Cyrus Haley (22 September 1832 – 4 October 1875) was a New Zealand

arsonist Arson is the act of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, waterc ...

. He was born in

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

on 22 September 1832 and migrated to

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

, New Zealand, in 1870. Haley burned down the Music Hall, the ship ''City of Auckland'', a kerosene store, part of the New Zealand Insurance Company building, and the Choral Hall, which had been built to replace the Music Hall. On 22 January 1872 he fired eight shots into businessman Thomas Russell's home at the Pah farm. He was apprehended by police officer Thomas Broham on 28 January 1872 after setting on fire haystacks at the farm. He was convicted of attempted murder, threatening to kill and threatening to destroy property, and sentenced to life in prison. He was shot dead in 1875 while attempting to

escape Escape or Escaping may refer to: Arts and media Film * ''Escape'' (1928 film), a German silent drama film * ''Escape!'' (film), a 1930 British crime film starring Austin Trevor and Edna Best * ''Escape'' (1940 film), starring Robert Taylor and ...

from a labour gang.

References

1832 births 1875 deaths People from Leeds English emigrants to New Zealand New Zealand arsonists Criminals from Yorkshire People convicted of arson People convicted of attempted murder {{NewZealand-crime-bio-stub