Vera Baker - Illegal operation

Vera Baker a young unmarried woman of 23 years of age had been employed as a domestic servant in Mt Eden, her Mother and Father had passed away.

Vera had fallen pregnant and with little means, and with no possibility of having the child and surviving on her own, she would have been desperate. She faced the loss of employment when her pregnancy became evident, and with this her lodgings. She also faced the very real stigma associated with unmarried women who found themselves in the family way.

Vera told her lover Percy Norman Henry in the hope that he could help her. Henry told her that he was in no position to marry her, that he was unable to support Vera and a child, but he did suggest Vera have an abortion.

Henry knew of an elderly nurse, a Mrs Hannah Dalton, who may assist them, and on 23 October he accompanied Vera to Mrs Dalton's house to discuss matters .It was arranged that Vera was to go back to Mrs  Dalton’s the next day for an abortion.

Page 9 Advertisements Column 4,

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 16669, 

13 October 1917. paperspast

Vera telephoned Henry on the evening of  the 24th of October and asked him to come over to Mrs Dalton’s that night as everything was all right. Henry saw Vera and paid Mrs Dalton £10 for the operation and £1.10s for extras.  He visited the house to see Vera on several subsequent occasions.

There were problems with infection following the abortion and Mrs Dalton made an appointment on the 1st of November 1917 for Vera to be examined by Dr. Florence Keller at the Doctors house. Dr Keller having examined Vera, told her that she had better go home and go to bed.

Vera visited Mrs Dalton on the 2nd and 3rd of November and Dr Keller was again asked to examine her. Dr Keller found Vera in a very grave condition and suffering from acute peritonitis. She told Mrs Dalton that the girl would have to go to the hospital right away, but Mrs Dalton asked why the necessary operation  could not be performed there. Vera allegedly  said, "I don't want to leave the nurse; I want to stay here.”

Dr. E. V. Drier was quickly called in to perform an urgent abdominal operation but Vera died on the 5th of November 1917 whilst at the home of Mrs Dalton.

Post mortem examination would find the cause of death to be acute septic peritonitis.

Abortion methods were varied and items 

were re purposed to perform the task so as not to 

arouse suspicion during a police search. 

Enema syringes were commonly used by 

abortionists to inject fluid into the uterus 

to induce miscarriage.

L0036376 Credit: Wellcome Library, London 

Brass, ivory, ebony and pewter enema syringe 

Photograph 17th - 19th century 

Collection: Wellcome Images

Library reference no.: Museum No A626202,

A626932, A640607, A606384 

Creative Commons Attribution only 

licence CC BY 4.0 

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

The Doctors were to testify in Court that very serious internal
injuries had been caused by the introduction of a foreign instrument which had been the probable cause of the acute peritonitis.
Dr. Ezra N. Drier went on to testify that the condition of peritonitis discovered at the operation indicated the probability of infection within five or seven days previously.

There was sufficient evidence to warrant Hannah Matilda Dalton being charged with having unlawfully used an instrument to procure an abortion on Vera Baker, and Percy Norman Henry was charged with aiding abetting Dalton in the commission of this offence. They were jointly charged with murder.

Lengthy trial notes have been condensed and summarised for this article .

Dalton was charged with manslaughter in respect to the girl, Vera Baker, but the jury disagreed, and an additional indictment had been laid charging her with performing an illegal operation. However, when this charge was heard, the jury failed to agree. The same evidence was tendered again at the retrial on Wednesday. This time the jury agreed on a verdict of not guilty 20 February 1918.

Percy Norman Henry was charged at the Supreme Court with having on or about October 24 1917 counselled and procured a young woman named Vera Baker to submit to the unlawful use of an instrument for the purpose of procuring an abortion. He was also indicted with being a party to manslaughter in connection with the death of Vera Baker, but this count was withdrawn on the application of the Crown Prosecutor. After a retirement for 20 minutes the jury returned a verdict of not guilty, and the accused was discharged 22 February 1918.

