William Shakespeare Hall

Who was William Shakespeare Hall?

William Shakespeare Hall, J.P., explorer, pastoralist and pearler, was born in London. With his parents, Henry and Sarah, and five siblings he emigrated to Western Australia and reached Fremantle in February 1830. The family received a large land grant at Mandurah and the locality of Hall's Head is named after them, though that venture was a failure. While in the Murray district, Hall became known for building relationships with the local indigenous people, including learning their language, a characteristic that would later be instilled in his son Aubrey.

The family later farmed at Wongong. In 1852, at the age of 27, William went to the Victorian goldfields. He returned to Western Australia and joined Francis Thomas Gregory's expedition exploring the north-west in 1861. In 1863 Hall took up the first sheep station, Andover, in the Roebourne district. On 2 November 1868 he married Hannah Lazenby.

He suffered a heart attack while swimming in Cossack Creek and was drowned. A tombstone at his grave in Cossack was erected 'as a mark of appreciation and respect by the North West Pioneers'.