John Daniel Heal (1825–1908) was an

alderman An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members t ...

and

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

, Australia.

Private life

John Daniel Heal was born in Turleigh (spelt Turley at the time) near

Bradford-on-Avon Bradford-on-Avon (sometimes Bradford on Avon or Bradford upon Avon) is a town and civil parish in west Wiltshire, England, near the border with Somerset, which had a population of 9,402 at the 2011 census. The town's canal, historic buildings, s ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

on 18 January 1825, and was baptised in the parish church, St Nicholas',

Winsley Winsley is a large village and civil parish about west of Bradford on Avon in Wiltshire, England. The parish includes the hamlets of Conkwell, Turleigh, Little Ashley and Great Ashley. History The area was probably farmed in Roman times, ...

on 17 April 1825.Winsely parish registerToowong Cemetery Monumental Inscriptions - Queensland Family History Society Inc said the birth place was Bath in January 1825. He was the son of Ambrose Heal(e) ('Mason of Turley') and Elizabeth Smith. He emigrated from England to Brisbane in mid-1856. His first wife is unknown. He married his second wife Elizabeth Scriven (born 1830,

Wootton Rivers Wootton Rivers is a small village and civil parish in the Vale of Pewsey, Wiltshire, England. The village lies about northeast of Pewsey and south of Marlborough. During the 20th century its population halved and most of its facilities close ...

, England), daughter of William and Harriott Scriven, on 18 December 1852 in St Mary's Church, Marlborough. They had a number of children, including: * a son, John Heal, born 10 February 1859, married Nora(h) Mahon(e)y 31 January 1880, died 4 December 1935. Elizabeth died in Brisbane on 8 June 1863. He married his third wife Harriet Street, the daughter of John Street and Martha Wallace, on 15 August 1863 in Brisbane and they had the following children:Queensland Registrar-General of Births, Deaths & Marriages * a daughter, Harriet Emily, born 26 April 1864 * a daughter, Elizabeth Annie (Lizzie), born 14 December 1865 * a son, Alfred George, born 22 April 1868 and died 15 June 1890 aged 22 years * a daughter, Edith Lydia Grace, born 22 October 1870 and died 4 August 1882 aged 11 years 9 months * a son, Ernest Edward, born 16 Nov 1872 and died on 26 Dec 1872 aged 5 weeks and 5 days His wife Harriet died 11 December 1872 aged 28 years, possibly from complications of childbirth. In 1903, John Heal was living in retirement with his unmarried daughter Lizzie at his residence, Bath Villa, 555 Leichhardt Street,

Fortitude Valley Fortitude Valley (often called "The Valley" by local residents) is an inner suburb of the City of Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia. In the , Fortitude Valley had a population of 9,708 people. The suburb features two pedestr ...

. John Daniel Heal died in

on 18 August 1908. He was buried in

Toowong Cemetery Toowong Cemetery is a heritage-listed cemetery on the corner of Frederick Street and Mt Coot-tha Road, Toowong, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was established in 1866 and formally opened in 1875. It is Queensland's largest ceme ...

but the grave has now been demolished.

Business life

In Brisbane, John Daniel Heal worked at his trade as a stonemason. In 1863, he leased the Prince Consort Hotel in Wickham Street,

and became a publican. He bought the hotel in 1879 and by 1887 had acquired a number of adjoining properties. In 1887–1888, Heal tore down the old hotel and had a larger hotel erected, the now heritage-listed Prince Consort Hotel which was designed by

Richard Gailey Richard Gailey, Sr. (22 April 1834 – 24 April 1924) was an Irish-born Australian architect. Gailey was born in Donegal, Ireland and emigrated to Australia in 1864, becoming an influential and prolific architect in colonial-era Brisbane. He ...

, a well-known

architect. When completed, the new hotel had one of the largest bars in Brisbane, three parlours, a large dining room, billiard room, kitchen, cellar, six bathrooms, twenty-eight bedrooms with four large shops on the ground floor. He became a major contractor and prominent businessman in Brisbane.

Public life

He was very involved in community affairs and was a great advocate for the progress of

. In 1870 he was elected to the Brisbane Council as an

for the Fortitude Valley Ward. He served his electorate in this role from 1870 to 1873, losing to Nicholas Corrigan in 1874. However, the following year, Heal won the ward of Fortitude Valley back (Corrigan did not stand for election)Brisbane Courier
Wednesday 3 February 1875, page 3] and held it until 1894, after which he did not seek re-election.Brisbane City Council Archives He was

in 1879. He served on the following committees: * Bridge Committee 1870 * Lighting Committee 1870 * Improvement Committee 1870, 1872, 1875, 1876, 1878–1880 * Finance Committee 1871, 1873, 1877, 1881, 1883, 1884, 1886, 1888, 1890, 1892, 1893 * Legislative Committee 1871, 1872, 1878, 1882, 1885, 1888, 1892 * Works Committee 1882, 1885, 1887, 1889, 1891, 1894 * Health Committee 1884, 1886, 1887, 1890, 1891, 1893 * Town Hall Committee 1885, 1886 * Street Lighting Committee 1892 Heal Street in New Farm was named after him. He is also mentioned on a monument in Brisbane commemorating the heroic acts of a fireman who died in the line of duty while he was mayor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heal, John Daniel 1825 births 1908 deaths Mayors and Lord Mayors of Brisbane Burials at Toowong Cemetery 19th-century Australian politicians People from Wiltshire