress guns down her fianc&eacute;, Bert West, in the middle of Nelson Street in Napier in 1915. The first four shots hit Bert in...

Oct 10, 2016•19 min•Season 1Ep. 1

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