Black Sheep

It's 1963 and two bodies are found in a house at Bassett Road in Remuera. Detectives are shocked to discover they were killed by a submachine-gun. Newspaper headlines read "Chicago Comes to New Zealand". Black Sheep investigates a true crime story that scandalised New Zealand

Two bodies are found in a house at Bassett Road in Remuera. Detectives are shocked to discover they were killed in a hail of machine-gun bullets. Newspaper headlines read "Chicago Comes to New Zealand". Black Sheep investigates a true crime story that scandalised New Zealand in 1963.

It was Saturday Morning, December 7th 1963. Bassett Road, Remuera.

The weather had been sunny and hot all week. Kids were playing in their yards, men were washing their cars. Women were packing picnic hampers for trips to the beach.

Eric Lewis drove past them on his way to number 115.

He was there to collect the rent. His tenants had moved into the house about a week and a half ago, 26-year-old Kevin Speight and 34-year-old George Walker.

Eric walked past the letterbox. He noticed it was stuffed with a couple of days worth of newspapers.

He frowned and kept walking toward the door. Bottles of milk were sitting on the porch, they'd curdled in the summer sun. Had his tenants gone off on holiday and forgot to tell anyone?

Nobody answered the door. Eric shrugged and pulled out his key.

The smell hit him first. The whole place reeked. He got a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

He walked inside, the smell got stronger as he neared the bedroom. He opened the door.

"What he found inside horrified him," said Scott Bainbridge, author of The Bassett Road Machine-Gun Murders

Both Eric's tenants were dead, they had clearly been shot multiple times.

Within a few hours, Bassett Road was swarming with police.

"A murder was a rarity," Scott Bainbridge explains. "A murder made the front page back then but a double murder in 1963 was something pretty big."

Even more shocking was how these men had died. They had both been shot multiple times at close range.

Police collected six bullets from the bedroom and handed them over to Dr Donald Nelson, a firearms expert at the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research.

Dr Nelson looked at those bullets, then called a meeting with the detectives. He announced those bullets had been fired from a .45 submachine gun.

"You could have heard a pin drop," Scott Bainbridge said.

That announcement immediately raised images of 1920s USA, when prohibition-era gangsters like Al Capone blasted away at each other with Tommy Guns. The Truth Newspaper printed the headline "Chicago Comes to New Zealand"…

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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 are all kinds of crazy stories about her: The time she threw a dead dog at her neighbour, her famous revolving bed, her close friendship with the head of the Auckland police vice squad.

In this episode of Black Sheep, we look at the legend of Madam Flora.

Elisabeth Easther is a playwright and actor - and also probably the closest thing to a Flora MacKenzie expert.

"It's very hard to get to the truth," Easther said. "You hear so many different versions of , and you have to cobble it together from hearsay and newspaper articles and letters people write to you."

Easther became fascinated by Flora MacKenzie after performing a monologue as her while at drama school. Later in Easther's career, she turned that monologue into a full play: Famous Flora - named after the brothel that MacKenzie ran for more than 30 years.

Easther said Flora was the daughter of Sir Hugh MacKenzie, a rich and well regarded businessman who ran a horse stud in Māngere and served as head of the Auckland Harbour Board.

"She was all horse races and debutante balls and being introduced to the Queen."

According to Easther's sources, MacKenzie caused a minor scandal during a royal visit to New Zealand because she crossed her legs at the knee, rather than the ankle, while the Queen was present.

"And I think she did it on purpose," Easther added.

Flora began training as a nurse but gave it up because she couldn't stand the strict discipline of the nurse matrons.

"She was determined to be her own person," explained historian Barbara Brookes, author of A History of New Zealand Women.

Instead, MacKenzie traveled to Australia in the 1920s, mixed with the bohemian crowd in Sydney and developed a fascination with fashion design which she brought back to Auckland when she returned home.

By 1927, she was the sole owner of Ninette Gowns, a high-end fashion shop on Queen Street.

"And she's got a particular market that she knows how to cater to," Brookes said. "She took meticulous care ... some of the beautiful gowns are now in museum collections."…

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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 authorities have basically acknowledged it is impossible to remove it from the wild.

"The amount of damage he did was incalculable," says science journalist Charlie Mitchell, who wrote a feature on Smith for Stuff.co.nz.

"He could be positioned alongside the people who released stoats and weasels and ferrets in New Zealand," says Bryan Winters, who wrote an authorised biography of Smith entitled That Pommie Bastard.

So who was Stewart Smith?

