Sarah Makin: The Victorian Baby Farmer Who Profited from Infant Deaths
In the shadowed underbelly of Victorian Sydney, where poverty and social stigma intertwined, a gruesome trade flourished: baby farming. Desperate unwed mothers, burdened by the shame of illegitimacy, paid lump sums to caregivers promising to raise their children. But for Sarah Makin, this was no act of mercy—it was a pathway to profit through calculated neglect and murder. Between 1890 and 1892, Makin and her husband John took in at least a dozen infants, only for their tiny bodies to be discovered starved and buried in shallow trunks beneath rented homes.
The case shocked Australia, exposing the vulnerabilities of a society ill-equipped to protect its most defenseless. Makin, a seemingly ordinary woman in her forties, advertised her services widely, luring mothers with assurances of loving care. Instead, the infants endured slow starvation, their cries silenced forever. This story is not just one of individual depravity but a stark indictment of an era’s failures—where the stigma of single motherhood drove women to hand over their babies to predators.
At the heart of the scandal lay Sarah Makin’s cold efficiency. She moved from house to house, leaving a trail of death hidden in plain sight. When authorities uncovered the remains in late 1892, the nation recoiled. The trial that followed would become a media sensation, ultimately leading to the gallows and sparking reforms in child welfare. Yet, the true victims—the forgotten infants and their grieving mothers—remind us of the human cost behind the headlines.
Early Life and the Emergence of Baby Farming
Sarah Jane Makin, born Sarah Byrne around 1844 in Lancashire, England, emigrated to Australia in the 1880s with her third husband, John Makin. Little is known of her early years, but records suggest a life marked by instability. She had been married twice before, bearing several children, some of whom died young under mysterious circumstances. By the time she arrived in Sydney, Makin was a widow with grown children from previous unions, positioning herself as a matronly figure capable of child-rearing.
Baby farming emerged in the late 19th century as a dark response to rising illegitimacy rates. In an era without social safety nets, unmarried mothers faced ostracism and destitution. They sought out “farmers”—women who, for a one-time fee of £3 to £5 (equivalent to several weeks’ wages), would adopt or care for the child. Tragically, many farmers neglected or killed the infants to pocket the money without ongoing costs. Makin entered this illicit trade around 1890, placing advertisements in newspapers like the Sydney Morning Herald: “Home for friendless and forsaken girls. Terms moderate. Babies nursed and cared for.”
Her operation was deceptively simple. Mothers, often young servants or factory workers, visited Makin’s rented cottages in Sydney’s working-class suburbs. Handing over their babies and fees, they departed with promises of updates that never came. Makin’s homes in Redfern, Chippendale, and ultimately Newtown became charnel houses, where infants withered away from malnutrition and exposure.
The Crimes: A Trail of Starved Infants
Makin’s method was insidious in its passivity. Rather than overt violence, she relied on deliberate neglect—providing minimal food, unsanitary conditions, and no medical care. Autopsies later revealed the infants, aged from days to months, had died from starvation, marasmus (severe malnutrition), and related ailments. One child, Horace Murray, just four months old, weighed a mere 4 pounds at death.
Key Victims and the Pattern of Deception
- Clara Annie Rees: In April 1891, 21-year-old servant Clara Rees paid Makin £3 for her four-month-old daughter. Rees received a forged death certificate claiming natural causes. The baby’s body was later found in a trunk.
- Dulcie Florence De La Poer: Surrendered by her mother in September 1892 for £3 10 shillings. Discovered starved among the remains.
- Esther Elizabeth Ellis: Handed over weeks before the discoveries; her emaciated body confirmed the pattern.
These were but a fraction. Makin claimed the babies “died naturally,” sending sham telegrams to mothers: “Baby died suddenly. Buried government expense.” She buried the bodies hastily in backyards or stored them in tin trunks filled with lime to hasten decomposition. By October 1892, she had operated from at least four addresses, amassing fees from over a dozen infants while her own biological children lived comfortably nearby.
The couple’s nomadic lifestyle facilitated the crimes. Renting short-term, they fled before suspicions arose, always one step ahead until debts caught up.
