WINTER

Wild winds howl as they make me shiver                

 Ice cold leaves slowly fall crinkling as they hit icy grass

Numb fingers feeling like they are going to snap off soon

Thawing puddles sitting in the dim small winter sun

Extreme winter cold that chills me to the bone            

 Rainy smooth clouds floating like a ghost in the grey sad sky

 

Williamina Dean (Minnie Dean)

Where she lived

Minnie Dean lived in Winton. She was born in Greenock Scotland but no one knows when she moved to Winton, New Zealand.

Her family

Minnie Dean’s husband Charles Dean died in a house fire but there was no evidence of their marriage. Willamina also had two daughters. There is no evidence of when they were born and what happened to them no one knows. Willamina Dean came from a family of eight girls. Minnie’s Mother died from cancer.

Why she was hung

Minnie Dean killed babies. She MURDERED them !!!! Willamina Dean was the first and last women in New Zealand to be hung. On the 2nd May, 1895 a railway guard saw Minnie board a train. She was carrying a baby and a hat box. On the trip back home she only had the hat box which looked slightly heavier. Police searched the tracks then they investigated her home. They found the bodies of two babies and an older boy buried in her garden. Minnie adopted a three week old baby from its single mother for £25. Police traced Minnie to a boarding house where they found the baby in dirty clothes and being fed out of a bottle which had sour and curdled milk in it. She said she would take care of the baby's for free but people did not know she would purposely kill them under her care.

Rumors

Rumors have it that the grass around her grave is all dead. But I think people are just spraying it. Minnie was buried in an unmarked grave. People used to say to their children be good or I’ll send you off to Minnie Deans farm and you’ll never be seen again. A normal person would be buried six feet down but it was said Minnie was buried

deeper than everyone else. She also was buried face down in her unmarked grave because she she was so evil.

Her life

In 1878 Charles Dean turned to farming, he was a pig farmer. While Willamina started to take care of children. Minnie’s father was a railway engineer. Her mother died in 1957 from cancer. Willamina was born September 2nd, 1844 and died August 12th 1895 (age 50). Now she lies in Winton cemetery.

By Nicole

Six Photos

By the look of this photo has been  taken of the children of Denniston school children outside of the school. Can you see the younger and shorter children are at the front in the photo and the taller and older ones are at the back. As you can see this is a very old photo. The school was on the west coast of  the southland New Zealand. It looks like all the children are dressed in their good clothes for the school photo.

Arindale

Arindale was a lovely bright happy kingdom until the day the Queen died. She died at the age of 50. Then it turned dark. The clouds turned black. The Villagers turned against each other. The only one left to rule was the mean old King. He had dark black hair like the thick of night. When he smiled you could see his yellow teeth. Whenever he walked  around the village everyone ran in terror screaming and hoping that he did not see them. When any poor unlucky person didn't see him coming he would snatch them up and lock them in the dungeon and swallow the key. Some people believed he was the Devil himself. But there was one boy in the village who was brave enough to stand his ground. His name was JAKE Carson.He was 15 years old and lived with his poor old mother Mary.They lived in a small cottage on the edge of the Kingdom. Their house had two rooms. A bedroom and a dining room. They only had one bed that Jake gave to his mother because she was very ill. Every day JAKE would go to his neighbourly friends to get a bit of food for them all so he could feed his mother. One day JAKE was walking around the village and heard the king talking. He was muttering about the queen hiding a key somewhere but he had no idea where. JAKE walked away thinking to himself “what if he got the key?” Then the king would do anything to get it.  That night while his mother was in bed sleeping he decided to go for a night time walk. He walked a little bit then found a tree to sit under. Then he saw a gold object deep down under the tree roots. JAKE reached out and grabbed it. There was a note attached. It said “Dear finder, well done, you have found the key. Now you must make your way into the castle. There is a sealed up room that the key will unlock. Inside will be all my money and possessions. Do not tell the key or you will die. Yours sincerely, the Queen.” After JAKE read that he raced home and woke up his mother and told her everything. She was amazed. She said to him in a soft quiet voice, “You should get ready then.” So JAKE got some things, a jacket, rope, some bread, a bag and a dagger in case he ran into the king. Then he set off. Once he got there he thought to himself, “How am I supposed to get up there?” Then he looked around and saw a flagstaff that was close to the castle. He threw his rope up to the top then heaved himself up and climbed through an open window. The JAKE noticed he was in the kings bedroom and the king was asleep. JAKE snuck past the kings bed and slipped into the hallway. Then he noticed he had run into a maid. She looked about the same age as him. JAKE told her why he was there. The maid said her name was Victoria. She also said that she knew where the room was. She said, “I will show you under one condition. You help me escape.” JAKE thought for a minute. If he said no, he would be wandering around the castle for ever so he said yes. They walked for about 20 minutes then found the room. They heard footsteps coming up the stairs. “The king!” Victoria said quietly. “Hide behind the door!” When the king came around the corner JAKE jumped out and stabbed the king in the heart with his dagger. He screamed as the dagger hit his heart. He fell to the ground, blood spreading across his chest. As JAKE ran towards the door and unlocked it his jaw dropped. He saw gold, gems, jewels, rubies priceless necklaces, crowns and the Queens ring that she wore every day of her life. One month later… JAKE became king. He is now known as “JAKE the King of Arindale” He is engaged to Victoria and they are getting married in a month. The kingdom is restored to it’s bright, happy self. The flowers grow, the clouds have turned white and fluffy and the villagers are happy and friendly again, forgiving each other for the harm they did. As for the old king, he was put in a coffin and burned to smithereens. Oh, we almost forgot, JAKE’s mother Mary is now living a happy life in the castle and is healthy.

Written by Abbey Carter and Nicole McBain.