Anglican Division D, Row 9,
Plot 68: Vera Martha Baker (23) 1917 – unmarked

Sources:
Papers Past https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/
Auckland Star vol XLIX issue 45 21/2/1918
Evening Post 10/11/1917
Evening Post  30/11/1917
Evening Post  20/02/1918
Evening Post  21/02/1918
NZ Truth, Issue 648, 17 /11/1917
NZ Truth, Issue 663, 2 /03/1918

Megan Cook, 'Abortion - Who and how', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand,  http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/abortion/page-2

Museum of Contraception and Abortion http://en.muvs.org/abbruch/instrumente/klistierspritze-id1020/

Image: Page 9 Advertisements Column 4, New Zealand Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 16669, 13 October 1917. http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZH19171013.2.59.4

Image: L0036376 Credit: Wellcome Library, London
Collection: Wellcome Images Library reference no.: Museum No A626202, A626932, A640607, A606384

Presented by Susan Reid, Discover Waikumete

Frank McGann - Road death

Showing the Captain Cook Hotel on northern side of Khyber Pass,
with Hancock and Company, Maltsers (also known as the Captain Cook Brewery)
 to the right. Sir George Grey Special Collections, 
Auckland Libraries, 4-RIC52

Frank McGann, an elderly gentleman of 75 years of age, was crossing the road by the Captain Cook Hotel on Khyber Pass Road in the City, when he inadvertently stepped into the path of a taxi cab. The driver noticed him when he was little more than a car length away, and immediately swerved the car to the right to try and avoid hitting the man. Regretfully the splashboard caught Mr McGann on the leg and he was knocked down and “carried by the front of the car for about 28ft…”

The taxi driver, Mr Charles Hunt, stopped the car and tried to render assistance whilst shouting for help. Mr McGann was found to be still breathing, but unconscious.

The police arrived at the scene, and soon after Dr. Williams of Remuera Road, but Mr McGann had died before his arrival and the Doctor could only pronounce life to be extinct.

The victim of the accident had last been seen going down Khyber Pass Road, and was thought to be returning home with a few groceries when he was hit. Mr McGann was a widower, and understood to be a little hard of hearing. He had lived in Mountain Road near the old quarry, and had been well known in the area as was one of the few surviving stonebreakers.

An inquest was held, and the Court heard from the taxi driver, Mr Hunt, and a number of witnesses, including passengers in the taxi at the time of the accident.

Mr Hunt, who had the reputation of being a careful driver, said he had been travelling at a slow “eight to ten miles an hour” at the time of the accident. Mr Hunt said that he “was keeping a good look out” and his taxi lights were said to cast a bright beam straight ahead, although the sides of the road in total darkness. Mr Hunt had first seen Mr McGann when he appeared directly in front of the car, about a yard away and he “did everything possible to avoid colliding with the old man”.

A number of witnesses attested to the accident spot being “very dark and badly lighted”. The road was being repaired near the accident spot and a pile of metal lay in the middle of the roadway with only “lighted hurricane lamps ….to act as warning signals”.

The Court also heard that this was “the identical spot where the man Ballan was knocked down by a motor car and killed by a passing tramcar just a few weeks ago”

The death of Mr McGann was found to be accidental, the deceased had crossed the road on an angle, with his face averted to the oncoming car and the driver had done all he could to avert the accident. The jury returned a verdict to the effect that Frank McGann met his death by being struck by a motor-car in Khyber Pass. They considered that all possible care had been taken to avoid the accident, and therefore they exonerated the driver of the car from all blame.

A rider was added that more lights should be placed in the vicinity.

