On the 12th August 1895, Minnie Dean was the only woman to be executed in New Zealand.
EARLY LIFE
In 1862, young Williamina McCulloch left the squalor and depredation of her Scottish hometown of West Greenock searching for a better life. Pregnant and also with Ellen, her young daughter, she arrived in New Zealand to live with an aunt who was one of the original Scottish settlers living in Otago. After her arrival in the rough colony, she chose to be known as Minnie.
Greenock 1880s
In 1873Minnie married Charles Dean, a Southland farmer. Straight after their marriage, Charles and Minnie moved into a very modest two bedroom cottage named ‘The Larches’ in the settlement of Winton. Life in the southern province proved hard for the Dean family and in 1884, Charles was declared bankrupt. To add to Minnie’s misery, her daughter Ellen drowned herself and the two infants she had produced, in their farm’s well. It was a desperate time for poor Minnie.
Ceidrik Heward is an Amazon TOP SELLING AUTHOR and has lived and worked in 7 countries working as a TV cameraman, director and film tutor. For the past 17 years he has focused on writing and has been published in magazines and newspapers in Europe, USA, Asia and the Middle East.
His interests include photography, psychology and metaphysics. He loves to read and always has at least 3 books on the go. He has written 22 manuals/books and has just completed his 4th short novel. Ceidrik believes sharing information and stories is the best way to stimulate the imagination and enrich our lives.