University & School Award Medals

Lot 3599    Session 13 (2.30pm Thursday 24 November) Leslie J Carlisle C    University & School Award Medals

Estimate $30,000
Bid at live.noble.com.au
SOLD $30,000

THE HALLORAN SCHOOL MEDAL, 1824, in silver (68mm), by Samuel Clayton, obverse, an allegorical scene of Minerva leading a schoolboy, the temple of Fame and a church in the background, at the top in a ribbon scroll, 'SYDNEY GRAMMAR SCHOOL' and below left corner marked 'S.Clayton' and right corner marked 'Delt. et Sculpt.', reverse, in 13-lines, 'To/Henry Halloran/FOR HIS PROGRESS IN HIS STUDIES/AND GENERAL GOOD CONDUCT/- This MARK of - /HONORARY DISTINCTION/is Presented,/BY HIS FRIEND, & PRECEPTOR,/Laurence Halloran D,D,/A.D. 1824,/AEt. 13.' (aged 13), in unofficial case; also Calcutta International Exhibition Medal, 1883-84, in bronze (76mm), by J.S.& A.B.Wyon, obverse, Queen Victoria bust left, 'Victoria/Empress', reverse, figures representing science, industry and agriculture presenting themselves to India and Britannia, 'Calcutta' at top and in exergue, 'International/Exhibition/1883-84', in case of issue with lid lining gold blocked, 'H.HALLORAN, ESQ., C.M.G., J.P./MEMBER,/NEW SOUTH WALES COMMISSION'; Colonial and Indian Exhibition, London, 1886, in bronze (52mm) (BHM 3209; Eimer 1725), obverse, bust of Prince Edward left, reverse, text with wreath around, in case of issue by Ralph Heaton & Sons, The Mint, Birmingham, in case of issue. The first with some roughness and nicks to edge, hairlines, otherwise nicely toned, extremely fine and very rare particularly as this medal is the only one known to date to have the name Sydney Grammar School on the obverse and text in English, amongst the earliest of Australian medals extant having been executed by the finest silversmith in the colony at the time, the other two uncirculated. (3)

Examination conducted on 23 December 1824 and this medal was awarded to Henry Halloran for English exercises and rapid progress in his classical studies. Henry, aged 13, was one of Dr. Laurence Halloran's many children.

These school medals were awarded by Dr.L.Halloran between 1819 and at least 1826. Examinations were held in June and December each year and two silver medals were awarded for each the half-yearly exams. This medal on offer is the eighth of these medals known to still exist. They were awarded to Robert Campbell (1819) (private collection ex A.H.Baldwin Collection), John Wild (1820) (private collection), Francis Lord (1822) (Caroline Simpson Collection, Historic Houses Trust of NSW, Sydney), Charles Driver (awarded 1822 but medal dated 1823) (Powerhouse Museum), William M.Campbell (1823) (private collection ex Spink Australia Auctions Sale 24 lot 1018 and Noble Numismatics Sale 88 lot 705 [Dr John Chapman Collection]), Henry Halloran (1824) (Les Carlisle Collection), John D.Tawell (1824) (ex Morton and Eden Sale 39, lot 352, 2 Dec 2009 to USA buyer), and J.F.Josephson (1826) (private collection ex Noble Numismatics Sale 58 lot 2898).

The Sydney Gazette of 15th July 1820 records 'On Friday ult. the half yearly exhibitions of the various exercises by Dr Halloran's pupils took place at his house in Phillip Street, and the Latin class underwent a public examination in their classical studies. To those who are appraised of Dr Halloran's long experience as a teacher, and of the number of persons now filling eminent situations who were educated by him, it will scarcely be necessary to say that his pupils acquirements in the short period during which they have studied under his directions, appeared highly creditable to themselves and their instructor.

Handsome silver medals of considerable value were presented to Masters Henry Robinson and John Wild'... 'Similar medals were obtained at Christmas last by Simeon Lord and Robert Campbell'. Another entry in the Sydney Gazette, dated 22nd December 1821 states 'Silver medals were awarded by their Reverend Tutor as follows: one to Master John Piper and the other to Master John Terry'.

