Mary Murphy

45

Natalie Lonsdale on 8th July 2025

Mary Hall (nee Murphy): March 1861 Mary was born to parents Daniel Murphy and Mary Donohogue in Bristol, England in 1825. At 16, she was convicted of stealing a roll of cotton twill and transported on the Garland Grove. Mary arrived in Hobart, Tasmania on 21 February 1843. After being granted special permission, Mary married freeman and timber sawyer James Hall at Evandale Church (near Launceston) on 14 October 1844. Mary was 18 years old at the time; James was 22. The couple remained in Tasmania for the seven year sentence Mary had to serve. Their first and possibly second child were born there, however the other six were born around Cavendish and Hamilton in Victoria, before the family moved to Burrumbeep Station, Ararat. By the late 1850s, Ararat had become a boom town as a result of the Victorian gold rush. On 7 November 1860, at the age of 38, James tragically died of an ulcerated hand. It is believed he was buried in the old cemetery, as the existing cemetery was not built until January 1863. He also left a grieving Mary with eight children under the age of 13, including one infant. In March and April 1861, newspapers reported that the family were charged with shop-lifting. Mary was eventually sent to the then Ararat Gaol Camp for stealing clothing and children’s shoes. As the Gaol was not complete until 10 October 1861, it is fair to surmise that her ‘hard labour’ involved her blood, sweat, and tears in the building of this site. According to the Ararat and Pleasant Creek Advertiser, Mary appeared before the Police Court in April 1861. Mary Hall, together with John Chute and John Thomas, was charged with stealing from the Manchester Warehouses owned by a Mr. Cuthbertson, who claimed that Thomas made several purchases and stole two pieces of silk handkerchief and other goods. The three were watched throughout the day but were later arrested on the Port Fairy Road where the goods were seized. Mary Hall was sentenced to 12 months hard labour, while Chute and Thomas received 18 months. The Crown Prosecutor entered a Nolle Prosequi regarding Hall’s previous charges and Superintendent Langley applied for instructions regarding the five children, who were in the charge of the police. Left without a parent or support, they were frequently nabbed for vagrancy. One boy (aged about 11) was detained when he wandered into Camp crying that he didn’t have a home. The Bench advised that the children stay as charges until the issued was discussed with the Chief Secretary. When Hall finally served 12 months at the Melbourne Gaol, all of her children went with her as there was no other means of caring for them. Eventually, the family moved back to the Ararat area. The six boys gained employment and the two girls married. Sadly though, five of Mary’s sons and one daughter perished from tuberculosis before the age of 40. All are believed to be buried in the Ararat Cemetery. While Mary was a prisoner, it is not hard to imagine that her crimes were linked to preservation and protection for both herself and her children. There are no records of the family being law-breakers while father and husband James Hall was alive. The archival material begs the question, was Mary really a criminal? Biography from: Ararat Asylum Website: https://www.jward.org.au/stories/women-old-ararat-gaol-and-j-ward-asylum/