Roman Catholic Division C, Row 2,
Plot 42a: Francis (Frank) McGann (75) 1913 – unmarked

Sources:
Papers Past https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/
KNOCKED DOWN BY MOTOR. New Zealand Herald, Volume L, Issue 15241, 3 March 1913
KILLED IN KHYBER PASS. New Zealand Herald, Volume L, Issue 15249, 12 March 1913
KILLED BY A TAXI. Auckland Star, Volume XLIV, Issue 53, 3 March 1913
Image: Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, 4-RIC52

Presented by Susan Reid, Discover Waikumete

Patrick Scarrott - Killed by tramcar

Royal George  Hotel and tram way 1920 - 1929
Looking south from junction of Khyber Pass Road along Broadway, 
Newmarket, showing (from left) the Royal George Hotel,
 Newmarket Furniture Mart (formerly the Adelphi Theatre and Broadway Theatre),
 Broadway Pies, W Hughes, hairdresser. Creator Richardson, James D
Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, 4-2116

“FATAL TRAM ACCIDENT.
MAN DIES IN HOSPITAL.
KNOCKED DOWN IN NEWMARKET".
"Fatal results have attended an accident in New-market on Saturday evening, when an elderly man, Mr. Patrick Albert Scarrott, was knocked down by a tramcar. He died in the  Auckland Hospital shortly after six o'clock yesterday morning. Deceased, about whom few particulars are known, had been staying on and off at the Salvation Army Home. He is supposed to have two brothers in Auckland. An inquest was opened yesterdav before Mr. J. E. Wilson, S.M. Dr. G. J. Frengley said deceased was admitted to hospital, and he gradually became more and more comatose. A post-mortem examination lead to the conclusion that death was due to a fracture of the skull, laceration of the brain, and  cerebral haemorrhage.”
New Zealand Herald, 15/5/1923

“KILLED BY A TRAMCAR.
THE NEWMARKET ACCIDENT.
MOTORMAN NOT TO BLAME".
"The adjourned inquest concerning the death of Mr. Patrick Albert Scarrott, an elderly man, who died af the Auckland Hospital on Monday morning as the  result of injuries received, through being struck by a tramcar in Newmarket on Saturday evening, was concluded by Mr. J. E. Wilson, S.M., yesterday. Mr. Mackay appeared for the City Council and Sergeant Rock represented the police.

The evidence showed that deceased was seen standing on the outward tram track opposite the Royal George Hotel just before an inward-bound Remuera tram approached. When the tram was a few feet away deceased staggered forward, was struck by the right-hand side of the front of the car and fell heavily to the ground. The tram, which was proceeding very slowly, was pulled up almost instantly. Deceased was clear of the line. He was apparently under the influence of liquor.

The motorman on the train said that he applied the emergency brake, and the car which was slowing down for a stop was pulled up immediately. Witness had noticed the man stagger a few yards before the car reached him and thought he was going to wait until the car had passed.

The verdict was to the effect that death was due to fracture of the skull, laceration of the brain, cerebral hemorrhage resulting from deceased stepping in front of a moving tram, and being knocked on to the street. The motorman was in no way to blame.”
New Zealand Herald, 17/5/1923

Roman Catholic Division C, Row 2,
Plot 52x: Patrick Albert Scarrott (59) 1923 – unmarked

Sources:
paparespast https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/
KILLED BY A TRAMCAR. New Zealand Herald, 17/5/1923
MAN DIES IN HOSPITAL New Zealand Herald, 15/5/1923
Image: Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, 4-2116

Minnie Hope - Girl's Night Out Turns Tragic

While travelling in a cab on Saturday 13th of October 1894 with a companion Alice Stewart, Minnie Hope the 29 year old wife of George Hope, somehow fell out of the cab in Khyber Pass Rd while under the influence of liquor after a night out. She was picked up unconscious and taken to the house of Julia Wilson in Rokeby St where she was seen by a Dr Lindsay at 2am Sunday morning and found to have sustained a fracture of the skull. She was taken to hospital on Dr Lindsay’s orders at 4am and died there Sunday night.