He was a devout communist with a stubborn streak a mile wide, a conspiracy theorist who spent years locked up in a conscientious objectors camp, and an environmental imperialist dedicated to the cause of  "improving" recreational fishing in New Zealand.

Stewart Smith helped infest the Waikato river with koi carp, which are now a major pest species in the river.

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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 Wakefield believed Aotearoa was the perfect place to put his theories of "Systematic Colonisation" into practise.

Working with rich and influential allies he set up the New Zealand Company to promote his plans. He wrote thousands of books and pamphlets promoting colonisation.

Dr Phillip Temple, author of A Sort of Conscience, said much of Wakefield's writing painted New Zealand as a "vision of paradise".

Take this example:

"Great valleys occupied with the most beautiful rivers, their feet washed by the ceaseless south-sea swell, their flanks clothed with the grandest of primeval forests ... The fertility of its soil, the amenity and salubrity of its climate,  the peculiar adaptation of the country for the residence of a great commercial and manufacturing people."

Wakefeild was a master of propaganda. The New Zealand Company even arranged to ship a Māori man called Te Waiti to London so he could promote the planned colonies with statements like this:

"I like it. I do not know what my countrymen would like. I think they would like it too, because they like even the bad people now. I think they would like the gentlemen."

It's hard to know if Te Waiti (also known as "Nayti") really did think colonisation would be good for Māori, or if he was just saying what the New Zealand Company wanted him to say.

Wakefield himself waved away concerns about the effects of colonisation on indigenous people. He claimed "the common effect ... of mere colonisation has been to exterminate the aboriginal race. This, however, is not a plan of mere colonisation: It has for its object to civilize as well as to colonise."

He said the settlers would "adopt" and "instruct" Māori. He argued the colonists would be  "civilising a barbarous people," who could "scarcely cultivate the earth".

Part of the reason Wakefield felt he needed to paint his colonisation plans as a positive for Māori was to combat a powerful indigenous rights lobby group in Britain…

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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 Commonwealth.

But Wakefield makes for a problematic kind of parent.

Modern historians have pointed to the disastrous impact of his colonial policies on indigenous people, his misleading propaganda and, not least, his abduction of and marriage to a teenage girl.

In this two-part episode of Black Sheep, William Ray investigates Wakefield's life and legacy.

Troublemaker

Edward Gibbon Wakefield came from a middle class home in Cumbria. He was born in 1796, to a family known for their involvement in banking and enthusiasm for humanitarian reform.

But his early life was chaotic.

As Dr Philip Temple explained, "Edward Gibbon's grandfather lost his money. So they had the status but not the cash."

Dr Temple is author of A Sort of Conscience, a biography of the wider Wakefield family.

He said it was a troubled family. Wakefield's mother suffered from recurring bouts of malaria and his father was often absent; "Either philandering with other women or occupied by his own pet reform projects."

In that context it's unsurprising Wakefield had trouble at school. Dr Temple said he was expelled from two and refused to attend the final one.

"He was clearly one of those children who are disruptive because they can't work within the status quo, but it's often those people who turn out to be leaders or innovators in society. He also clearly, from an early age, had the gift of the gab and was a damn good writer. "

Wakefield used those communication skills to land his first job: a messenger in the British Diplomatic service.

He dreamed of becoming a Member of Parliament, but to do that he needed a LOT of money. In his day it was all but impossible to become an MP unless you were the equivalent of a multi-millionaire.

Luckily, Wakefield had a solution to his money problems. When he turned 20 he eloped with 16-year-old Eliza Pattle, heir to a gigantic family fortune.

But this marriage wasn't just about money.  "It was clearly a love match," Dr Temple said. …

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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 sailed three thousand kilometers across the Pacific in a lifeboat.

He single-handedly saved his hometown from destruction during WWII.

And he punched a member of the Gestapo straight in the face.

He was also responsible for what probably ranks as the most embarrassing prison break in New Zealand history. Oh Felix ... where to even begin?

THE RUNAWAY ARISTOCRAT

Felix Von Luckner was born in June 1881 to a family of German military aristocrats but didn't really seem to enjoy his childhood in the lap of luxury. At 13 years old, he ran away from home and jumped on a Russian sailing ship.

According to his autobiography he spent the next few years getting into adventures all over the world.

Some of these stories are obviously made up - but others are probably true. Life aboard a sailing ship in the late 1800s was often dramatic and dangerous .

