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John Hallett (30 August 1804 – 10 June 1868) was a businessman, pastoralist and politician in the early days of the Colony of South Australia who was implicated in the massacre of Aborigines at
Mount Bryan, South Australia Mount Bryan is a town in north-east South Australia. The town is situated on the Barrier Highway and former Peterborough railway line, north of Burra, in the Regional Council of Goyder. At the 2016 census, Mount Bryan had a population of 110. ...
in the 1840s.


History

John Hallett was born in
Woodford Woodford may refer to: Places Australia *Woodford, New South Wales *Woodford, Queensland, a town in the Moreton Bay Region *Woodford, Victoria Canada * Woodford, Ontario England *Woodford, Cornwall * Woodford, Gloucestershire *Woodford, Greate ...
,
Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...
. He and his family emigrated to South Australia on the , under Captain
John Finlay Duff John Finlay Duff (1 April 1799 – 18 May 1868) was a ship's captain and businessman in the Colony of South Australia. History Duff was born in Dundee, Scotland in 1799, son of John Duff and his wife Elisabeth, née Finlay, of a ship owning fam ...
, arriving at
Nepean Bay Nepean Bay is a bay located on the north-east coast of Kangaroo Island in the Australian state of South Australia about south-south-west of Adelaide. It was named by the British navigator, Matthew Flinders, after Sir Evan Nepean on 21 March 1 ...
,
Kangaroo Island Kangaroo Island, also known as Karta Pintingga (literally 'Island of the Dead' in the language of the Kaurna people), is Australia's third-largest island, after Tasmania and Melville Island. It lies in the state of South Australia, southwest ...
on 6 November 1836. Hallett, who was a business associate of Duff and both part-owners of the ship, was one of those who remained on the island, at least in part to assist in a search party for group who on 1 November went ashore to hike along the north of the island, a trek that took much longer than anticipated. Hallett and his family lived for a time on Kangaroo Island before moving to Glenelg. He and his wife were present at the
Proclamation A proclamation (Lat. ''proclamare'', to make public by announcement) is an official declaration issued by a person of authority to make certain announcements known. Proclamations are currently used within the governing framework of some nations ...
on 28 December 1836, and purchased a
town acre In urban planning, the grid plan, grid street plan, or gridiron plan is a type of city plan in which streets run at right angles to each other, forming a grid. Two inherent characteristics of the grid plan, frequent intersections and orthogona ...
at the first land sale on 27 March 1837. He set up a business with Duff as merchants, and on 28 March 1838, was one of a panel (with Rev.
C. B. Howard Charles Beaumont Howard (1807 – 19 July 1843) was a colonial clergyman in South Australia. Howard was born in St Peter's Parish, Dublin, Ireland, the son of William Howard, a lieutenant in the Dublin City Corps of the Liberty Rangers. Howard g ...
, Rev. T. Q. Stow, J. B. Hack, E. Stephens and J. Morphett) appointed to develop an official policy on the treatment of Aborigines. He built a substantial two-storey brick house on
South Terrace South Terrace may refer to: *South Terrace, Adelaide, Australia *South Terrace, Fremantle, Australia {{Road disambiguation ...
, later occupied by Captain Charles Berkeley (–1856), Inspector of Police, and since demolished. Hallett had a property, Willogoleechee, in the
Mid North The Mid North is a region of South Australia, north of the Adelaide Plains and south of the Far North and the outback. It is generally accepted to extend from Spencer Gulf east to the Barrier Highway, including the coastal plain, the southern ...
of South Australia that became the town of Hallett, named in Hallett's honour. In 1844, sheep were stolen from the property by local
Ngadjuri The Ngadjuri people are a group of Aboriginal Australian people whose traditional lands lie in the mid north of South Australia with a territory extending from Gawler in the south to Orroroo in the Flinders Ranges in the north. Name Their ethnon ...
Aboriginal people. Hallett's men tracked the Aboriginal people down and opened fire on them, killing as many as 30. The
Protector of Aborigines The role of Protector of Aborigines was first established in South Australia in 1836. The role became established in other parts of Australia pursuant to a recommendation contained in the ''Report of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Abori ...
investigated but only recommended that one of the Aboriginal men, 'Kangaroo Jack', be tried for stealing sheep. He was acquitted due to a lack of evidence. This incident is sometimes known as the "
Mount Bryan Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, C ...
massacre".


