Maungatapu murders
The Maungatapu murders took place on 12 and 13 June 1866 on the Maungatapu track near Nelson, South Island, New Zealand, in two separate attacks that killed five people. Four people were charged with the murders; one was pardoned after giving information which allowed the other three to be convicted and hanged. The group of four, dubbed the Burgess Gang or Burgess-Kelly Gang, was composed of Richard Burgess, Joseph Thomas Sullivan, Philip Levy, and Thomas Kelly. The victims were James Battle, George Dudley, John Kempthorne, James de Pontius, and Felix Mathieu.
The Burgess Gang
The initial members of the gang were Richard Burgess and Thomas Kelly.Burgess was born in London, England, on 14 February 1829. He lived with his mother and never knew his biological father as he was born illegitimate. In his early teens, Burgess was convicted of pickpocketing and robbery, and was ultimately sentenced to transportation to New South Wales, Australia, in 1847. In 1862, Burgess emigrated to New Zealand to participate in the Otago gold rush to New Zealand and joined up with Kelly, whom he had already met in jail in Australia. The two were soon arrested and sentenced to 3.5 years in Dunedin Gaol. Released in September 1865, they were escorted to the border of the Otago province.
In Hokitika, Burgess and Kelly met and formed a partnership with Joseph Thomas Sullivan. Burgess had previous business with Philip Levy in Australia and New Zealand. In Greymouth, Burgess and Levy became closer as they did more deals. The group set sail to Nelson and landed on 6 June 1866 with the objective to rob several banks in the area, however for various reasons these goals were abandoned. The gang ended up in Canvastown, a village east of Nelson which was exclusively accessed through the Maungatapu track.
The murders
The murders occurred on 12 and 13 June 1866. A few days before, Levy had learned from locals that four businessmen were moving all their gold and money to the bank in Nelson. The four businessmen all knew each other and planned to make the journey together on 12 June. The gang planned to hold up the group with a large number of weapons so they would surrender without resistance, and then rob and kill them. They estimated that the group could have a total of 1000 pounds of money and gold.The gang stationed themselves on a suitable site along the Maungatapu track, a place now called Murderers' Rock. On 12 June, James Battle, a flax grower, had terminated his employment and was returning to Nelson via the Maungatapu track. At first the gang let him pass, but later caught up to Battle and robbed him of three pounds and 16 shillings; afterward they strangled him and buried him in a shallow grave.
The following day at approximately 1:00 pm, Dudley, Kempthorne, de Pontius, and Mathieu were held up by the gang. The victims immediately surrendered and were bound and moved off the track. After they were robbed, they were all killed, first Dudley, by strangulation. Kempthorne was shot along with de Pontius. Mathieu was shot, then stabbed, then shot again. Three of the bodies were hidden, but that of de Pontius was covered with rocks: if the bodies were ever found, they reasoned, de Pontius would be missing and the first conclusion would be that de Pontius committed the crime. The gang then shot the horse through the head and let the animal slide down off a bank into vegetation. Other belongings such as clothes were burnt in a derelict house, and the gang returned to Nelson that night.