Steele Hall

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Steele Hall was an Australian politician from South Australia. Born on 30 November 1928 in Balaklava, he grew up on a family farm and entered politics with the Liberal and Country League (LCL). He became leader of the LCL in 1966 and served as the 36th Premier of South Australia from 17 April 1968 to 2 June 1970.

As premier, Hall pushed major electoral reform to end the Playmander, expanding the House of Assembly from 39 to 47 seats so Adelaide had more representation. He also started fluoridating the state’s water and worked on social reforms, including Aboriginal affairs and abortion regulation. He briefly served as Treasurer in 1970. After the 1970 election, he led the opposition until 1972.

In 1972 Hall left the LCL to form the Liberal Movement, a more progressive party. He served in the South Australian Parliament for Gouger (1959–1973) and then Goyder (1973–1974) before resigning to enter federal politics. He won a Senate seat for the Liberal Movement in 1974, and again in 1975. When the Liberal Movement merged back into the Liberal Party in 1976, Hall rejoined. He resigned from the Senate in 1977 to unsuccessfully contest Hawker. He returned to federal politics in 1981 by winning the seat of Boothby in a by-election and remained its Liberal member until his retirement in 1996.

In 1988, Hall crossed the floor to oppose using race as a criterion for immigration. Steele Hall died on 10 June 2024 at the age of 95.