A less-good HALL

Among the 15 HALL children of William and Eliza nee BLISS, I know little of their fourth child EDWARD (1874-1952). He was born in Yass, NSW in late 1874. According to Frank Hall, he was a surveyor and traveled through western NSW as a young man. Around 1908 he moved to Koorawatha (where his parents and some siblings had moved) and operated a general store in Boorowa St, Koorawatha. In electoral rolls of the 1940s Edward is listed living in Koorawatha, a surveyor's assistant. He never married and died in 1952 in Cowra (or perhaps Koorawatha). I do not know exactly where he was buried, or whether he has a headstone.

But Edward does appear in the newspapers once that I can see, and probably twice. As I've previously posted, Edward was probably the 'E' in 'E. Hall & Co.' general store at Koorawatha, which burnt down in 1909. This is confirmed as the HALL family business established just a few years earlier when they moved from Yass. It is confirmed in this death notice for William (Edward's father) in 1912:

Burrowa News
2 Aug 1912
Mr. Hall, senr., of the firm E. Hall and Co., storekeepers, Koorawatha, died on Friday after a protracted illness. He was an old resident of the Yass district prior to settling at Koorawatha.

Just after this death, a number of articles appeared in papers describing the court case in which Edward Hall was tried for 'uttering' - offering forged documents. A short summary article is transcribed below, and the result was that Edward was found guilty and sent to jail.

Burrowa News
1 Nov 1912
Koorawatha Wheat Cases
At the Cowra Quarter Sessions, before His Honor Judge Rogers, Edward Hall, a well-known resident at Koorawatha carrying on a general store, was charged with forging and uttering orders of Messrs. Bell & Co's. the well-known Sydney Grain Merchants, for whom he acted as agent at Koorawatha. The first charge was one of forging and uttering an order for 25 pounds.
Mr. Mason appeared for the prosecution and Mr. Hamilton (instructed by Messrs. Coglan and Monthomerie) for accused.
After lengthy evidence the jury returned a verdict of guilty, and a sentence of six months' hard labor in Goulburn Gaol was passed.
A further charge of forging and uttering orders for 25 pounds and 10 pounds was not proceeded with.

The shame! As he was sentenced and gaoled, Edward was recorded in the NSW Gaol Description and Entrance books, indexed on ancestry.com. In some cases this constitutes a line of descriptive information, but in Edward's case he was photographed.

Transcript
Edward Hall
Portrait taken 4th December 1912
Native place: Yass NSW
Year of birth: 5 October 1873
Trade: Storekeeper
Religion: Church of England
Education: Read and write
Height: 5' 8"
Weight: 165 pounds
Colour of hair: Brown (bald)
Colour of eyes: Bald
Marks: Scar on right hand, scar on left knee, scar on right shin
Convicted: Cowra, 21 Oct 1912
Offence: Uttering
Sentence: 6 months hard labor

Edward returned to his home town of Koorawatha - and the story of his conviction must  have stayed with him through his life. The form seems to confirm that he was never again in serious trouble with the law. A zoom-in of Edward's face is worthwhile (is he smiling under that tremendous beard?) because apart from my gr gr grandfather Alfred Ernest, I do not think I've seen a photo of another HALL sibling: