Arthur Morgan (Queensland politician)

The Honourable Sir Arthur Morgan
16th Premier of Queensland
In office 17 September 1903 – 19 January 1906
Preceded by	Robert Philp
Succeeded by	William Kidston
Constituency	Warwick
Speaker of the Queensland Legislative Assembly
In office 16 May 1899 – 15 September 1903
Preceded by	Alfred Cowley
Succeeded by	Alfred Cowley
Constituency	Warwick
Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly for Warwick
In office 18 July 1887 – 4 April 1896
Preceded by	Jacob Horwitz
Succeeded by	Thomas Byrnes
In office 22 October 1898 – 19 January 1906
Preceded by	Thomas Byrnes
Succeeded by	Thomas O'Sullivan
Member of the Queensland Legislative Council
In office 19 January 1906 – 20 December 1916
Personal details
Born	19 September 1856 Warwick, Queensland
Died	20 December 1916 (aged 60) Paddington, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Resting place	Toowong Cemetery
Nationality	Australian
Political party	Ministerialist
Other political affiliations	Opposition
Spouse(s)	Alice Augusta Clinton
Relations	Arthur Morgan (son)
Occupation	Newspaper proprietor
Religion	Anglican

Sir Arthur Morgan (19 September 1856 – 20 December 1916) was the Premier of Queensland, Australia from 1903 to 1906.

Early life

Morgan was born in Warwick, Queensland, the fourth son of James Morgan (who later represented Warwick in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland and became chairman of committees) and his wife Kate, née Barton. Arthur Morgan was educated at the 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.

Politics

Morgan became a member of the Warwick Municipal Council in 1885 and served as mayor 1886-90 and 1898. In 1887 he was elected a member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly for the district of Warwick, held his seat until 1896, and was re-elected in 1899. In that year he was chosen as Speaker.

In 1903 Robert Philp resigned on account of defections from his party, and the leader of the Labour party being unable to form a ministry, Morgan was asked to lead a combination of some of the liberals and the Labour party. He resigned the speakership, formed a ministry, and became premier, chief secretary, secretary for railways and vice-president of the executive council. A policy of retrenchment was carried out which gave Morgan some temporary unpopularity, and his combining with the Labour party was much questioned by his former associates. The position, however, was one of some difficulty when Philp resigned, as at the moment there appeared to be no outstanding man to take his place, and Morgan felt it to be his duty to carry on a government. In January 1906, after the death of Sir Hugh Nelson, he was appointed president of the Queensland Legislative Council and on two occasions was acting-governor. In 1908 he was appointed Lieutenant-Governor of Queensland.

He published in 1902, Discovery and Development of the Downs; he was knighted in 1907.

Later life

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

In his later years Morgan's health was not good 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 and Robertson.
• Morgan, Sir Arthur — Brisbane City Council Grave Location Search

External links