Arthur Morgan (Australian politician, born 1856)

Sir Arthur Morgan (1856–1916) was an Australian politician who was Premier of Queensland from 1903 to 1906.

Sir Arthur Morgan
Morgan in 1908
16th Premier of Queensland
In office
17 September 1903  19 January 1906
Preceded byRobert Philp
Succeeded byWilliam Kidston
ConstituencyWarwick
Speaker of the Queensland Legislative Assembly
In office
16 May 1899  15 September 1903
Preceded byAlfred Cowley
Succeeded byAlfred Cowley
ConstituencyWarwick
Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly
for Warwick
In office
18 July 1887  4 April 1896
Preceded byJacob Horwitz
Succeeded byThomas Byrnes
In office
22 October 1898  19 January 1906
Preceded byThomas Byrnes
Succeeded byThomas O'Sullivan
Member of the Queensland Legislative Council
In office
19 January 1906  20 December 1916
Personal details
Born(1856-09-19)19 September 1856
Warwick, Queensland
Died20 December 1916(1916-12-20) (aged 60)
Paddington, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Resting placeToowong Cemetery
NationalityAustralian
Political partyMinisterialist
Other political
affiliations
Opposition
SpouseAlice Augusta Clinton
RelationsJames Morgan (father) Arthur Morgan (son)
OccupationNewspaper proprietor

Early life

Morgan was born in Warwick, Colony of New South Wales, the fourth son of James Morgan, who later represented Warwick in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland and became the chairman of committees, and his wife Kate (née Barton). Morgan was educated at a public school at Warwick and then joined the staff of the Warwick Argus, which was owned and edited by his father. Morgan married Alice Augusta Clinton, daughter of H. E. Clinton, on 26 July 1880.

Career

Morgan became a member of the Warwick Municipal Council in 1885 and served as mayor since 1886–1890 and again in 1898. In 1887 he was elected a member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly for the district of Warwick, and held this seat until 1896. In 1899, he was re-elected to this seat, and in that same year was chosen as the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland.

In 1903, businessman and politician Robert Philp resigned as Premier of Queensland on account of defections from his party, and the leader of the Labor party being unable to form a ministry. Morgan was asked to lead a combination of a group of liberals and the labor party. He later resigned the speakership, and went on to form a ministry. After that, he held the positions of the premier, chief secretary, secretary for railways, and vice-president of the executive council. Morgan's policy of retrenchment made him unpopular, and his alliance with the labor party was seen as questionable by his former associates. In January 1906, after the death of Sir Hugh Nelson, Morgan was appointed as president of the Queensland Legislative Council and was acting-governor on two occasions. In 1908 he was appointed to the seat of Lieutenant-Governor of Queensland.

He published a manuscript in 1902 entitled Discovery and Development of the Downs, and was knighted in 1907.

Later life

Sir Arthur Morgan's headstone at Brisbane's Toowong Cemetery.

In his later years, Morgan's health began to fail, and he died on 20 December 1916. Morgan was survived by his wife, five sons and three daughters.

References

  • Rod Kirkpatrick, 'Morgan, Sir Arthur (1856 - 1916)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Vol. 10, MUP, 1986, pp 584–585. Retrieved 2009-10-15
  • Serle, Percival (1949). "Morgan, Arthur". Dictionary of Australian Biography. Sydney: Angus & Robertson.
  • Morgan, Sir Arthur Brisbane City Council Grave Location Search

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