Family background
William Robert Halliday was born at Iron Barks, near Wellington, on 24 July 1861 (BDM Reg No. 1404/1861). Iron Barks and the surrounding area was part of the Western Goldfields when William was born. His mother was Anne Rowe (d. 1915). She married Thomas Halliday in 1867 at Wellington. William Halliday was the third eldest of their 11 children. In 1891 he was married to Mary Ann Elizabeth Hall at Nyngan. There were two daughters and two sons of the marriage. Sadly, two children were lost very young. William Halliday died at his home at Palmerston Avenue, Glebe on 26 August 1931, aged 71 years (BDM Reg. No. 12656/1931). Mary Halliday died 15 February 1946, aged 74 years.
Occupation & interests
Halliday, trained as a blacksmith, worked at Warren, Wellington and Dubbo with coachbuilders, before moving to 49 Cowper Street Glebe about 1903 and finding work in foundries encircling the city.
Community activity
There was a discernible difference in the manner and dress of new aldermen after 1925 when the Labor Party wrested control of Glebe Council from local businessmen. Several, like Halliday, wore blue flannel shirts to work. The occupations of other Labor aldermen werea a schoolteacher, union official, french polisher and a clerk.
Local government service
William Halliday was an alderman on Glebe Council from 1928 to 1931. In July 1931 Halliday urged a clean-up of municipal affairs because ‘the scandalous condition of affairs had made a by-word of the Council during the reign of the present administration’ when he resigned from the council. He had earlier been expelled from caucus. Mayor Ward dismissed charges of corruption as without foundation.
References
Information on William Halliday courtesy Arlene Campbell.
Hogan, Michael 2004, Local labor: a history of the Labor Party in Glebe, 1891-2003, Federation Press, Annandale, NSW
Glebe Municipal Council minutes, 6 February 1930
Sydney Morning Herald 3 December 1928 p. 14
‘Glebe Council’, Sydney Morning Herald, 17 May 1929 p. 12, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article16548513
‘Glebe Council: Alderman Halliday resigns’, Sydney Morning Herald, 20 July 1931 p. 9, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article16794477
‘Glebe Council’, Sydney Morning Herald, 22 July 1931 p. 12, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article16795012
‘Ald. Halliday’s Resignation’, Sydney Morning Herald, 25 July 1931, p. 13, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article16795555
Sydney Morning Herald, 27 August 1931 p. 7, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article16816606
‘Labor Stalwart Buried’, The Labor Daily, 31 August 1931, p. 6, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article236681456