Arsonist: the story of Cyrus Haley

It's 1871 and the city of Auckland is being terrorised by a string of major fires. Fears are raised that a gang of anarchist fanatics could be responsible but the real culprit turns out to be a well known businessman with an axe to grind against Auckland high society.

Cyrus Haley burned down several of the most famous buildings in 19th century Auckland and tried to kill the family of a prominent businessman. To this day we still don't know why...

Music in this episode courtesy of Chris Priestly.

THE CHASE

January 27th, 1872. Auckland's chief of police, Inspector Broham, is hot on the trail of a fugitive who'd been terrorising the city.

Over the previous year, this mysterious figure had burned down five major buildings and sent threatening letters to newspapers. He claimed to be the leader of a group that had vowed to "destroy £100,000 worth of property and to take 5 of the lives of the most obnoxious persons."

Things got even more serious on January 22nd, 1872. The mystery man fired eight shots into the home of New Zealand's most prominent businessman, Thomas Russell (who featured in a previous Black Sheep episode).

But then the criminal slipped up. Returning to Russell's home a few days after the shooting, he set two haystacks on fire. The police were quickly alerted and Inspector Broham spotted a man trying to leave the scene.

The New Zealand Herald described the chase:

"In the pursuit Mr. Broham had to leap a massive stone wall, cross through an orchard, and again over an hawthorn fence, following up the chase over some very rough ground, across ditches, and through thick scrub. The man was still considerably ahead, as he also proved a swift runner: yet the pace of Mr. Broham told at last, and every minute the distance between the two lessened."

Finally, the shadowy figure realised there was no escaping Inspector Broham who the Herald described as "remarkably swift of foot".

The man turned on Inspector Broham, raised a gun, and pointed it directly at the police chief.

"But before he can fire he trips and falls," says historian Mark Derby. " subdues the man... and by the moonlight he recognises him."

To everyone's shock the man who'd been terrorising the city was a well known figure in Auckland's commercial scene - an investor and engineer called Cyrus Haley.

BAD BEGINNINGS

Cyrus Haley was 28 when he arrived in New Zealand in 1870 with his wife Emily and their two children.

The couple came from relatively wealthy backgrounds and were determined to rise in Auckland's elite social circles. At first, they tried to make a splash in the art scene…

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details