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Thomas Sergeant Hall. 129 



kick in the right direction from almost any position." How- 

 ever, as soon as school life was over he had more serious things 

 than sport to think of. During his holidays he had heen wont 

 to spend his time exploring the rocks along the shores of Corio 

 Bay or up the Moorabool valley, laying in a stock of knowledge 

 and experience that stood him, and others also, in good stead 

 in later years. 



In 1879 he accepted a mastership in Wesley College, which 

 he held for two years, at the same time attending lectures at 

 the University. In 1884 and 1885 he held exhibitions at Ormond 

 College, taking the degree of B.A. in the latter year, with honours 

 in natural science. This was in the days of the late Sir 

 Frederick M'Coy, when the chair of natural science covered a 

 large number of subjects, and amongst them that of Palaeon- 

 tology, in which Hall had been interested from his boyhood. 



In 1887 he was teaching at Girton College, Bendigo (Sand- 

 hurst, as it was then called), but the three following years found 

 him back in Melbourne once more, working at the University, 

 where the new chemical, physical, and biological laboratories 

 had been equipped since his earlier student days. He devoted 

 himself especially to biology, passing through the complete 

 three years' course. In 1889 he took a prominent part in the 

 foundation of the University Science Club, where he came into 

 contact with his friend. Dr. G. B. Pritchard — in fact, it was 

 due to their meeting on Science Club excursions that they began 

 their joint work on the Tertiary deposits of Victoria. Hall's 

 first paper, however, was on " Two New Species of Fossil 

 Sponges from Sandhurst," published in 1888, the first joint 

 one with Dr. Pritchard. on " The Lower Moorabool," being 

 written in 1891. 



From 1890 to 1893 he was Director of the Castlemaine School 

 of Mines, where he was most successful as a teacher and 

 organizer, his lectures covering a wide field of science subjects. 

 It was whilst he held this post that he married Miss E. L. Hill, 

 the sister of his life-long friend Dr. Charles Hill, and here his 

 eldest son, March, was born, who is now serving " somewhere " 

 at the front. 



In 1893 Dr. Dendy was elected to the chair of biology in 

 Canterbury College, New Zealand, and Hall succeeded him as 

 Lecturer on Biology in the Melbourne University — a post that 

 he held until his death. In recognition of his valuable work in 

 natural science he was, in iqo8, honoured with the degree of 

 D.Sc. by his Alma Mater. 



In 1888 he had joined the Field Naturalists' Club, and in 

 1890 the Royal Society of Victoria. Into the work of both ol 

 these he entered with enthusiasm on his return to Melbourne. 

 He was now able to devote a large amount of time to research 



