Stanley Graham
Encyclopedia
Eric Stanley George Graham (12 November 1900–21 October 1941) was a New Zealand
mass murder
er who killed seven people.
. He then moved to Kowhitirangi, an agricultural district 12 miles from Hokitika in the South Island
where he worked as a farmer and where he lived with his wife and two children. He became argumentative and alienated from the community from 1938 onwards, alleging that neighbours were poisoning his cows. As income from his farm dropped he fell into debt and his behaviour towards others became more threatening. His behaviour took a turn for the worse and he started threatening and abusing neighbours passing his house. Graham and his wife practiced target shooting out the back of their home in the middle of the night. Graham was an expert marksman
and had an assortment of firearms.
During 1941, he was in dispute with the police who wanted to relieve him of his .303
firearms for war use. It has been said it was for fear for his threatening behaviour to others but he would have been still in possession of several guns and their ammunition. Shooting deer, possums, rabbits and other unwisely introduced animals, was then encouraged.
Graham fired at them as they approached the house, and Sergeant Cooper and Constables Jordan and Tulloch were killed instantly, Cooper having at least four bullet wounds in his body. Constable Best was also shot and died three days later.
Graham also shot an agricultural instructor, George Ridley, who came to his door, and fled his house. He returned the next evening and killed home guardsmen Richard Coulson and Gregory Hutchison in a firefight.
More than 100 police and army personnel searched dense bush for Graham for 12 days, with orders to shoot on sight if they found Graham still armed. On 20 October an injured Graham was shot by Auckland Constable James Quirke as he walked out of the bush carrying his rifle. He died the next day in hospital. Constable Quirke reported Graham told him he was intending to give up that night.
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...
mass murder
Mass murder
Mass murder is the act of murdering a large number of people , typically at the same time or over a relatively short period of time. According to the FBI, mass murder is defined as four or more murders occurring during a particular event with no cooling-off period between the murders...
er who killed seven people.
Early life
Graham was born and raised in Longford, Kokatahi, New ZealandNew 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...
. He then moved to Kowhitirangi, an agricultural district 12 miles from Hokitika in the South Island
South Island
The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...
where he worked as a farmer and where he lived with his wife and two children. He became argumentative and alienated from the community from 1938 onwards, alleging that neighbours were poisoning his cows. As income from his farm dropped he fell into debt and his behaviour towards others became more threatening. His behaviour took a turn for the worse and he started threatening and abusing neighbours passing his house. Graham and his wife practiced target shooting out the back of their home in the middle of the night. Graham was an expert marksman
Marksman
A marksman is a person who is skilled in precision, or a sharpshooter shooting, using projectile weapons, such as with a rifle but most commonly with a sniper rifle, to shoot at long range targets...
and had an assortment of firearms.
During 1941, he was in dispute with the police who wanted to relieve him of his .303
.303 British
.303 British, or 7.7x56mmR, is a .311 inch calibre rifle and machine gun cartridge first developed in Britain as a blackpowder round put into service in December 1888 for the Lee-Metford rifle, later adapted to use smokeless powders...
firearms for war use. It has been said it was for fear for his threatening behaviour to others but he would have been still in possession of several guns and their ammunition. Shooting deer, possums, rabbits and other unwisely introduced animals, was then encouraged.
The day of the rampage
On 8 October 1941 Graham confronted a neighbour with a rifle. Later that morning Constable Edward Best, 27, attempted to discuss the matter with Graham but backed off with Graham pointing two rifles out the window at him. Best retreated to Hokitika for back-up and returned to the farm with Sergeant William Cooper, 43, and Constables Frederick Jordan, 26, and Percy Tulloch, 35.Graham fired at them as they approached the house, and Sergeant Cooper and Constables Jordan and Tulloch were killed instantly, Cooper having at least four bullet wounds in his body. Constable Best was also shot and died three days later.
Graham also shot an agricultural instructor, George Ridley, who came to his door, and fled his house. He returned the next evening and killed home guardsmen Richard Coulson and Gregory Hutchison in a firefight.
More than 100 police and army personnel searched dense bush for Graham for 12 days, with orders to shoot on sight if they found Graham still armed. On 20 October an injured Graham was shot by Auckland Constable James Quirke as he walked out of the bush carrying his rifle. He died the next day in hospital. Constable Quirke reported Graham told him he was intending to give up that night.