Two days before her marriage to John O'Hair, twenty-one-year-old Susanna Hall renounced her Protestant faith and converted to Catholicism. The significance of her decision is reflected in the parish records, which state that "Susan Hall has this day renounced Protestantism and made a profession of Catholic Faith". In another register, her conversion was recorded as a death, illustrating the profound social and religious divisions of the time. By choosing a path that risked estrangement from family and community, Susanna demonstrated remarkable conviction and courage.
Six weeks after their marriage, Susanna and John departed Southampton aboard Arthur the Great, leaving behind her parents, William and Ann Hall, and beginning a new life on the far side of the world. Their daughter, Mary Ann, was born in 1857, and the family settled at The Warrions as part of a growing rural community.
In 1868, Susanna became gravely ill with inflammation of the kidneys. Seeking medical treatment, John set out to take her to Geelong, some fifty miles away, but Susanna died on the journey. She was only thirty-three years old. Her death left John a widower and Mary Ann without her mother.
Although Susanna's life in Australia lasted little more than twelve years, the family she established endured. Mary Ann later married and raised a large family of her own, and through succeeding generations Susanna's descendants remained connected to the district. The story of the young Irish woman who crossed the world for love continues to form part of the history of the community she helped create.
Research by Meryl Ritchie
Story by Norma Bakker

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