Politics and after

He was a member for The Sturt in the
South Australian House of Assembly The House of Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. The other is the Legislative Council. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Adelaide. Overview The House of Assembly was creat ...
from March 1857 to October 1862, having been narrowly reelected in 1860. His colleague in the first parliament was Thomas Reynolds and Joseph Peacock in the second. On 21 October 1862 parliament was
prorogued A legislative session is the period of time in which a legislature, in both parliamentary and presidential systems, is convened for purpose of lawmaking, usually being one of two or more smaller divisions of the entire time between two elections ...
, and the next day dissolved by proclamation. Hallett was a candidate at the ensuing election, but was beaten by R. B. Andrews. In August 1863 he was one of five candidates for three vacancies in the Legislative Council, but was unsuccessful. He withdrew from public affairs, and until his death lived in relative obscurity. Around 1860 he took up his residence at Ilfracombe, near Beaumont. In July 1863 his health deteriorated, and he transferred his business to his brother
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, and subsequently ventured to the city only once, in September, 1865. In 1868 he had three attacks of "serous apoplexy" (perhaps
stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...
s), followed by
bronchitis Bronchitis is inflammation of the bronchi (large and medium-sized airways) in the lungs that causes coughing. Bronchitis usually begins as an infection in the nose, ears, throat, or sinuses. The infection then makes its way down to the bronchi. ...
and died an hour or two before midnight, 10 June, surrounded by his family. At his request, the funeral and burial were private affairs, no public notice being issued.


Recognition

* Hallett Cove (previously Hallett's Cove) was named for him. *The town of
Hallett, South Australia Hallett is a small town in Mid North region of South Australia, situated on the Barrier Highway and former Peterborough railway line north of Burra and south-east of Jamestown, Hallett lies close to Goyder's Line, plotted in the nineteenth ...
was named for him, and laid out on his property "Willogoleechee".


Family

John Hallett (30 August 1804 – 10 June 1868) married Maria King (c. 1808 – 31 January 1891); they had five sons (three born in England) and five daughters: *John Charles Hallett (c. 1832 – 31 October 1882) lived on
Wakefield Street, Adelaide Wakefield Street is a main thoroughfare intersecting the centre of the South Australian capital, Adelaide, from east to west at its midpoint. It crosses Victoria Square in the centre of the city, which has a grid street plan. It continues as ...
*Richard Hallett (c. 1833 – 20 April 1882) lived at Wandillah Station, died of
consumption Consumption may refer to: *Resource consumption *Tuberculosis, an infectious disease, historically * Consumption (ecology), receipt of energy by consuming other organisms * Consumption (economics), the purchasing of newly produced goods for curren ...
. *Henry Hallett (c. 1835 – 25 October 1911) married Martha Pike (10 June 1845 – 25 October 1926) on 24 July 1875. Henry was profoundly deaf. *(Sara) Maria Hallett (7 January 1839 – 9 September 1907) married John Ogle Carlile (c. 1833 – 6 December 1912) of Mickolo, Western Plains on 5 January 1863 *Emma Edmunds (Edmonds?) Hallett (13 October 1840 – 5 October 1909) married Dr.
Francis Edward Goldsmith Francis Edward Goldsmith MRCSL (1825 – 24 July 1875), often referred to as Edward Goldsmith, was a medical doctor in South Australia remembered for his time as the first surgeon and Protector of Aborigines of the pioneering settlement at Escape C ...
(17 October 1825 – 24 July 1875) on 13 December 1865, lived Magill, then Robe. He was appointed Surgeon and Protector of Aborigines in Northern Territory and resigned shortly after, having lost the confidence of the Government Resident,
B. T. Finniss Boyle Travers Finniss (18 August 1807 – 24 December 1893) was the first premier of South Australia, serving from 24 October 1856 to 20 August 1857. Early life Finniss was born at sea off the Cape of Good Hope, Southern Africa, and lived in ...
. A chronically paralysed invalid, he died after taking poison. She married again, to Alexander Brodie ( – 25 November 1907) of Morphett Vale on 16 February 1883. *Clara Selina Hallett (30 October 1842 – 17 June 1914) married (Thomas) Neville Wood (c. 1843 – 31 March 1907) of the South Australian Bank, Robe, on 15 January 1868 *Julia Elizabeth Hallett (2 February 1845 – 1929) *Jessie Brodie Hallett (17 March 1847 – 1916) married William Little ( – ) on 15 January 1877, lived at Terowie *Edward Regia Hallett (6 April 1837 – 10 July 1909) married Victoria King (8 October 1839 – 5 May 1917 ) on 8 December 1863, lived at Winninnie then Kensington. Victoria was the second daughter of Stephen King JP and sister of the explorer, Stephen King jr. *Alfred King Hallett (13 April 1849 – 19 July 1864) *Albert Selby Hallett (23 February 1852 – ) Alfred Hallett (c.1814 – 3 November 1877) of
Medindie, South Australia Medindie (formerly also known as Medindee or Medindi) is an inner northern suburb of Adelaide the capital of South Australia. It is located adjacent to the Adelaide Park Lands, just north of North Adelaide, and is bounded by Robe Terrace to the ...
and Jesse Hallett (c. 1812 – 19 February 1859) and Selby Hallett (c. 1808 – 8 November 1862), both of London, were his brothers


See also

* Hundred of Hallett


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hallett, John Members of the South Australian House of Assembly Australian pastoralists 1804 births 1868 deaths 19th-century Australian politicians 19th-century Australian businesspeople