28 Facts About Steele Hall

Raymond Steele Hall was born on 30 November 1928 and is a former Australian politician who served as the 36th Premier of South Australia from 1968 to 1970.

Steele Hall served in the federal Parliament as a senator for South Australia from 1974 to 1977 and federal member for the Division of Boothby from 1981 to 1996.

Steele Hall introduced electoral reform, removing the Playmander which favoured the LCL, which contributed to his party's loss at the 1970 South Australian state election.

Steele Hall continued as a state parliamentarian until he resigned his seat in 1974 to be the LM's lead senate candidate at the 1974 Australian federal election.

Steele Hall won a senate seat for the LM at both the 1974 and 1975 elections.

Steele Hall was born on 30 November 1928 in Balaklava, South Australia, the son of Florence and Sidney Steele Hall.

Steele Hall attended primary school in Owen and subsequently graduated from Balaklava High School.

Steele Hall was elected to the South Australian House of Assembly as the Liberal and Country League member for Gouger, based on Balaklava, at the 1959 election.

Quickly gaining a reputation for his independence and strength of his views, Steele Hall rose through the LCL parliamentary ranks to assume party leadership following Sir Thomas Playford's retirement in July 1966.

Steele Hall served as Leader of the Opposition for two years before leading the LCL into the 1968 election.

Steele Hall immediately set out to deal with the issue of electoral reform.

Steele Hall was concerned by the level of publicity and growing public protest about the issue.

Steele Hall sponsored an electoral reform bill which expanded the House of Assembly to 47 seats, including 28 in the Adelaide area.

Steele Hall undertook this knowing that it would considerably strengthen Labor's hand.

Steele Hall began the distribution of fluoridated water in South Australia in 1968.

Steele Hall served as his own Treasurer for two months in 1970.

Stott wanted the dam built in his electorate while Steele Hall thought it more use to locate it elsewhere.

Constituent anger forced Stott to vote against the Steele Hall government, forcing an election for June 1970.

Steele Hall remained Leader of the Opposition for two years before resigning from the LCL on 15 March 1972, claiming that the party had 'lost its idealism [and] forgotten.

Steele Hall founded the Liberal Movement, a progressive liberal party that initially included about 200 former LCL members.

Steele Hall won a federal Senate seat for the Liberal Movement at the double dissolution 1974 election, after resigning his state seat, which sparked a Goyder by-election.

At the Joint Sitting of Parliament, Steele Hall supported the Labor government's three electoral reform Bills, citing his experience as South Australian Premier.

Steele Hall became a member of the Liberal Party in June 1976 after the Liberal Movement reintegrated into the LCL, which was renamed to match with its interstate counterparts.

Steele Hall resigned from the Senate on 16 November 1977 to unsuccessfully contest the seat of Hawker in the House of Representatives.

Steele Hall held Boothby until his retirement at the 1996 election.

Steele Hall had been instrumental in blocking Liberal Senate leader Senator Robert Hill to succeed him in the Liberal preselection contest for Boothby.

Steele Hall had defeated Downer for Liberal preselection for the 1981 Boothby by-election.

Steele Hall married schoolteacher Anne Fletcher in 1956, with whom he had one son and three daughters.