PDF (Whole thesis) - UTas ePrints - University of Tasmania

93
anger and resentment of the prisoners by not allowing them to 11malingeru ,
The Jericho camp was particularly notorious for the violent character of
some of its inmates. On one of his visits to Oatlands Willson warned
Hall that some of its worst criminals were plotting his murder . The
\arning was timely; a short time after Hall was struck to the ground at
the entrance to the Oatlands Police Court by a large piece of road metal
hurled at him by a uburly ruffianu whom he had accused of umalingering'1 •
The bones of the upper part of his nose were smashed and a great amount
of blood lost. His assailant was later examined by another doctor , who
confirmed Hal l's opinion of umalingeringu , and sentenced to Norfo lk Island. 3
Fortunately, there were more pleasant sides to the Halls ' life;
for instance they made friends with a young , intelligent and attractive
Irishman, Kevin 0 'Doherty, who came to live at uElm Cottage11 , the home of
John Ryan . O'Doherty was one of seven young , political prisoners exiled
to Van Diemen 1 s Land for leading the 11Young Ireland Party11 in 1848 in its
effort to regain an Irish parliament . Each prisoner on arrival in 1849,
with the exception of Smith O'Brien, was given a Ticket-of-Leave on Parole
and assigned a separate district in which to reside. O'Doherty, a gentle,
kindly man, was sent to Oatlands where he became a great favourite with
the townspeople. He and Hall had much in common in spite of their
difference in age, for both men had been medical students in Dublin.
As O'Doherty had not finished his cour se before he was transported, Hall
assisted him to continue his studies. 4
During the twenty months they lived in Oatlands , the Halls
worked hard again to foster the Roman Catholic community.
Vera Fisher
in Linking Oatlands With mentioned that Edward and Mary were directly
descended from Eng lish martyrs and that he brought to Oatlands the
crucifix worn by his' relative Father Edward Oldcorne, at his execution
on April 7, 1606. Perhaps Hal l brought with him also the energy,
enthusiasm and faith which inspired his ancestors several centuries
before, for much was achieved in the short time he resided in the
township .
When the fami ly moved to Oatland Father W. Dunne from Ri chmond
celebrated Mass in the Police Court or at Hall's house in which there was
a 11large and most conveniently adapted drawing room11 • When Dunne was
moved from Richmond, his place was taken temporarily by Father A. Macguire
3
4
Reply to Testimonial, Mercury, June 9, 1881.
O'Meagher Papers , NS 23/5.