Black Sheep

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.

Presented and produced by William Ray

The words "Black Sheep" are displayed in a vintage font above a black sheep with a creepy red eye.

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Erased: the story of Charles Mackay (Part 1)

Season 7 / Episode 1
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.
Discusses sex and sexual abuse
Charles Mackay in prison after shooting Walter D'Arcy Cresswell who had threatened to expose him as a homosexual.

Erased: the story of Charles Mackay (Part 2)

Season 7 / Episode 2
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.
Photo of Charles Mackay, former mayor of Whanganui

Scientific Racist: the story of Alfred Newman

Season 7 / Episode 3
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?
Portrait photograph of Alfred Kingcome Newman, circa 1904

Death Ray: the story of Victor Penny

Season 7 / Episode 4
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?
A newspaper photo of Auckland Inventor Victor Penny wearing headphones, 19 March 1936

Poisoner: the story of Thomas Hall

Season 7 / Episode 5
"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.
Poster by Massey University student Sarah Illingworth

Gender Bender: the story of Hjelmar Dannevill

Season 7 / Episode 5
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".
Contains discussion of suicide and self-harm
Portrait of Hjelmar Dannevill wearing masculine clothing, 1914-1917

Double Life: the story of Judge Frederick Maning (Part 1)

Season 7 / Episode 6
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.
Half-length frontal portrait supposedly of author and judge of the Native Land Court, Frederick Edward Maning, circa 1850.

Double Life: the story of Judge Frederick Maning (Part 2)

Season 7 / Episode 7
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.
Sketch of Judge Frederick Edward Maning, circa 1870

Nellie's Baby: the story of New Zealand's Mental Institutions

Bonus episode
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.
Title "Nellie's Baby" overtop old photographs and a dark hallway

Black Sheep Season 7 Trailer

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

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