Arthur Morgan (Australian politician, born 1856)

This article is about the Premier of Queensland. For his son, the Member of the Australian Parliament, see Arthur Morgan (Australian politician). For other persons of the same name, see Arthur Morgan.

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

The Honourable Sir Arthur Morgan
Morgan in 1908
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	(1856-09-19)19 September 1856 Warwick, Queensland
Died	20 December 1916(1916-12-20) (aged 60) Paddington, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Resting place	Toowong Cemetery
Nationality	Australian
Political party	Ministerialist
Other political affiliations	Opposition
Spouse	Alice Augusta Clinton
Relations	James Morgan (father) Arthur Morgan (son)
Occupation	Newspaper 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 labour 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 labour 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

• "Grave Location Search". Brisbane City Council. Archived from the original on 1 June 2012. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
• Kirkpatrick, Rod (1986). "Morgan, Sir Arthur (1856 - 1916)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. 10. Melbourne University Press: 584–585. Retrieved 15 October 2009.
• McCulloch, John (October 2004). "The struggle for women's suffrage in Queensland". Hecate. 30 (2). Gale A126684565.
• Morgan, Richard (October 2004). [-https://search.informit.org/doi/ "The life and career of Sir Arthur Morgan"]. Journal of the Royal Historical Society of Queensland. 18 (12): 555–574. ISSN 1447-1345. {{cite journal}}: Check |url= value (help)
• Paten, Jessica (November 2005). "'Coppertails and Silvertails': Queensland Women and Their Struggle for the Political Franchise, 1889–1905". Queensland Review. 12 (2): 23–50. doi:10.1017/S1321816600004074.
• Pixley, Norman Stewart (1978). "Sir Arthur Morgan: the Society's first President". Journal of the Royal Historical Society of Queensland. 10 (4): 11–17. ISSN 0085-5804.
• Saunders, Kay; Armstrong, Lynne (November 2022). "The beginning of the end: The failure to reform the Queensland Legislative Council, 1859-1912". Queensland History Journal. 25 (3): 225–241. ISSN 1836-5477.
• Serle, Percival (1949). "Morgan, Arthur". Dictionary of Australian Biography. Sydney: Angus & Robertson.
• Stewart, Jean (November 2005). "The History of Women's Suffrage in Queensland". Queensland Review. 12 (2). Cambridge University Press: 3–7. doi:10.1017/S1321816600004050.

External links

Media related to Arthur Morgan (Queensland politician) at Wikimedia Commons