Walter Russell Hall

Walter Russell Hall (22 February 1831 – 13 October 1911) was an Australian businessman and philanthropist.

Walter Russell Hall
Portrait of Walter Hall by Frederick McCubbin
Born	(1831-02-22)22 February 1831 Kington, Herefordshire, England
Died	13 October 1911(1911-10-13) (aged 80) Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Resting place	Melbourne General Cemetery
Board member of	Cobb & Co Mount Morgan Gold Mining Company Mercantile Mutual Sydney Meat Preserving Co.
Spouse	Eliza Hall

Biography

Hall and William Knox D'Arcy, c. 1885.

Hall was born in Kington, Herefordshire, England, eldest son of Walter Hall, glover (later a miller), and his wife Elizabeth Carleton, née Skarratt. He was educated in Kington and Taunton, Somerset.^[1]

Hall arrived in Sydney on 14 February 1852^[2] with his two brothers, Thomas Skarratt Hall and James Wesley Hall with little money. Hall was employed for a short time by David Jones and then prospected for gold in Victoria with meagre success.^[1] From 1857 he was a major investor and administrator of the Australian stagecoach company Cobb & Co.^[2] He was also an original shareholder and director of Mount Morgan Gold Mining Company, incorporated in 1886. Other directorships included the Mercantile Mutual, and the Sydney Meat Preserving Co. Ltd.^[1]

Hall married Melbourne born Eliza Rowdon Kirk in 1874.^[3] They had no children. He died at their home in Potts Point, Sydney, in October 1911.^[4]

Legacy

Hall's widow Eliza founded The Walter and Eliza Hall Trust that led to the establishment of the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, using funds earned from Hall's business interests to establish the Trust.^[5][6]

The locality of Walterhall beside the Mount Morgan Mine in Central Queensland was named after him.^[7]