WAR CORRESPONDENT

Grey River Argus, 17 April 1940, Page 9

WAR CORRESPONDENT

MR HALL’S CAREER. WELLINGTON, April 16. Mr J. H. Hall, of Wellington, who iias been appo nted war correspondent with the Second N.Z.E.F. has had a notable scholastic and journalistic carter. He was born in Southland, being the eldest son of Mr Andrew Hall, , farmer, oi Edendaie, and he received ms earl.v education at the Gore High Schoo . After a year’s experience on a farm, Mr Hall joined the staff of tiie ‘Southland Times” in 1916 as a copyholder in the reading department. He was placed on the reporting staff a few months later and he became chief reporter at the age or 19. In 1918 he joined the staff or the ‘ Sun,” Christchurch, as a reporter, and he represented that paper in tne Parliamentary Press Gallery from that year until 1920. Eariy the following year he resigned to lurtnei his stud.es at the University of Otago, where he spent the next three years. He was the first Otago student to take the Diploma of Journalism. Ho later won the University of New Zealand Arnold Atkinson Memorial and Haydon Essay prizes. In 1923 he was James Clark Prizeman in English at the University of Otago. in 1924 Mr Hail returned to active journalism, being appointed cable subeditor of “The Press,” continuing his studies at Canterbury College. In that year he was college prizeman in

political science. In 1925 and 19z6 he was editor of the “Hawera Star,” anu m January, 1937, he returned to Christchurch as editor of the “Sun.” Four years later he graduated as Master of Arts at Canterbury College, with the equivalent of honours m economics. | Mr Hail, was appointed editor of the “Dominion,” Wellington, in 1933, and in 1936 resigned to see kfurther ex- ( perience abroad. After some jouin-j alistic experience in London, he was appointed officer in charge of the New Zealand court at the Empire Exhibition. Glasgow. When the exhibition closed, Mr Hall served for some time on the staff of the New Zealand High Commissioner in London, and for a time was in Geneva as a temporary collaborator on the staff of tne miague cf Nations. When he rciur.---ed to New Zealand in August last year, he Was to have taken up the post ’of publicity officer to the New Zealand Railways Department; but, on the outbreak of war, was appointed Assistant-Director of Publicity. Hr HaJl represented Southland at Rugby in 1917, when the were restricted to players below military age. In 1924, when a member of the Canterbury College Club, he was selected as a representative for the college on the southern tour, but he was not able to travel. He is a double blue in Rugby and athletics for the University of Otago, and he is a University of New Zealand athletics blue.i being also a former amateur chain-/ pion of Canterburv in both the* high, jump and throwing the hammer. I