LAURENCE HYNES HALLORAN (1765-1831)

Laurence Hynes Halloran was born on 29 December 1765 in Raroath, County Meath, Ireland. He was orphaned in 1772, placed in the care of his uncle, Judge William Gregory, and educated at Westminster School and later at the Royal Mathematics School attached to Christ's Hospital which specialised in navigation. He entered the Navy in 1780 but deserted some two and a half years later after killing a midshipman with a sword. He was tried for murder at the Exeter Assizes in 1783 and was acquitted. In 1785 he opened a grammar school at Alphington near Exeter which he ran with great success for twelve years.

A silver medal, with a similar allegorical scene to the present one awarded to a pupil of the school in 1794, is illustrated in 'Silver Medals, Badges and Trophies from Schools in the British Isles 1550-1850' by M.E.Grimshaw (Cambridge, undated, c1980) page 21. Obviously the design by the Exeter silversmiths H. and J. Sweet was to Halloran's liking for him to ask Clayton to reproduce it some twenty five years later. The school must have had a good reputation as it was responsible for the education of the future Lord Gifford, Master of the Rolls.

Whilst at the school Halloran married Lydia Anne Hall who eventually bore him twelve children. He changed his religion from Catholic to Church of England in 1796, took Holy Orders and rejoined the Navy, this time as Chaplain, in 1798. Two years later he submitted himself as a candidate for the honorary degree of doctor of divinity at King's College, Aberdeen for which he was accepted but it would appear that he never completed the doctorate. His naval career included being present by the Battle of Trafalgar (21st October 1805) and concluded whilst chaplain to the naval and military forces at the Cape of Good Hope, South Africa, a job he undertook between 1807 and 1810.

In the later years he ran foul of the commander of the forces, General H.C.Grey, by defending two officers charged with duelling and by subsequently disobeying an order to proceed as chaplain to the outpost at Simonstown near Cape Town. In June of that year he resigned his commission and published several poems which were highly libellous. Grey insisted that the Governor prosecute Halloran and the ensuing case found him guilty of defamatory libel. He was heavily fined, had costs charged against him and banished from the colony.

He returned to London with no money, no job and apparently no family. Between 1811 and 1817 he wandered the length and breadth of the country trying to find employment. He was handicapped however, by a sense of persecution and a passion for litigation. Eventually he turned to forging letters in order to gain employment as a curate and was caught. The authorities found in his possession a 'copper plate for making impressions of Deacons' and Priests' orders, together with impressions of the plate on parchment ... two other copper plates for letters of orders for the Kingdom of Ireland and seals engraved on stone and metal which had been used by him at various times including one used by him on the letter bearing the forged frank'. He was charged with forging a temporary frank of Sir William Garrow M.P., allegedly for the purpose of accrediting himself as a curate. He was found guilty and sentenced to seven years transportation.

He arrived in Sydney on the transport 'Baring' in June 1819 finding in the town John Thomas Campbell, a friend from his days in South Africa, who held the post of Vice-regal Secretary. It was on Campbell's recommendation that Macquarie issued Halloran a ticket of leave soon after his arrival that was later rescinded. Halloran was assigned as a servant to Simeon Lord, who, with Governor John Macarthur, helped him establish a private school which opened in late 1819 and was quickly patronised by the leading emancipists in Sydney. In newspaper accounts the school in Phillip Street, Sydney was referred to as Dr. Halloran's Establishment until June 1823 when it was referred to as Sydney Grammar School and in September 1825 a proposal was put forward by Dr. Halloran for the foundation and endowment of a Public Grammar School and thus was born the Sydney Public Free Grammar School.

Halloran's standard of education can not be questioned: Macquarie said that he was 'the best and most admired instructor of youth in the Colony' and J.T.Bigge had to admit that the standard of his school 'added one more to the many proofs that have been exhibited of Halloran's skill in the art of instruction', although he deplored the employment of a convicted forger. In 1822 Halloran's family came to Sydney but his wife died a year after the birth of their twelfth child. He married Elizabeth Turnbull, aged 17, in August 1824, who bore him several children. Halloran's obsessive sense of persecution and his penchant for writing libellous tracts kept him constantly involved in litigation and these activities were primarily responsible for his pecuniary troubles. In order to escape the endless creditors he moved his school frequently but this did not prevent several spells in jail.

In 1825 he proposed the establishment of a public grammar school under the patronage of Governor Sir T.M.Brisbane and managed by thirty trustees each of whom could nominate a pupil with a subscription of fifty pounds. A land grant and payments from the police fund were suggested as sources of income and the headmaster was to take twenty pupils on his own terms. Every three years the government was to send two outstanding graduates to Oxford or Cambridge after which they were to take holy orders before returning to the colony.

