Nellie's Baby RNZ Originals
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- True Crime
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Kirsty Johnston follows Sarah as she hunts for her biological mother, who turns out to have been an institutionalised mental health patient in Porirua Hospital. And that's only the start of the story.
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Trailer: Nellie's Baby
Kirsty Johnston follows Sarah as she hunts for her biological mother, who turns out to have been an institutionalised mental health patient in Porirua Hospital. And that's only the start of the story.
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E1: Email from a stranger
Out of the blue, Kirsty receives an email from a stranger titled "Investigating the possible murder of my mother". The author is Sarah, a young woman who was born to Nellie Wilson in a psychiatric hospital in the mid-1980s in Wellington and secretly adopted out.
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E2: Women and Girls
Kirsty and Sarah start investigating from opposite sides of the world. We learn what it was like to live at Porirua, and fight through red tape to get Sarah's adoption records, which reveal more about Nellie's background.
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E3: I found him!
Sarah and Kirsty call in the big guns: DNA. A strong match comes up: a woman who shares 28% of Sarah's DNA. Is it Nellie's first child? Eventually, Fran, the genealogist, suggests the match could be an aunt, and Sarah works up the courage to send a message to this mystery relative.
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E4: A trip to the asylum
The mystery relative turns out to be Sharon, her father's sister. She decides to fly to Australia to meet her newly-discovered niece. Sharon tells us how her family was extremely poor and her mother, Thelma had all her children taken from her. Gordon, Sarah's dad, was one of those kids.
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E5: My daughter, Sarah
Sarah goes to meet Gordon. We learn that he can remember Nellie, and remembers being caught with her in the bushes. Gordon tells us about his time at the asylum, and Sarah takes him on an outing where they spend time together.
Customer Reviews
Excellent podcast
This was so well presented and well done. I felt like I really got to know Sarah and Nellie. Thank you.
Captivating
Nga Mihi Kia Koe Korua, Thank you so much for taking me on your journey, ❤️.
Absorbing listen
A thoughtful podcast that sheds light on what happened in state care through a personal story. I thought, on reflection, something was lost in framing it as looking into a potential crime. It was really about finding family and shedding light on what happened in state care. Post-Mason report Nellie’s story made it clear that what came next left people falling through the cracks and the answers aren’t straightforward. That feels like something that could bf picked up in a future podcast. Excellent storytelling and well worth a listen.