56 episodes

2023 NZ PODCAST AWARDS - PODCAST OF THE YEAR (GOLD) The shady, controversial and sometimes downright villainous characters of New Zealand history, presented by William Ray.

Black Sheep RNZ Originals

    • History
    • 4.8 • 800 Ratings

2023 NZ PODCAST AWARDS - PODCAST OF THE YEAR (GOLD) The shady, controversial and sometimes downright villainous characters of New Zealand history, presented by William Ray.

    Double Life: the story of Judge Frederick Maning - Part 2

    Double Life: the story of Judge Frederick Maning - Part 2

    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.

    • 53 min
    Double Life: the story of Judge Frederick Maning - Part 1

    Double Life: the story of Judge Frederick Maning - Part 1

    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.

    • 37 min
    Gender Bender: the story of Hjelmar Dannevill

    Gender Bender: the story of Hjelmar Dannevill

    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 investgates the mystery of "Dr" Dannevill.

    • 44 min
    Death Ray: the story of Victor Penny

    Death Ray: the story of Victor Penny

    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. But were these claims true? RNZ’s Black Sheep podcast investigates the mystery.

    • 52 min
    Scientific Racist: the story of Alfred Newman

    Scientific Racist: the story of Alfred Newman

    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?

    • 51 min
    Erased: the story of Charles Mackay - Part 2

    Erased: the story of Charles Mackay - Part 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. 

    • 50 min

Customer Reviews

4.8 out of 5
800 Ratings

800 Ratings

Golzed ,

Great storytelling

Investigative journalism focussing on the stories of unusual, historical characters, some repugnant, some less so, given the laws of Aotearoa NZ at the time. Another excellent RNZ podcast.

Dk fghf ,

Review

A great pod cast to listen to full different & interesting stories.

KiwiCrossNZ ,

Awesome history of NZ

This is the best podcast on NZ history. I highly recommend it

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