"It was the final fling of tall ships as a commercial entity, so they were often undermanned. Very hard work, very dangerous work. People did die quite regularly." explains Sam Jefferson, author of The Sea Devil, a biography of Von Luckner.

Von Luckner himself was seriously injured in a fall from the rigging on the high seas (by then he was about 17). He ended up stranded in Jamaica with a broken leg and no money. But when he was begging for food on the beach he saw something on the horizon which changed his life - a beautiful white ship. It was SMS Panther - a brand-new warship of the German Imperial Navy.

Some friendly sailors from  the ship helped him get back on his feet, he travelled back to Germany and enlisted with the Navy.

Eight years had passed since he had left home and when he returned to his parents it was as Naval Lieutenant Felix Von Luckner.

THE SEEADLER

Von Luckner's most famous exploits came in World War One as captain of SMS Seeadler, the last square-rigged sailing ship ever to be used in combat. …

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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 monuments - and looks at different ideas of what should happen to them next.

When I was little, I used to play in the fountain next to Centre Place mall in Hamilton.

So when I saw the news that a statue of Captain Hamilton was being removed from that spot, I was confused. I couldn't remember that statue standing there when I was younger.

It turned out, I was right to be confused - the statue was actually only erected in 2013. An action which Tom Roa (Ngāti Maniapoto) says "defies belief".

My hometown was named after Captain John Hamilton. It was built on the site of the Ngāti Wairere Pā, Kirikiriroa after that settlement and much of the surrounding area was unjustly confiscated by the Crown under the New Zealand Settlements Act.

Captain Hamilton never got anywhere near Kirikiriroa; he died at the Battle of Gate Pā in Tauranga in 1864.

As historian Vincent O'Malley's report on street names and statues in Hamilton makes clear, Captain Hamilton was an obscure figure who only spent a few months in Aotearoa before he was killed. It was a reasonably heroic kind of death (he was shot while leading a column of men to relieve the troops who had been trapped in the Pā) but he certainly wasn't a significant player in the wars.

The same can't be said for other statues that have been a focus of protest in Aotearoa. Men like Colonel Marmaduke Nixon, who led a raid on the peaceful village of Rangiaowhia, and Governor George Grey who played a major part in instigating the Waikato Wars.

Interestingly, Governor Grey also instigated the building of a lot of the statues which are now the focus of so much anger and grief.

"Grey himself was a great enthusiast for statues and memorials," said historian Jock Phillips, author of To The Memory: New Zealand's War Memorials.

"He believed we were a 'new' country. All we had was Māori culture, and that didn't count ... So a new society needed to get to work and start to put up a few heroic figures to develop a new tradition and a sense of colonial pride."…

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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.

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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 shooting. 

My girlfriend and I were out walking the Routeburn Track that weekend. Swimming in Lake Mackenzie, watching kea stalk unattended backpacks, listening to tourists gush about how beautiful and lucky and peaceful this country is. 

On the Saturday afternoon we were picked up by a bus on the Milford/Te Anau Highway. The driver knew we'd all been out contact with the outside world, so she made an announcement over the intercom. 

"I've got some really bad news for everyone." 

I don't remember exactly what she said after that.  

As soon as we got back into cellphone range my girlfriend loaded up a Reddit thread about the shooting which I read over her shoulder. There was one post which really stuck out at me:

"This is not what New Zealand is. New Zealand is a land of peace where all, regardless of race and religion are welcome. Violence, racism, and discrimination are not welcome and do not define who or what New Zealand is."

I get what that person was trying to say but for the past three years on Black Sheep I've been looking at violent, racist, discriminatory New Zealanders. 

John Bryce, the racist Native Affairs Minister. James Prendergast, the Supreme Court Justice who said the Treaty of Waitangi was a "simple nullity". Roy Courlander, the New Zealand soldier who literally joined Nazi Germany's Waffen SS. And many, many, more. 

These people don't define New Zealand, but they do represent a significant force in New Zealand history.

White supremacy.

In this special episode of Black Sheep, we look at the history of New Zealand through the lens of white supremacy. We look at how the ideology influenced the voyages of Tasman and Cook, how it was used to justify the worst atrocities of the New Zealand Wars, and how it found new targets in New Zealand's non-British migrant communities. 

We also look at how some Pākeha fought to oppose this ideology and ask some tricky questions about what that dissent means for how we think about racist New Zealanders of the past.  …

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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 in Christchurch with guests Dame Fiona Kidman, Vincent O'Malley and Mark Derby as they unpick the history of executions in New Zealand.

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