Pauline Parker
Encyclopedia
Pauline Yvonne Parker (born on 26 May 1938) is a woman from Christchurch
, New Zealand
who, together with her friend Juliet Hulme (now known as acclaimed fiction author Anne Perry
), murdered her mother, Honora Rieper, on 22 June 1954. It is believed that the two girls killed Honora because Hulme and her father were leaving shortly for South Africa
and, though Parker wanted to accompany them, her mother forbade it. According to their own accounts, Parker and Hulme were devoted friends who collaborated on a series of adventure novels which they hoped would be bought by a Hollywood studio and made into epic films. The girls' friendship was documented in detail by Parker in a series of diaries during her teenage years.
. They both attended Christchurch Girls' High School
, then located in what became the Cranmer Centre
. Both girls had suffered from debilitating sicknesses as children, and they initially bonded over it. According to Pauline's accounts, Hulme romanticized the idea of being sick, and Parker, having an imaginative spirit and a passion for tragedy
herself (she loved the opera
) took very well to this attitude. During their friendship, the girls invented their own personal religion
, with its own ideas on morality. They rejected Christianity
and worshipped their own saint
s, envisioning a parallel dimension
called The Fourth World, essentially their version of Heaven. The Fourth World was a place that they felt they were already able to enter occasionally, during moments of spiritual enlightenment. By Pauline's account, they had achieved this spiritual enlightenment due to their friendship. Eventually, the girls formulated a plan to flee to Hollywood.
Shortly prior to this, Hulme had discovered her mother was having an affair and her parents were separating. This devastated Hulme as well as Parker, who, due to having spent so much time with the Hulmes, thought of Hulme's parents as her own. Both girls were unaware of the fact that both sets of parents were collaborating at the time in an effort to separate the girls, viewing their romantic friendship
as potentially unhealthy or homosexual
(which, at the time, was thought of as a mental illness). The Parkers and the Hulmes' efforts culminated in a plan for Juliet to accompany her father to South Africa, where he planned to move after the divorce, so Juliet would leave Pauline behind in New Zealand. Parker's mother was particularly concerned about the nature of the girls' friendship and was adamant that Parker could not accompany her best friend.
. In practice, this sentence meant they were to be detained at the discretion of the Minister of Justice. They were released separately some five years later.
Prior to the trial, Pauline Parker had been known as Pauline Rieper. Her mother, Honora Rieper, had been living with her father, Herbert Rieper, but during police investigations, it was revealed that they were not, in fact, married. Thus, during the trial, both Honora and Pauline were referred to with the "Parker" surname.
before being allowed to leave for England
. , she was living in the small village of Hoo
near Strood
, Kent
, and running a children's riding school. She has become a Roman Catholic and for many years Parker had refused to give interviews surrounding the murder of her mother and expressed strong remorse
about killing her. She now lives in the remote Orkney Isles in Scotland
.
, by producer-director Peter Jackson
, in 1994. Parker was played by Melanie Lynskey
and Hulme by Kate Winslet
. As of 2011, Alexander Roman has completed a documentary called Reflections of the Past, in which Pauline Parker is played by Alice Drewitt. This film premiered at Lincoln University (in lieu of Rialto Cinema (which is closed due to the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake)) on 9 May.
Christchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
who, together with her friend Juliet Hulme (now known as acclaimed fiction author Anne Perry
Anne Perry
Anne Perry is an English author of historical detective fiction. Perry was convicted of the murder of her friend's mother in 1954.-Early life:Born Juliet Marion Hulme in Blackheath, London, the daughter of Dr...
), murdered her mother, Honora Rieper, on 22 June 1954. It is believed that the two girls killed Honora because Hulme and her father were leaving shortly for South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
and, though Parker wanted to accompany them, her mother forbade it. According to their own accounts, Parker and Hulme were devoted friends who collaborated on a series of adventure novels which they hoped would be bought by a Hollywood studio and made into epic films. The girls' friendship was documented in detail by Parker in a series of diaries during her teenage years.
Relationship with Juliet Hulme
The girls met in their early teens, when Hulme's family moved to Christchurch from EnglandEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. They both attended Christchurch Girls' High School
Christchurch Girls' High School
Christchurch Girls' High School in Christchurch, New Zealand, was established in 1877 and is the second oldest girls' secondary school in the country . Christchurch Girls' High School was established before Christchurch Boys' High School . The first headmistress was Mrs...
, then located in what became the Cranmer Centre
Cranmer Centre
The Cranmer Centre was a historic building in Christchurch, New Zealand. Its original use, until 1986, was as the Christchurch Girls' High School, the second high school for girls in the country...
. Both girls had suffered from debilitating sicknesses as children, and they initially bonded over it. According to Pauline's accounts, Hulme romanticized the idea of being sick, and Parker, having an imaginative spirit and a passion for tragedy
Tragedy
Tragedy is a form of art based on human suffering that offers its audience pleasure. While most cultures have developed forms that provoke this paradoxical response, tragedy refers to a specific tradition of drama that has played a unique and important role historically in the self-definition of...
herself (she loved the opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
) took very well to this attitude. During their friendship, the girls invented their own personal religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
, with its own ideas on morality. They rejected Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
and worshipped their own saint
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
s, envisioning a parallel dimension
Parallel universe (fiction)
A parallel universe or alternative reality is a hypothetical self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own. A specific group of parallel universes is called a "multiverse", although this term can also be used to describe the possible parallel universes that constitute reality...
called The Fourth World, essentially their version of Heaven. The Fourth World was a place that they felt they were already able to enter occasionally, during moments of spiritual enlightenment. By Pauline's account, they had achieved this spiritual enlightenment due to their friendship. Eventually, the girls formulated a plan to flee to Hollywood.
