Name John Heal | Died 1908 | |
 | ||
John Daniel Heal (1825–1908) was an alderman and mayor of Brisbane, Australia.
Contents
Private life
John Daniel Heal was born in Turleigh (spelt Turley at the time) near Bradford-on-Avon, England on 18 January 1825, he was baptised in St Nicholas' Winsley on 17 April 1825. He was the son of Ambrose Heal(e) ('Mason of Turley') and Elizabeth Smith. He emigrated from England to Brisbane in mid-1856.
His first wife is unknown.
He married his second wife Elizabeth Scriven (born 1830, Wootton Rivers., England), daughter of William and Harriott Scriven, on 18 December 1852 in St Marys Parish Church, Marlborough. They had a number of children including:
Elizabeth Scriven died in Brisbane on 8 June 1863.
He married his third wife Harriet Street, the daughter of John Street and Martha Wallace, on 15 August 1863 in Brisbane and they had the following children:
His wife Harriet died 11 December 1872 aged 28 years, possibly from complications of childbirth.
In 1903, John Heal was living in retirement with his unmarried daughter Lizzie at his residence, Bath Villa, 555 Leichhardt Street, Fortitude Valley.
John Daniel Heal died in Brisbane on 18 August 1908. He was buried in Toowong Cemetery but the grave has now been demolished.
Business life
In Brisbane, John Daniel Heal worked at his trade as a stonemason.
In 1863, he leased the Prince Consort Hotel in Wickham Street, Fortitude Valley and became a publican. He bought the hotel in 1879 and by 1887 had acquired a number of adjoining properties. In 1887-1888, Heal tore down the old hotel and had a larger hotel erected, the now heritage-listed Prince Consort Hotel which was designed by Richard Gailey, a well-known Brisbane architect. When completed, the new hotel had one of the largest bars in Brisbane, three parlours, a large dining room, billiard room, kitchen, cellar, six bathrooms, twenty-eight bedrooms with four large shops on the ground floor.
He became a major contractor and prominent businessman in Brisbane.
Public life
He was very involved in community affairs and was a great advocate for the progress of Fortitude Valley. In 1870 he was elected to the Brisbane Council as an alderman for the Fortitude Valley Ward. He served his electorate in this role from 1870 to 1873, losing to Nicholas Corrigan in 1874. However, the following year in 1875, John Heal won the ward of Fortitude Valley back (Nicholas Corrigan did not stand for election) and held it until 1894, after which he did not seek re-election. He was mayor in 1879. He served on the following committees: