FIRST MURDER IN N.Z.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LV, Issue 17165, 23 January 1930, Page 5

FIRST MURDER IN N.Z.

MAN’S DEATH IN 1840

BRITISH JUSTICE SOON ACTS

INTERESTING RECORDS

(Special to the Herald.) AUCKLAND, this day

Locked in an iron safe in the vestry of St. John the Baptist Church, Waimate North, Bay of Islands, arc several valuable records which form an interesting guide to 1 lit' growth of the. first inland mission in New Zealand and to the spread of Christianity among the Maoris. In the well-preserved hooks are given details, of the early births, marriages, and deaths, aiul of the wholesale baptisms’of' natives. Tragedy lies behind the record of one marriage, that of a shepherd, Patrick Rooney, of Pakaraka, to a native woman, To Puhi, on December 3, 1839. Within four months of his marriage the bridegroom "was found murdered in his hut at Puketona.’ The case is interesting in that the Maori who was found guilty of the crime was the first to be judicially sentenced to death in New Zealand, and the ease was the first; one of murder to be dealt with under the rules ’ of British justice. Patrick Rooney, or “Paddy” as ho was familiarly called, was placed in charge of a flock of 200 sheep belonging to the Church Missionary Society. “Paddy” occupied'a' hut and he carried out his duties faithfully. Two or three times a week a Maori, would convey to him supplies from the.mission station. The messenger on his journey on March 30 made a tragic discovery, the shepherd was lying dead in his hut with a deep wound in his head. The Maori immediately hastened hack to the settlement and gave the alarm. John Bedgood amt James Davis went to the scene of the crime. It was unmistakably a murder, the motive appearing to he robbery, as the whole of the shepherd’s clothing had been removed. On the following morning the two men returned with some Maoris, and “Paddy’s remains were given a decent burial. AIURDKRER SOON FOUND It was not long before the murderer was discovered. Several of the surrounding Maori chiefs conferred with the missionaries at the station, and a search was made for the native responsible for the crime. Before many weeks elapsed the crime was laid at the door of a slave of low degree who was found in possession of the shepherd’s clothing. This man was delivered up to the missionaries, and he was placed for safety in a room of Olendon’s stores at Russell, a small village near Opua and quite distinct from Kororareka, which is Russel! of to-day. The Maori could not be placed on trial until the arrival of a judge from Sydney, The case was evidently a clear-cut one, and few difficulties presented themselves; the jury found accused guilty and he was sentenced to death by hanging. So far as the residents of the district were concerned the affair had reached a satisfactory climax—it would serve as a lesson to the natives of th(> effectiveness of British justice. However, the sentence was never carried out, fate intervening in a surprising manner. The condemned native, awaiting the arrival of the hangman from Sydney, was confined to a room in which some of the floorboards were loose. One morning the discovery was made that he was no longer in his cell, and a search soon showed his means of escape from the room. The loose boards in the floor had been removed, and the native had burrowed his way underneath. It was a desperate bid for freedom, but it was attended with tragic consequences fqr the murderer, for his body was found under the floor, his strength having failed before he could complete his task and gain the outside air.