Discovery and Investigation
The unraveling began on October 19, 1892, when bailiffs evicted the Makins from a MacDonald Street cottage in Newtown over unpaid rent. Beneath the house, in the earthen floor of a water closet, they found a suspicious bulge. Digging revealed a trunk containing two infant skeletons wrapped in calico, liberally sprinkled with quicklime.
Police, led by Detective-sergeant Joseph Elliott, expanded the search. Another trunk yielded four more bodies. At previous residences—92 Ferguson Street, Redfern; 25 Bishop Street, Chippendale; and others—similar horrors emerged: a total of 13 infants’ remains by November. The stench and condition suggested recent deaths for some.
Makin was arrested alongside John, who confessed partial knowledge but blamed Sarah. Interrogations revealed her web of lies. Mothers came forward after newspaper reports, identifying their children via clothing scraps. Coroner W. H. C. Newland’s inquests confirmed homicide by starvation in several cases, though decomposition obscured others.
The investigation exposed systemic issues: lax registration of births and deaths allowed forged certificates to proliferate. Public outrage fueled demands for reform, with editorials decrying “the baby farmers’ harvest.”
The Sensational Trial
Tried separately in 1893 at Sydney’s Supreme Court, the proceedings captivated the nation. John Makin’s trial in March ended in acquittal; the jury accepted his claim of ignorance. Sarah’s case, starting July 1893, focused on one murder—Clara Rees’s baby—to avoid evidentiary overload.
Prosecutor Walter Abigor argued Makin’s motive was pure greed: “She took the children for the money and let them starve.” Witnesses included distraught mothers and experts detailing the autopsies. Makin testified coolly, insisting all deaths were from “English cholera” or teething, and burials were to spare families expense. “I loved the children,” she claimed, but evidence of her spending fees on finery undermined her.
After a four-day trial, the jury deliberated 90 minutes before convicting her of murder. Justice Sir Frederick Darley sentenced her to death, noting, “The lives of these little ones were deliberately sacrificed for gain.” Appeals failed; Governor’s mercy pleas, citing her age and sex, were denied amid public pressure.
On August 22, 1895, Sarah Makin, aged 51, was hanged at Darlinghurst Gaol. Her last words: “Goodbye, God bless you all.” John died of natural causes in 1894 while free.
Psychological Insights and Societal Context
Modern analysis views Makin through lenses of psychopathy and opportunism. Lacking remorse, she rationalized her actions, a trait common in instrumental killers motivated by gain rather than impulse. Historians like Joanna Bourke note baby farmers often came from marginalized backgrounds, blending survival instincts with moral numbness.
Yet, the era’s context amplified her crimes. Victorian Australia’s illegitimacy rate hovered at 5-7%, with asylums overflowing. No adoption laws existed until 1923; child protection was minimal. Makin exploited this vacuum, her advertisements blending seamlessly with legitimate ones.
Psychologically, her repeated child deaths pre-Makin suggest a pattern. Was it Munchausen by proxy inverted, or pure avarice? Experts debate, but her detachment—storing bodies casually—points to profound dehumanization of the infants as commodities.
Legacy: Reforms Born from Tragedy
The Makin case ignited Australia’s first child welfare laws. The NSW Neglected Children and Juvenile Offenders Act 1905 established protection boards, mandatory birth registrations, and bans on baby farming ads. Similar reforms spread interstate, curbing the trade.
Today, Makin symbolizes Victorian true crime’s intersection with social reform. Museums like Sydney’s Justice and Police Museum display artifacts, educating on past failures. The infants’ anonymity underscores ongoing fights against child exploitation.
Conclusion
Sarah Makin’s crimes, though confined to Sydney’s slums, reverberate as a cautionary tale of unchecked greed preying on vulnerability. Thirteen tiny lives extinguished for profit laid bare the cruelties of a judgmental society, prompting safeguards that endure. In honoring the victims—the starved babies and deceived mothers—we affirm that true justice demands vigilance against those who commodify innocence. Their story compels us to ask: How many more shadows lurk in history’s margins?
Got thoughts? Drop them below!
For more articles visit us at https://dyerbolical.com.
Join the discussion on X at
https://x.com/dyerbolicaldb
https://x.com/retromoviesdb
https://x.com/ashyslasheedb
Follow all our pages via our X list at
https://x.com/i/lists/1645435624403468289