William Littlejohn O'Halloran (5 May 1806 – 15 July 1885) was a

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

officer and public servant in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

Early life and army

O'Halloran was born in Ireland on 5 May 1806(or born at

Berhampore Berhampore (), also known as Baharampur (), is a city and a municipality in the state of West Bengal, India. Berhampore is the administrative headquarters of the Murshidabad district. As of 2011 census, Berhampore is the seventh largest city ...

, India, and came to England in 1811) the son of Major-General Sir

Joseph O'Halloran Joseph O'Halloran GCB (13 August 1763 – 3 November 1843) was a major-general in the East India Company. Background O'Halloran was the youngest son of Sylvester O'Halloran, born in county Limerick, Ireland. On 22 February 1781 he was appointed ...

, G.C.B., a grandson of Irish surgeon

Sylvester O'Halloran Sylvester O'Halloran (31 December 1728 – 11 August 1807) was an Irish surgery, surgeon with an abiding interest in Gaels, Gaelic poetry and history. For most of his life he lived and practised in Limerick, and was later elected a member ...

, and brother of

Thomas Shuldham O'Halloran Thomas Shuldham O'Halloran (25 October 1797 – 16 August 1870) was the first Police Commissioner and first Police Magistrate of South Australia. Early life and education O'Halloran was born in Berhampore on 25 October 1797 (now Baharampur) ...

. He entered the army as ensign in the

14th Foot The West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Own) (14th Foot) was an infantry regiment of the British Army. In 1958 it amalgamated with the East Yorkshire Regiment (15th Foot) to form the Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire which was, ...

in 1823 (or 11 January 1824), and after brilliant service in India, particularly at the siege and storming of Bhurtpore, Bengal (medal), obtaining his lieutenancy in action. In April 1827 he exchanged into the 38th regiment; served on the staff, with his brother, Major T. S. O'Halloran, of his father at

Saugor Sagar, formerly Saugor, is a city, municipal corporation and administrative headquarter in Sagar district of the state of Madhya Pradesh in central India. It's Madhya Pradesh's 6th largest city of by Population. The city is situated on a ...

, Central India; and was employed on recruiting service in

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

from 1832 to 1834. In the latter year he embarked for

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

with a detachment of the 50th regiment. Thence he sailed for

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

, joined the 38th regiment at Chinsorah in 1835, and accompanied it to England in 1836. He obtained his company by purchase on 29 December 1837, and retired from the army in April 1840.

South Australia

O'Halloran emigrated to the

colony of South Australia A colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule, which rules the territory and its indigenous peoples separated from the foreign rulers, the colonizer, and their '' metropole'' (or "mother country"). This separated rule was often or ...

, arriving in

Port Adelaide Port Adelaide is a port-side region of Adelaide, approximately northwest of the Adelaide city centre, Adelaide CBD. It is also the namesake of the City of Port Adelaide Enfield council, a suburb, a federal and state electoral division and is t ...

in August 1840 aboard the barque ''

Lalla Rookh ''Lalla Rookh'' is a romantic work by Irish poet Thomas Moore, first published in 1817. The title refers to the fictional heroine of the frame tale, depicted as the daughter of the 17th-century Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. It consists of four n ...

''. In August 1841 he was appointed a justice of the peace, appointed a member of the Audit Board in 1843, and subsequently became private secretary to Governor Sir

George Grey Sir George Grey, KCB (14 April 1812 – 19 September 1898) was a British soldier, explorer, colonial administrator and writer. He served in a succession of governing positions: Governor of South Australia, twice Governor of New Zealand, Gov ...

, and clerk of the Executive Council. He was appointed Auditor-General, in succession to Francis Singleton, in 1851, and held the position till 1868, when he finally retired from the public service.

Family and later life

O'Halloran married in 1831 Eliza Minton, daughter of John Montague Smyth. They had two daughters and three sons, the eldest of whom,

Joseph Sylvester O'Halloran Joseph Sylvester O'Halloran, (28 March 1842 – 29 January 1920) was Secretary of the Royal Commonwealth Society, Royal Colonial Institute 1883 to 1909. Career in Australia O'Halloran was born at Adelaide, South Australia, was the son of Captai ...

was secretary to the Royal Colonial Institute. He died on 15 July 1885.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ohalloran, William Littlejohn 1806 births 1885 deaths Settlers of South Australia Australian Anglicans British emigrants to the Colony of South Australia West Yorkshire Regiment officers