Flora MacKenzie is one of the most colourful characters in New Zealand history: A hard drinking, hard talking brothel owner from the 1960s and 70s who won the affection of sex workers, police and punters alike. In this episode of Black Sheep, we look at the legend of "Madam Flora". Flora MacKenzie is one of the most colourful characters in New Zealand history: A hard drinking, hard talking brothel owner from the 1960s and 70s who won the affection of sex workers, police and punters alike. There ...
Aug 09, 2020•48 min•Season 5Ep. 5
In the 1960s Stewart Smith began a one-man crusade, releasing thousands of invasive fish into New Zealand's rivers, lakes and streams. Why? Well it had something to do with communism and a lot to do with childhood nostalgia. Between the 1960s and late 2000s Stewart Smith went on a one-man crusade, releasing thousands of invasive fish into New Zealand's rivers, lakes and streams. One kind of fish he introduced is now so widespread it's been declared an "acclimatised species", meaning the authorit...
Aug 02, 2020•43 min•Season 5Ep. 4
In part two of Black Sheep's series on Edward Gibbon Wakefield we see theories of "systematic" and "humanitarian" colonisation run into bitter realities. The result is conflict, death and disaster. For Wakefield and for Māori. In the first episode of this two part series about Edward Gibbon Wakefield we talked about the origins of the man once described as a 'Founding Father of New Zealand'. In this episode we see how his plans to colonise Aotearoa ran into some bitter realities. Edward Gibbon W...
Jul 26, 2020•44 min•Season 5Ep. 3
Edward Gibbon Wakefield used to be known as "The Father of New Zealand." But modern historians have pointed to the disastrous impact of his colonial policies on indigenous people, his misleading propaganda and, (not least) his abduction and marriage of a teenage girl. Edward Gibbon Wakefield used to be known as 'The Founding Father of New Zealand.' He was described as a humanitarian visionary, the driving force behind the colonisation of New Zealand and - according to some - the entire British C...
Jul 19, 2020•40 min•Season 5Ep. 2
Felix von Luckner was a child aristocrat who ran away to sea, he captained the last square-rigged sailing ship ever to serve in combat, he sailed 3,000 kilometers across the Pacific in a lifeboat. He also led the most embarrassing jailbreak in NZ history. Felix Von Luckner led a very interesting life. He was a child of aristocracy who ran away to sea. He fought in the biggest naval battle of the First World War. He captained the last square rigged sailing ship ever to be used in combat. He saile...
Jul 10, 2020•50 min•Season 5Ep. 1
In this special episode of Black Sheep, William Ray looks at the history and controversy of historical statues in New Zealand. Statues have become a focus of global protests following the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States. In New Zealand statues of Captain Cook and Governor George Grey have been targeted for graffiti, while a statue of Captain John Hamilton was completely removed. In this episode of Black Sheep, William Ray uncovers the stories behind some of these problematic mon...
Jul 05, 2020•37 min•Season 5Ep. 9
The story of New Zealand and its people, from its geological origins to modern day. Hosted by William Ray and Leigh-Marama McLachlan, with animation by Chris Maguren. Made possible by the RNZ/NZ On Air Innovation Fund. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
Oct 07, 2019•2 min•Season 4Ep. 10
In this special episode of Black Sheep, produced in the aftermath of the 2019 Christchurch Mosque Shootings, William Ray looks at the history of white supremacy in NZ. Since the attack in Christchurch, many people have called for New Zealand to examine its history of white supremacy. In this special episode of Black Sheep, William Ray looks at the origins of this ideology, how it warped and changed over time, and how people have fought against it. By William Ray I missed the Christchurch shootin...
Mar 25, 2019•56 min•Season 5Ep. 10
The death penalty has started wars, won elections, outraged the population and ruined lives. Join William Ray for this live podcast recording at the Bread and Circus Festival in Christchurch with guests Dame Fiona Kidman, Vincent O'Malley and Mark Derby as they unpick the history of executions in New Zealand. The death penalty has started wars, won elections, outraged the population and ruined lives. Join William Ray for this live podcast recording at the Bread and Circus World Buskers Festival ...
Feb 11, 2019•42 min•Season 4Ep. 9
Bully Hayes is famous as a charismatic "pirate" of the South Pacific. But most stories gloss over his more heinous crimes: Slavery, sexual assault and the brutal abuse of his crew. Bully Hayes is a man who made his mark on the Pacific. His image today is as a swashbuckling rogue who swindled his way from China to California, from Apia to Akaroa. Bully could leap from the floor of a ballroom and kick the ceiling, he captured the notorious corsair Eli Boggs, he was the ringmaster of a circus on th...
Dec 16, 2018•34 min•Season 4Ep. 8
In the second of Black Sheep's two part series, we find out how the Prussian mercenary Gustavus von Tempsky went from a relatively famous soldier to an uber-hero of New Zealand's colonial mythology. One who followed glory's beacon from his boyhood till he fell, Dying like a valiant soldier, after fighting long and well. Brief the record, yet it seems like some wild legend or romance; This is a stanza from "How Von Tempsky Died" an insanely romantic ballad penned by Thomas Bracken nearly 20 years...