In November 1825 the school opened in temporary quarters with Halloran as the headmaster and his eldest son as undermaster. It took only a month before the trustees found cause to reprimand Halloran for his litigious behaviour and within four months to investigate complaints of unseemly behaviour which had been made against the son. In October 1826 the trustees resolved to suspend the running of the school at the end of the year, citing the need to use their limited funds to build a permanent structure, but Halloran's imprisonment for debt in November must have persuaded the trustees to start afresh. He re-opened his private school in January 1827 and on the 5th April he published the first issue of the 'Gleaner'. The paper was not a success and Halloran's propensity for attracting libel suits against him along with his limited business knowledge caused it to be shut down on 29th September.

In 1828, Governor Darling took pity on him and appointed him coroner for Sydney but had to dismiss him when he threatened to publish a defamation of Archdeacon Scott with whom he had fallen out. In 1830 Halloran tried his hand at drawing up memorials for persons with grievances. He died in Sydney on 8th March 1831.

HENRY HALLORAN (1811-1893)

Henry Halloran was born on 6 April 1811 at Cape Town, the son of Laurence and Lydia Anne Halloran. After some years in England he went to Sydney with his mother in 1822 and educated at his father's school. In 1827 he became a clerk in the Survey Department. In 1841 he married Elizabeth Henrietta, daughter of Joseph Underwood. He became chief clerk of the Survey Department and in 1859 supervised the merger between that Department and the Crown Lands Office.

A close friend and correspondent of Henry Parkes, in 1841 Halloran promised to subscribe to a volume of poetry that Parkes hoped to publish. From the 1840s Halloran's own verses were published in newspapers and magazines. Accepted in Sydney's literary circles, he encouraged young writers and was reputed to have found Henry Kendall a job in the Colonial Secretary's Department. 'A scholar as well as a poet', his work was admired by Daniel Deniehy who considered some of his verses 'remarkable for their classic grace' and 'manly gentleness', but believed that those 'connected with home affections . [gave] him the truest title to the rank of poet'. Halloran also made 'charming' translations from the Greek poems of Anacreon.

In February 1866 Parkes appointed him Under-Secretary in the Colonial Secretary's Department and in 1867 a Justice of the Peace. In 1870 he served on the board for opening tenders for pastoral runs. He undertook extra administrative duties and in 1867 and 1873 was a member of the commissions to make arrangements for welcoming the Duke of Edinburgh and the public funeral of William Charles Wentworth. His contemporaries credited Halloran with a remarkable organizing ability. He retired on a pension in 1878 and was bestowed with a C.M.G.

Between 1875 and 1884 he was a New South Wales Commissioner for exhibitions in Philadelphia, Melbourne, Paris, Sydney and Calcutta. He then set himself up as a land agent but was unhappy and soon retired to write poetry at his home, Mowbray, Ashfield. Inclined to be querulous, he disputed for years with the government over compensation for land resumed at Ashfield.

In 1887 he published Poems, Odes and Songs, dedicated to Lady Carrington. Much of his later poetry was written for special occasions and revealed his loyalty to the throne. These poems were unimaginative and he was 'quite unable to break free of conventions'. He published A Few Love Rhymes of a Married Life (1890) but also enjoyed boxing and was a lieutenant in the volunteer cavalry.

He died on 19 May 1893 at Ashfield and was buried in St John's Church of England cemetery. He was survived by four sons and four daughters of his first wife (d.1889) and by his second wife Julia Margaret (Bella), n‚e Guerin, and their eight-month-old son. Bella was the first woman graduate of the University of Melbourne (M.A., 1885) and contributed to magazines and journals.

References: Australian Dictionary of Biography, Vol 1, pp506-7 (A.G.Austin) and Vol 4, p327 (Brian Dickey); ANS Journal 1982, 'Sydney Grammar School Medal 1819-1824', by L.Carlisle, pp2-10; Silver Medals, Badges and Trophies from Schools in the British Isles 1550-1850 by M.E.Grimshaw; The Sydney Grammar School Medals 1819-1825 by Les Carlisle, Australiana magazine, Vol 33 No 1, February 2011, pp39-46.

See also lot E4159 for the In Memoriam for the Closing of the New South Wales International Exhibition of 1879 and E4136 for the Jubilee Ode for the Fiftieth Year of Her Majesty's Reign, both written by Henry Halloran.