The Forgotten Mayor
The
only South Australian Mayor not to have his portrait displayed in the Adelaide
Town Hall, Joseph Clay Hall was Mayor of Adelaide from 1854 to 1855. He married
Jane Youd and the couple had one daughter, Elizabeth.
Mr Hall emigrated to South Australia from
England around 1941 and worked as a share broker from the Waterhouse Chamber, Rundle Street. He lived in North Adelaide on Pennington Terrace in a
home overlooking the parklands.
Not
much is known about Mayor Hall. His name doesn’t appear often in the early
literature discussing politics in South Australia.
There is a short blurb about him in P. Hosking’s The Official Civic Record of South Australia: Centenary year, 1936' in which Mr Hosking states the following about Hall’s political aspirations,
There is a short blurb about him in P. Hosking’s The Official Civic Record of South Australia: Centenary year, 1936' in which Mr Hosking states the following about Hall’s political aspirations,
There are, unfortunately, very few particulars available regarding Mr. Joseph Hall, who was the third person to fill the Chief Magistracy. He was first returned to the City Council on 12th October 1852, as Alderman for Robe Ward, and in 1854 was elected Mayor.He occupied the Chair for a year, and afterwards, continued in February 1857, when his death occurred.It is known that at the time of his demise he conducted the business of a broker in an office situated in what is now known as Waterhouse Chambers at the corner of King William and Rundle Streets, and that his private residence was on Pennington Terrace, North Adelaide.He was buried at West Terrace Cemetery.Mr Hall’s age appears in the cemetery records as 54 years, while on the tombstone it is given at 51 years.
Mayor Hall’s name can also be found on the 1845
Petition Against South Australia Becoming A Penal Settlement document which was a protest against
the South Australian Colony wanting to bring transported convicts into the settlement to help with labour shortages. South Australia is the only colony in Australia not settled by
convicts.
Mayor Hall was known for his outrageous and unpredictable behaviour. One recorded
incident involved Hall running through the
northern parklands in only his nightshirt.
His wacky behaviour would eventually lead to his death.
His wacky behaviour would eventually lead to his death.
In 1857 Mr Hall was going through marriage
difficulties and had separated from his wife, leaving their Pennington Terrace
home to stay with his friend, Mr Staines on Kermode Street.
On the hot summer night of February 10th 1857, Hall had gathered a large crowd of onlookers to his antics. He was stationed on the balcony of his friend's Kermode Street house. Dressed in his nightshirt, trousers, boots and hat, he was running backwards and forwards along the balcony accusing the crowd below of conspiring to kill him.
A man brought a ladder to the balcony and tried to bring Hall down, but to avail. Hall ran along the balcony and jumped off, landing on his feet, he began to frantically run around in circles all the while shouting for someone to take him home.
He was eventually escorted by a Police Sergeant and a local Draper to the North Adelaide Police Station. After a few hours in the local cells, Hall became violently and uncontrollably ill.
Doctors were called, but it was too late for Hall, who passed away in 'a state of madness.'
On the hot summer night of February 10th 1857, Hall had gathered a large crowd of onlookers to his antics. He was stationed on the balcony of his friend's Kermode Street house. Dressed in his nightshirt, trousers, boots and hat, he was running backwards and forwards along the balcony accusing the crowd below of conspiring to kill him.
A man brought a ladder to the balcony and tried to bring Hall down, but to avail. Hall ran along the balcony and jumped off, landing on his feet, he began to frantically run around in circles all the while shouting for someone to take him home.
He was eventually escorted by a Police Sergeant and a local Draper to the North Adelaide Police Station. After a few hours in the local cells, Hall became violently and uncontrollably ill.
Doctors were called, but it was too late for Hall, who passed away in 'a state of madness.'
At the inquest, held at the nearby Scotch Thistle Hotel, George Thompson, one of the
two men that had led Mr Hall to the Police Station stated that he heard a cry
of “police” at about 11pm on the evening of the ruckus.
He saw a man take a ladder from the Police Station and followed the man to Kermode Street where he saw Hall acting erratically on the balcony.
He saw a man take a ladder from the Police Station and followed the man to Kermode Street where he saw Hall acting erratically on the balcony.
From Adelaide
Observer (SA : 1843 - 1904), Saturday 14 February 1857, page 5 regarding evidence given by
George Thompson:
“The man who had the ladder went up and tried to persuade the deceased to come off the verandah. He could not succeed, and came down. Witness went up the ladder and said "Mr. Hall, you know me?" He replied, "Oh yes, Simon Fairlie, I know you very well." Endeavoured to persuade him to come down, but he would not do so. He then grasped witness by the hand very firmly, and witness caught hold of his leg. Was anxious to keep him if possible till someone assisted in taking him. He said "You won't let anyone kill me, will you?" Told him he would not, and tried to persuade him to come down. He said there was a man below who wanted to kill him, and if witness would make them all go away he would come down. Called for those below to go away, and almost at the same moment deceased pushed witness so sharply as nearly to throw him from the ladder. Saved himself by catching at the verandah. Witness ran along the verandah and jumped off. That must have been soon after 11 o'clock. Had known the deceased very well. He appeared more mad than intoxicated—really mad. Had not been aware of his habits—always thought him a particularly quiet sober man."
The two
Doctors that attended Hall in the weeks before his death, and his regular
doctor gave evidence that Hall suffered from and died from the effects of Delirium Tremens.
Mayor Hall consumed large amounts of alcohol on a regular basis, which would account for his often erratic behaviour, and could possibly be the cause for his split from his wife and daughter.
He consumed monumental amounts of alcohol in the seven weeks he had been separated from
his family and after the drinking ended, his body and mind began the alcohol withdrawal symptoms that equate to Delirium Tremens and led to his insanity and death.
Mayor Hall consumed large amounts of alcohol on a regular basis, which would account for his often erratic behaviour, and could possibly be the cause for his split from his wife and daughter.
He consumed monumental amounts of alcohol in the seven weeks he had been separated from
his family and after the drinking ended, his body and mind began the alcohol withdrawal symptoms that equate to Delirium Tremens and led to his insanity and death.
Bibliography
1841 'Advertising', Southern Australian (Adelaide, SA : 1838
- 1844), 23 March, p. 2. , viewed 13 Sep 2016, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article71614315
1845 'MEMORIAL BY THE COLONISTS OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA AGAINST
THE INTRODUCTION OF CONVICTS.', South Australian (Adelaide, SA : 1844 - 1851),
14 February, p. 2. , viewed 13 Sep 2016, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article71600655
1856 'Advertising', South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA
: 1839 - 1900), 24 June, p. 4. , viewed 13 Sep 2016, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article49746001
1857 'CORONER'S INQUESTS.', Adelaide Observer (SA : 1843 -
1904), 14 February, p. 5. , viewed 13 Sep 2016, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article158117739
Hosking, P, 1936. The
Official civic record of South Australia : centenary year, 1936 . 1st ed.
Adelaide: Universal Publicity Company,.
Wikipedia. 2016. Delirium tremens - Wikipedia, the free
encyclopedia. [ONLINE] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delirium_tremens.
[Accessed 13 September 2016].
.jpg)