Dec 09, 2018•28 min•Season 4Ep. 7
He was larger than life, a warrior, artist and musician whose legend has only grown since his death during the New Zealand Wars in 1868.... but Gustavus von Tempsky had a dark side. Gustavus von Tempsky is the star of a hundred songs and stories. The mercenary and adventurer whose Māori enemies called him Manu-rau - "a hundred birds". He was beloved by his troops, the famous Forest Rangers, who refused to fight under any other man after he died. And it's not all guts and glory, von Tempsky was a...
Dec 02, 2018•30 min•Season 4Ep. 6
Why do some historians think an NZ-born traitor was "instrumental" in the Japanese victory in Singapore during WWII? And why is there such a mystery surrounding the Reefton boy who seemingly spied for the Japanese? Why do some historians think an NZ-born traitor was "instrumental" to the Japanese victory in Singapore during WWII? In part 1 we heard how Patrick Heenan, a NZ-born captain in the British Army, came to despise his comrades and eventually decided to act as a spy for the Japanese. In t...
Nov 25, 2018•26 min•Season 4Ep. 5
What drove a boy from Reefton to turn against his comrades in World War Two? How was a former boxing and swimming champion recruited as an agent of Imperial Japan? It's a story still shrouded in mystery more than 70 years later. What drove a boy from Reefton to turn against his comrades in World War Two? How was a former boxing and swimming champion recruited as an agent of Imperial Japan? Did the British military conceal the true extent of the damage he did to the Allied war effort? And how did...
Nov 18, 2018•21 min•Season 4Ep. 4
Amy Bock was a criminal "supreme in her cleverness". Her most famous con saw her pose as a man for 15 weeks and marry the daughter of her landlord. Nobody has ever been able to explain what motivated her lifetime of fraud and scams. Detective Henry Hunt knocks on the door of Percy Redwood, a wealthy sheep farmer on an extended holiday at Nugget Point on the Catlins Coast. Over the last few months, Percy had made a lot of friends in town, in fact, he just recently married a local woman called Agn...
Nov 11, 2018•40 min•Season 4Ep. 3
The story of Horatio Robley continues... How did a man once dubbed a "predator of culture" for his collection of preserved Māori heads become better known as a "friend of the Māori"? In Part 1 of this story, we heard how Horatio Robley came to New Zealand as a young officer in the British Army and witnessed the devastating British defeat at Gate Pā. In Part 2, we hear how the Tauranga War ended, and how Robley became famous as a collector of Mokomokai, preserved Māori heads. A few months after G...
Nov 04, 2018•35 min•Season 4Ep. 2
Horatio Robley witnessed the most famous battle of the New Zealand Wars, he fathered a child with the daughter of a sworn enemy, his sketching helped end a war, his book helped save the art of Maori tattooing... But mostly he's famous for his grotesque collection of nearly 40 human heads. Horatio Robley witnessed the most famous battle of the New Zealand Wars, he fathered a child with the daughter of a sworn enemy, his sketching helped end a war and his book helped save the art of Māori tattooin...
Oct 28, 2018•27 min•Season 4Ep. 1
Pākehā settlers in Taranaki knew John Bryce as "Honest John" but Taranaki Māori called him "Bryce Kōhuru" - Bryce the Murderer. Black Sheep investigates the life of the infamous Native Affairs Minister who led the assault on Parihaka. Pākehā settlers in Taranaki knew John Bryce as "Honest John" but Taranaki Māori had another nickname. They called him "Bryce Kōhuru" - Bryce the Murderer. In this episode of Black Sheep William Ray investigates the life of the infamous Native Affairs Minister. John...
Apr 30, 2018•35 min•Season 3Ep. 7
Roy Courlander was a New Zealand soldier who joined Nazi Germany's infamous SS during WWII. He participated in propaganda efforts trying to turn more allied soldiers to the Nazi cause. So why did he decide to turn traitor? On ANZAC day New Zealanders remember the heroism and sacrifice of those killed in war, but not all soldiers have legacies worth celebrating. Case in point: Roy Courlander, a NZ Army Private who volunteered to join Nazi Germany's infamous Waffen SS. Roy Courlander's early years...
Apr 22, 2018•37 min•Season 3Ep. 6
Kimble Bent was one of a tiny handful of Europeans who switched sides during the New Zealand Wars, who deserted the British army to join Māori "rebels" in Taranaki and reportedly witnessed a famous incident of kai tangata (cannibalism) in the wake of a battle against colonial forces. It's reasonably common knowledge that large numbers of Māori fought on the side of the government during the New Zealand Wars. We even have a name for them, kūpapa Māori. A less well-known story is the handful of Eu...
