Black Sheep

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Nellie's Baby: the story of New Zealand's Mental Institutions Mar 31, 2024

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The last of the so-called 'lunatic asylums' closed only 20 years ago. They were founded on ideas of paternalism and social progress and survived on the basis they offered safety. In this special crossover with the Nellie's Baby Podcast, William Ray and Kirsty Johnston look into their origins.

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Double Life: the story of Judge Frederick Maning (Part 2) Jul 06, 2023

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From the 1840s onward, Frederick Maning would become an increasingly bitter and angry man who demonised Māori who opposed colonisation. So what explains this radical transition from a romantic early Pākehā settler? RNZ's Black Sheep podcast investigates.

Frederick Maning was one of the first Europeans to settle in Aotearoa, marrying a high-ranking Ngāpuhi woman, and writing two books filled with colourful anecdotes of his time living alongside Māori. But attitude to his adopted land - and its people - twisted and turned over time, leaving a complicated legacy.

Maning was there for key moments in the early years of cross-cultural contact. He witnessed the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi at Māngungu, and allegedly counselled Māori against signing it; he took up arms in the Northern War (including the infamous Battle of Ōhaeawai); and was one of the first judges on the Native Land Court.

But while his books painted a romantic picture of his early life among Māori, Maning's private letters from later in life described Tangata Whenua using racist language, and advocated extreme violence against those who resisted colonisation.

In this two part episode of Black Sheep, we look at these two lives of Judge Frederick Maning.

For further reading:

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Double Life: the story of Judge Frederick Maning (Part 1) Jun 29, 2023

Show notes

Frederick Maning was one of the first Europeans to settle in Aotearoa, he married a high-ranking Ngāpuhi woman, and wrote two books filled with romantic anecdotes of his time living alongside Māori. So why did so many of his private letters express such violent, racist attitudes towards Māori? RNZ's Black Sheep podcast investigates.

In this two part episode of Black Sheep, we look at these two lives of Judge Frederick Maning.

For further reading:

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Gender Bender: the story of Hjelmar Dannevill Jun 22, 2023

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In the 1910s, Hjelmar Dannevill wowed high society with gripping tales of adventure as a medical researcher and journalist. But suspicions over her fantastical stories and insistence on wearing men's clothing saw her locked up as a German spy during WWI. RNZ's Black Sheep podcast investigates the mystery of "Dr Dannevill".

Content Warning: This podcast includes discussion of suicide and self-harm

In the 1910s, Hjelmar Dannevill wowed Wellington high society with gripping tales of adventure as a medical researcher and journalist. But suspicions over her fantastical stories and insistence on wearing men's clothing saw her locked up as a German spy during WWI.

So, how much of Dannevill's story was for real? And why did she insist on dressing the way she did?

RNZ's Black Sheep podcast speaks to historian and author Julie Glamuzina about the mystery of "Dr" Hjelmar Dannevill, and what it shows about attitudes to gender in early 20th century New Zealand.

For further reading:

Spies and Lies: The Mysterious Dr Dannevill by Julie Glamuzina

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If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111.

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Death Ray: the story of Victor Penny Jun 15, 2023

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In 1935, a series of extraordinary newspaper articles claimed a backyard inventor called Victor Penny was trying to build a Death Ray for the New Zealand government. The claims seem absurd... So why were they taken so seriously?

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Scientific Racist: the story of Alfred Newman Jun 08, 2023

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Dr Alfred Newman may be the most notorious scientific racist in New Zealand history. His 1882 paper "A study of the causes leading to the extinction of the Māori" was so extreme that it scandalised not just Māori, but also New Zealand's wider scientific community. So what can Newman's story tell us about the history of scientific racism in Aotearoa?

Dr Alfred Newman may be the most notorious scientific racist in New Zealand history. His 1882 paper "A study of the causes leading to the extinction of the Maori" used such extreme and callous language that it scandalised not just Māori, but also New Zealand's wider scientific community.

Dr Newman's views didn't spring out of nowhere. He was building on a longer history of racial supremacy - bouyed in part by Charles Darwin's theories of "natural selection" and "survival of the fittest", which many 19th Century Pākehā seized as a scientific justification for preexisting ideas of racial superiority.

However these ideas of white supremacy have always been contested in Aotearoa - by Māori and also some Pākehā. Dr Newman's notorious 1882 paper saw significant criticism from New Zealand's top scientists of the time.

In this episode of Black Sheep, we investigate Dr Alfred Newman's story - and the wider story of scientific racism in Aotearoa.

For further reading:

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Erased: the story of Charles Mackay (Part 2) Jun 01, 2023

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In the second of a two-part episode on Charles Mackay Black Sheep investigates the mysteries surrounding the Whanganui Mayor's attempted murder of D'Arcy Cresswell - a former soldier who threatened to out the Mackay as homosexual if he didn't resign the mayoralty.

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Erased: the story of Charles Mackay (Part 1) May 25, 2023

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For more than 50 years the name of Mayor Charles Mackay was all but forbidden in Whanganui. In 1920 Mackay shot a man through the chest after he threated to expose the mayor's homosexuality. RNZ's Black Sheep podcast investigates the downfall of Charles Mackay, and how his story is being reevaluated in modern New Zealand.

For 50 years the name Charles Mackay was all but forbidden in Whanganui. The former mayor's name was chiselled off public buildings, ripped off street signs and deliberately excluded from official histories. His official portrait was taken down and destroyed.

The reason? In 1920 Charles Mackay shot and nearly killed D'Arcy Cresswell, a 24-year-old returned soldier who had been threatening to out Mackay as homosexual.

Over the last few decades people have tried to drag Mackay's story back into the spotlight. In the 1980s, LGBTQ+ activists successfully campaigned to have his name re-inscribed on the foundation stone of the Sarjeant Gallery and in 2022 historian and author Paul Diamond released a long awaited book digging into Mackay's story.

But Mackay's story still has many unanswered questions.

Was D'Arcy Cresswell acting alone when he tried to blackmail the mayor? Was he solely motivated by homophobia, or was there something more complicated going on? In this two part episode of Black Sheep, host William Ray investigates the story of the former Mayor.

We look at Mackay's upbringing, and his meteoric rise to the mayoralty, which coincided with a meteoric rise for the town of Whanganui itself.

We investigate attitudes towards homosexuality in early 20th century New Zealand, and how Charles Mackay may have understood his attraction to other men.

And, we discuss the multiple scandals leading up to the Mayors arrest, including a catastrophic concert for a member of the royal family

Further reading:

Downfall: The destruction of Charles Mackay by Paul Diamond
Mates and Lovers: A History of Gay NZ by Professor Chris Brickell

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Black Sheep Season 7 Trailer May 19, 2023

Show notes

RNZ multi award-winning podcast Black Sheep returns on May 26th with a new cast of mysterious misfits, violent villains and controversial characters.

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Killer Conductor: the story of Eric Mareo (Part 2) May 23, 2021

Show notes

When flamboyant orchestra conductor Eric Mareo was convicted of murder for a second time, the judge raised grave concerns about the verdict with the Attorney General. So, did 1930s prejudice and sensationalist media sentence an innocent man to death?

This is the second in a two part episode on the case of Eric Mario.

On June 17th, 1936 many New Zealanders celebrated when they heard Eric Mareo had been convicted of murder for a second time. But the judge in that trial wasn't one of them.

In an unprecedented move, he wrote to the Attorney General raising grave concerns about the verdict.

So was Eric Mareo wrongfully convicted? Black Sheep investigates.

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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