At the inquest a witness Charles Rowe said that he was walking along through Newton at about 7pm Saturday night when he saw a woman whom he identified as the deceased lying on the road, face down, arms outstretched, but still alive. Nobody was with her and he believed she was the worse for liquor. Witnesses saw a hansom cab coming from the direction of town and Mr Rowe called to the driver to stop, he identified the cab driver as Samuel Pierce. Piece said the woman was drunk and asked for help to get her into the cab. According to the witness the cabman appeared to be sober and did not say whether Minnie had fallen out of the cab.

Hansom cabs, similar to the one Minnie Hope fell out of,
'Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, 4-211' 

As a post-script to this tragedy, the cabman Samuel Pierce was charged with manslaughter and found guilty on the 3rd December 1894. The judge, addressing Pierce, said there being nothing whatsoever against his previous character he should deal very lightly with the case. The sentence of the court was that he be imprisoned and kept to hard labour in the Auckland prison for the term of one week, subject to the proviso that he found 2 sureties of 25 pounds each and his own surety of 50 pounds for good behaviour for 12 months.

Roman Catholic Divison B, Row 2,

Plot 67: Minnie Hope (29) 1894 – Mrs

In Loving Memory of

MINNIE HOPE

who met her death by accident on

13^th Oct. 1894 aged 30 years

Deeply regretted by all who knew her

May her soul rest in peace

Erected by a loving friend

Sources: PapersPast https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz
New Zealand Herald, 16/10/1894
Auckland Star, 16/10/1894

Auckland Star, 27/12/1894
Image: Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, 4-211

Compiled by Geri Eccles - Discover Waikumete

Neil Slight - Death of Young Cyclist

The grave of  Neil Slight,
Anglican Division J, Row 1, Plot 17.
Photo by Kath Kingswood.

Neil Slight was just 16 years old when on the afternoon of the 15th of September 1941 the young printer’s apprentice’s bicycle ploughed into the side of a passing car in France St, Newton. The driver of the car just happened to be a policeman by the name of Constable Robert Wilkes of Kingsland.

Neil was conscious but badly concussed with a fractured skull and several other major injuries. Admitted to Auckland Hospital, his condition deteriorated over next few hours and he died at around 10pm that night.

At the inquest a verdict of accidental death was returned by the coroner.



Anglican Division J, Row 1,

Plot 17: Neil John Slight (16) 15/9/1941

Plot 19: Alfred John Slight (68) 1956 – Rtd Milkman

In Loving Memory - of - NEIL JOHN dearly loved son of A. & M. SLIGHT Accidentally killed 15 Dec. 1941 Aged 16 years.

In Loving Memory of ALFRED JOHN SLIGHT dearly loved husband of Mary died 6th April 1956 aged 68 years. At Rest.

Source: PapersPast https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz
Evening Post 16/9/1941                                              

New Zealand Herald 16/9/1941                                            
Auckland Star 7/11/1941

Presented by Geri Eccles - Discover Waikumete

William Eaton - Accident on the Kestrel

The headstone for William Eaton
in the Soldiers Burial Area
Photo: Kath Kingwood

William Eaton was a carpenter aboard the H.M.S. Philomel, a Man O’ War ship. On the 11th of May 1921 Eaton was going over to the North Shore by the Kestrel ferry steamer when, nearing the Devonport wharf, he fell from the top deck, striking the fender which runs round the vessel and then fell into the water. He was rescued and a boat was launched from the ferry to take him back to his own vessel where he died soon afterwards.

Incidentally the Kestrel ferry steamer was 111 years old when it sunk March 2016 and salvaged a month later. It had been docked at Wynyard Wharf for the previous four years and plans to restore it are still in the pipeline.

Soldiers Burial B, Row 1,

Plot 15: William Eaton (38) 1921 – Sailor

I.H.S.

WILLIAM EATON

Petty Officer.

H.M.S. Philomel. N.Z. Station.

died May 10^th 1921

aged 37.

Sources:
PapersPast Auckland Star 11/5/1921
The Kestrel Preservation Plan  http://www.thekestrel.org.nz/


Presented by Geri Eccles - Discover Waikumete