Apr 15, 2018•41 min•Season 3Ep. 5
A cottage burns down, three mutilated bodies are found inside and there are fears the whole city of Auckland could be at risk. In this episode of Black Sheep, William Ray investigates the story of the first European to be judicially executed in New Zealand history. October 10th, 1847. The brutal murder of a Devonport family leaves Auckland fearing an invasion of vengeful Māori. But when that threat fails to materialise the police are left trying to solve New Zealand's first ever whodunnit... It ...
Apr 08, 2018•38 min•Season 3Ep. 4
In 1981 Dunedin teenager Chris Lewis tried to shoot Queen Elizabeth. Then, at least according to some, authorities tried to cover it up. In this collaboration with Stuff.co.nz journalist Hamish McNeilly, Black Sheep looks into Chris Lewis's bizarre life story. On October 14th, 1981 Dunedin teenager Chris Lewis tried to shoot Queen Elizabeth. Then (at least according to some) the authorities tried to cover it up. In this collaboration with Stuff.co.nz journalist Hamish McNeilly, RNZ's Black Sheep...
Apr 01, 2018•31 min•Season 3Ep. 3
It's 1871 and the city of Auckland is being terrorised by a string of major fires. Fears are raised that a gang of anarchist fanatics could be responsible but the real culprit turns out to be a well known businessman with an axe to grind against Auckland high society. Cyrus Haley burned down several of the most famous buildings in 19th century Auckland and tried to kill the family of a prominent businessman. To this day we still don't know why... Music in this episode courtesy of Chris Priestly....
Mar 25, 2018•39 min•Season 3Ep. 2
Charlotte Badger was one of the first European women to live in New Zealand. She was also a pirate... or at least that's the traditional story. This special episode of Black Sheep, recorded live at Charlotte's Kitchen restaurant in Paihia, investigates Charlotte's pirate mystery. Charlotte Badger was one of the very first European women to live in New Zealand. She was also a pirate... or at least that's the traditional story. In a special episode of Black Sheep recorded live at Charlotte's Kitch...
Mar 18, 2018•41 min•Season 3Ep. 1
Richard Burgess may be New Zealand's most prolific serial killer. In the 1860s he and his outlaw gang roved the West Coast, robbing and murdering dozens of people. The full number of victims is still unknown. "Potentially he was New Zealand's worst serial killer..." Richard Burgess may be the most prolific murderer New Zealand has ever seen. It's estimated the death toll his gang of outlaws inflicted while roving the goldfields of the South Island in the 1860s ranged anywhere up to 35 people. Th...
Oct 15, 2017•31 min•Season 2Ep. 7
In 1877 Chief Justice James Prendergast ruled the Treaty of Waitangi was "a simple nullity", in part because it was signed by "simple barbarians" and "savages". Those words have seen him condemned as an arch-villain of NZ history, but was he really? He really is as close as we have to a legal villain "A simple nullity" - three words which damned the man who uttered them to become the most reviled judge in New Zealand history. The quote referred to the Treaty of Waitangi and were part of a ruling...
Oct 08, 2017•27 min•Season 2Ep. 6
"The most vile criminal ever to be tried in New Zealand" Thomas Hall's crimes scandalised New Zealand when it was revealed he had attempted to murder his wife in order to steal her family fortune. "You have achieved in the annals of crime the position of being the vilest criminal ever tried in New Zealand." That's what the judge said to Thomas Hall as he sentenced him to life in prison in 1886. Tom Hall was part of a rich and influential family in Timaru. His uncle, Sir John Hall, was a former P...
Oct 01, 2017•32 min•Season 2Ep. 5
Meet the New Zealand author of a book beloved by Neo-Nazi's, Satanists and White Supremacists. Bizarrely Arthur Desmond started off as a hard-core labour activist and supporter of Maori rights, but he then went "so far to the left that dropped off the edge." Arthur Desmond is possibly the most widely read and influential political writer New Zealand has ever produced. Unfortunately, the book he's best known for is - in the words of one reviewer on Goodreads.com - "sexist, racist, classist and mo...
Sep 23, 2017•29 min•Season 2Ep. 4
Annie Aves was a famous abortionist from the 1930s. She was tried four times but each time the jury failed to reach a verdict. Her career finally came to an end when she was shot and killed by the boyfriend of a woman who'd sought her services. Content Warning: This podcast deals with abortion and infanticide. Some may find it distressing. On October 3, 1938 the city of Napier was in an uproar. That night, a 51 year old woman in the upmarket suburb of Westshore had been gunned down in her front ...
Sep 17, 2017•20 min•Season 1Ep. 3
Nazi "assassins", mischievous con-artists and power hungry spies... Black Sheep investigates how a pair of hoaxers convinced the government that New Zealand had been infiltrated by Nazi agents. In 1942 the head of New Zealand's first spy agency, the Security Intelligence Bureau (SIB), sent a shocking letter to the Prime Minister. Major Kenneth Folkes told Peter Fraser that Nazi agents had infiltrated New Zealand. He said the Germans had established a network of saboteurs and were planning on blo...
Sep 10, 2017•26 min•Season 2Ep. 2
