In 1966 bushranger turned murderer, Richard Burgess, was hung alongside other members of his notorious and ruthless gang. They'd killed innocent travellers on the Maungatapu Track.
Burgess left behind a confession but it was more to condemn a whistleblower than to atone for his many sins.
Christchurch based writer Wayne Martin tells the full story in Murder on the Maungatapu: A narrative history of the Burgess gang and their greatest crime.
Hokitika dwellings near the beach. The cottage Richard Burgess bought to house his mistress Carrie is believed to have been situated in a similar area.
Credit: View of the town of Hokitika with Southern Alps in the background by James Ring, Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, Ref. PA7-51-05-1
Kainiere gold diggings near Hokitika, 1866. Burgess and Kelly took a shareholding in a claim on this field as a blind for their criminal activities. Credit: Kauiere [Kaniere] Goldfield, Hokitika, N.Z. by Robert Bruce, engraver, State Library of Victoria, Melbourne, Accession No. IMP24/03/66/240
The Rose, Shamrock & Thistle Hotel in Hokitika, a haunt of the Burgess Gang, was run by an associate of Phillip Levy’s name Salomon.
Credit: Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, Ref. 1/2-122184-F
An 1866 Australian wood engraving of the holdup scene.
Credit: Murderers’ Rock, Maungatapu Pass, New Zealand, wood engraving by Ebenezer and David Syme, August 27, 1866, State Library of Victoria, Melbourne, Accession No. IAN27/08/66/8
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