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242
of the poor, bereaved children in this benevolent
institution, and by representations to the Board and
communications to the press has done much to improve
the conditions of the orphans . As a gentleman of very
quick and benevolent sympathies, and as a memb er of te
medical profession who has given the best proofs of .
h1s
interest in the condition of these children , his accession
to the Board of Management \'/i ll commend itself to every
one 's sense of propriety. 9
Fellm members \ere Henty (the Colonial-Secretary and Chairman) ,
W.E. Nairn, E.S.P. Bedford, W.L. Crm.,rther , H. Hopkins, H. Hunter , W. Rout,
Sheehy, R. Shoobridge and J .J. Stutzer :
all \'/ere men of exceptional
ability and experience, with a great potential for good, provided they
cou ld \Wrk together harmoniously towards a common end - the \'lelfare of the
490 children under their charge. Of these, 178 were in the male school ,
157 in the femal e, and 155 in theinfant schoo l, all under the
superintendence of Dr Benson ;
and 3 of unknown religion.
241 \'/ere Protestants, 246 Roman Catholics
After years of arduous effort to improve theorphans ' lot, Hall
accepted the honorary office of Member of the Board with alacrity, hoping
to secure at last the higher standard of ch ild care which he knew existed
else\.,rhere and needed in Hobarton.
He sincerely believecl that the authority
he exercised was that of the natural guardian of the chi ldren , that is ,
· parental ; acting cons cientiously on this conviction, he visited the
institution frequently for hours at a time to see how the directions of
the Board were put into effect. 10
During the first six months of 1861, he was very active,
suggesting many sma ll improvements to soften and humanise the children 's
environment:
at the very first meeting of the Board on January 3 he
proposed that crockery replace tin plates at meals, that better knives and
forks , salt cellars and the like be used; 11
later, he suggested macaroni
on Friday instead of the usual rice, 12 that iron bedsteads be substituted
for the boys ' hammo cks, 13 and better drainage be installed in the infant
schoo l; 14
ab ove all, he was concerned about the chi ldren 's mental health
9 Ibid.
10 Mercurr, August 9, 1861.
11 Mercury, January 4, 1861 .
12 Mercury, February 6' 1861 .
13
14
Mercury, April 3, 1861 .
Mercurr, May 1, 1861.