Shortly prior to this, Hulme had discovered her mother was having an affair and her parents were separating. This devastated Hulme as well as Parker, who, due to having spent so much time with the Hulmes, thought of Hulme's parents as her own. Both girls were unaware of the fact that both sets of parents were collaborating at the time in an effort to separate the girls, viewing their romantic friendship
Romantic friendship
The term romantic friendship refers to both very close but non-sexual relationship and at times physical relationship between friends, often involving a degree of physical closeness beyond that which is common in modern Western societies, and may include for example holding hands, cuddling,...
as potentially unhealthy or homosexual
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
(which, at the time, was thought of as a mental illness). The Parkers and the Hulmes' efforts culminated in a plan for Juliet to accompany her father to South Africa, where he planned to move after the divorce, so Juliet would leave Pauline behind in New Zealand. Parker's mother was particularly concerned about the nature of the girls' friendship and was adamant that Parker could not accompany her best friend.
The murder
The girls began to plan the murder of Parker's mother in June 1954. This plan was documented in Parker's diary entries. On 22 June, the girls led Ms. Rieper to a remote area of a park near Christchurch and beat her to death with a half brick concealed in a stocking. They immediately ran to a nearby tea shop, visibly upset and covered in blood, claiming that Pauline's mother had slipped and fallen. When the body was discovered by police, their story did not hold up in explaining the 45 wounds on the woman's head. The torn, blood-soaked stocking with the brick in it was found nearby.Trial and imprisonment
Parker and Hulme were tried by jury in Christchurch, and were found guilty. A plea of insanity was rejected by the court. As the girls were too young to be considered for the death penalty under New Zealand law at the time, they were convicted and sentenced to be detained at Her Majesty's pleasureAt Her Majesty's pleasure
At Her Majesty's pleasure is a legal term of art derived from all legitimate authority for government stemming from the Crown. Originating from the United Kingdom, it is now used throughout the Commonwealth realms...
. In practice, this sentence meant they were to be detained at the discretion of the Minister of Justice. They were released separately some five years later.
Prior to the trial, Pauline Parker had been known as Pauline Rieper. Her mother, Honora Rieper, had been living with her father, Herbert Rieper, but during police investigations, it was revealed that they were not, in fact, married. Thus, during the trial, both Honora and Pauline were referred to with the "Parker" surname.
Later life
Upon release, Parker apparently spent some time in New Zealand under close surveillanceSurveillance
Surveillance is the monitoring of the behavior, activities, or other changing information, usually of people. It is sometimes done in a surreptitious manner...
before being allowed to leave for England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. , she was living in the small village of Hoo
Hoo St Werburgh
Hoo St Werburgh is one of several villages on the Hoo Peninsula in Kent, England, to bear the name Hoo. It constitutes a civil parish in the borough of Medway, with a population of 7,356 at the 2001 census.- History :...
near Strood
Strood
Strood is a town in the unitary authority of Medway in South East England. It is part of the ceremonial county of Kent. It lies on the north west bank of the River Medway at its lowest bridging point, and is part of the Rochester post town....
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, and running a children's riding school. She has become a Roman Catholic and for many years Parker had refused to give interviews surrounding the murder of her mother and expressed strong remorse
Remorse
Remorse is an emotional expression of personal regret felt by a person after he or she has committed an act which they deem to be shameful, hurtful, or violent. Remorse is closely allied to guilt and self-directed resentment...
about killing her. She now lives in the remote Orkney Isles in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
.
Fictional portrayals
The girls' story was made into a film, Heavenly CreaturesHeavenly Creatures
Heavenly Creatures is a 1994 film directed by Peter Jackson, from a screenplay he co-wrote with his wife Fran Walsh, about the notorious 1954 Parker-Hulme murder case in Christchurch, New Zealand. Filmed on location in Christchurch, it features Melanie Lynskey and Kate Winslet in their screen debuts...
, by producer-director Peter Jackson
Peter Jackson
Sir Peter Robert Jackson, KNZM is a New Zealand film director, producer, actor, and screenwriter, known for his The Lord of the Rings film trilogy , adapted from the novel by J. R. R...
, in 1994. Parker was played by Melanie Lynskey
Melanie Lynskey
Melanie Jayne Lynskey is a New Zealand actress best known for playing Charlie Harper's neighbor/stalker Rose on Two and a Half Men, and a range of characters in films such as Win Win, Up in the Air, The Informant!, Away We Go, Flags of Our Fathers, Shattered Glass, Sweet Home Alabama, Ever After...
and Hulme by Kate Winslet
Kate Winslet
Kate Elizabeth Winslet is an English actress and occasional singer. She has received multiple awards and nominations. She was the youngest person to accrue six Academy Award nominations, and won the Academy Award for Best Actress for The Reader...
. As of 2011, Alexander Roman has completed a documentary called Reflections of the Past, in which Pauline Parker is played by Alice Drewitt. This film premiered at Lincoln University (in lieu of Rialto Cinema (which is closed due to the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake)) on 9 May.