John Hall

Politician

• Born: December 18, 1824
• Birthplace: Hull, England
• Died: June 25, 1907
• Place of death: Christchurch, New Zealand

Significance: John Hall was a conservative politician who served in New Zealand’s provincial and local governments before spending nearly four decades in the colonial Parliament and three years as premier between 1879 and 1882. His primary achievements included his involvement in electoral reforms that abolished the property requirements for male suffrage and that gave women the right to vote.

Background

John Hall was born on December 18, 1824, in Hull, England, to Grace Williamson Hall and George Hall, who, as a seafarer, worked to become a ship captain and eventually owner of his own ships. His father was a senior elder with Hull Trinity House, a mariner guild that operated schools and pension homes. Hall attended a local boarding school run by religious dissenters (those who opposed the Anglican Church) until he was ten and then studied in France, Switzerland, and Germany. Upon completing his education at sixteen, he moved to London, where he worked for a German merchant for three years. In 1843, he began employment at the London General Post Office, ultimately receiving a promotion to the position of private secretary to the department head.

In 1852, aware of opportunities in the colonies of the British Empire, Hall immigrated to New Zealand. He traveled aboard the ship Samarang and landed at Lyttelton on July 31, 1852. After researching and surveying nearby lands, he obtained property in Canterbury and, with his brothers Thomas and George, built up a sheep-farming business. They operated it together for about a year and a half and then the brothers left for other pursuits. Hall purchased an adjacent sheep run in 1861, and his sheep farm became known as Terrace Station.

Political Career

Not long after settling in Canterbury, Hall became involved in local and provincial politics. With the passing of the Constitution Act in 1852, Great Britain granted self-government to its colony of New Zealand and provincial councils were established. Elected to the Canterbury provincial council in 1853, he remained a member through 1873; provincial government was abolished three years later. Hall served as the provincial secretary in 1855, the secretary for public works from 1864 to 1869, and thrice served on the executive, from 1854 to 1855, 1864 to 1866, and 1870 to 1871. His achievements included overseeing the construction of the significant Canterbury–West Coast Road.

Hall became resident magistrate for Lyttelton and its commissioner of police in 1856. He was also the resident magistrate of Christchurch. From 1862 to 1863, he was the chairman of Christchurch’s city council; he then became the commissioner of the Canterbury waste lands board.

Hall entered colonial politics following his election to the House of Representatives as the member for Christchurch in 1855. For nearly forty years, he alternated between holding a seat in the House of Representatives and the Legislative Council. He resigned from the House in 1860 and then served in the Legislative Council from 1862 to 1866, when he resigned to run for a seat in the House. He was reelected to the House as the representative for Heathcote and held this seat until 1872, when he resigned and returned to the Legislative Council. In 1879, he entered the House once again as the member for Selwyn. He retired in 1883 and then returned to the House in 1887. Though he lost the Selwyn seat in March 1890, he was reelected as the member for Ellesmere in May 1890 and retained that seat until 1893, when he retired.

Meanwhile, Hall also served in the cabinets of several governments. He gained his first cabinet post in 1856, when Premier William Fox appointed him colonial secretary. He next served as the postmaster general and commissioner of telegraphs in Edward Stafford’s ministry from 1866 to 1869 and then as colonial secretary in George Waterhouse’s ministry from 1872 to 1873. He served in Harry Atkinson’s short-lived administration in 1876 without being given a ministry position.

After about seven years in the Legislative Council, Hall returned to the House of Representatives in 1879 and became the leader of the opposition. The government was then held by Hall’s chief rival, George Grey, the former colonial governor who had become premier in 1877. Grey resigned in October 1879 after Hall filed a no-confidence motion against him and his government was defeated.

Hall took office as premier on October 8, 1879. He took on the posts of colonial secretary, minister of customs, and minister of post and telegraphs. In addition to repealing Grey’s land tax, he passed several bills introduced by earlier governments. Among them was an act that granted all adult men the right to vote without owning or renting land. He also passed the Triennial Parliaments Act 1879, which established the duration of the House of Representatives. However, he spent much of his time dealing with conflicts within his cabinet, and in poor health, he resigned on April 21, 1882.

During the next few years, Hall went in and out of the House. He returned for the final time in 1890 and became an advocate for women’s suffrage. In 1893, he presented one of the largest petitions demanding women’s right to vote to the House and it passed into law in September 1893. While he retired from the House in November 1893, he served locally once more when he was honored with the opportunity to serve as Christchurch’s mayor in 1906. He died the following year, on June 25, 1907, in Christchurch.

Impact

Hall was considered a good administrator and played a role in many electoral reforms, especially women’s suffrage. On the other hand, his ministry is also noted for the 1881 invasion of Parihaka, a Māori village that was the center of peaceful resistance to land confiscation. Hall’s native affairs minister, John Bryce, ordered over 1,500 colonial troops to raid the village. They arrested the Māori leaders and destroyed the village.

Personal Life

Hall and Rose Ann Dryden married in April 1861. They had five children who lived to adulthood: Godfrey, Mildred, Wilfred, John Dryden, and Mary. St. John’s Anglican Church in the town of Hororata was built beginning in 1910 through a bequest left by Hall in honor of his wife.

Bibliography

Gardner, W. J. “Hall, John.” Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, 1990. Te Ara: Encyclopedia of New Zealand Biography, teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/1h5/hall-john. Accessed 5 May 2020.

Garner, Jean. “Sir John Hall and Women’s Suffrage.” Terracestation.org.nz, Terrace Station Charitable Trust, www.terracestation.org.nz/sir-john-hall-and-womens-suffrage.html. Accessed 5 May 2020.

McLean, Gavin. “John Hall.” New Zealand History, New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage, 13 Mar. 2018, nzhistory.govt.nz/people/john-hall. Accessed 5 May 2020.

“Men of the Women’s Movement.” Ministry for Culture & Heritage, New Zealand Government, 17 Sept. 2013, mch.govt.nz/men-women%E2%80%99s-movement. Accessed 18 May 2020.

White, Amber Blanco. “Hall, Sir John.” Dictionary of National Biography: Second Supplement, edited by Sidney Lee, vol. 2, Smith, Elder, and Company, 1912, pp. 189–90.