John Christopher Higgins (abt. 1865 - 1937)

Born about 1865 in Canada

Died 24 Aug 1937 at about age 72 in Avondale, Auckland, New Zealand

Biography

John Higgins was born about 1865. ^{[citation needed]}

Emigration

John emigrated to New Zealand some time between 1903 and 1908 and settled in Waikino, in the Hauraki district of Waikato. He was regarded as a quiet kind of man. He sold firewood and raised chickens.

First New Zealand School Massacre

On the 19th of October, 1923, John Higgins gained his notoriety as the first person in New Zealand to set upon a school with the intent to kill the students. At the age of 57, John marched into the Waikino school in Waikino, New Zealand, armed with a revolver, a pig knife and allegedly some gelignite. The headmaster, Robert Reid tried to talk him down when Higgins declared what he was about to do. Instead, Robert Reid was shot in the jaw. John Higgins continued on his assault and killed two children and injured four more students, all aged 13-years and under. After being shot in the groin, one of the students still managed to make it out of the school and seek help. The Constable that attended was then injured, but his presence somehow changed the situation and John Higgins finally backed down. ^[1]

The deceased :

• Charles Stewart, 9
• Kelvyn McLean, 13

The wounded :

• Peter McKinney, 8
• Alexander Bustard, 12
• Peter Shaw, 12
• Kathleen McGarry, 13
• Robert Reid, school headmaster
• Herbert Olsen, Constable

John Higgins was charged with two counts of murder.

Judgement Day

John's case went to trial, where he was found guilty of murder on February 14, 1924 and he was sentenced to death. ^[2] His sentence was later commuted to spending life in a psychiatric facility on grounds he was insane.

About the end of March, 1924, John's wife and two children sailed back to Vancouver, Canada. ^[3]

Death

John passed away in 1937 ^[4] in the Avondale Lunatic Asylum in Auckland, New Zealand. He was cremated and his ashes were interred at Waikumete cemetery, Auckland, New Zealand. ^[5]

Sources

1. ↑ https://www.sooty.nz/waikinoschool.html
2. ↑ PapersPast: The Higgins Trial: Waihi Daily Telegraph, Volume XXII, Issue 7029, 14 February 1924
3. ↑ Papers Past: Poverty Bay Herald, Volume L, Issue 16396, 1 April 1924
4. ↑ New Zealand DIA: Births, Deaths and Marriages death registration # 1937/18400
5. ↑ Auckland Cemeteries. Interment Records John Christopher Higgins 1937.

Further Reading

• Wanted Known: Waikino School Shooting
• New Zealand Disasters and Tragedies: Waikino School Shooting
• Revisiting a Dark Day: A Mass School Shooting - in New Zealand
• Papers Past: Massacres of the Innocents. NZ Truth, Issue 935, 27 October 1923