John Gordon Morrison (29 January 1904 – 11 May 1998)Jones, Philip, "Obituary: John Gordon Morrison: Author", ''The Age'', (Friday, 22 May 1998), p.24.
/ref> was a British-born Australian novelist and short story writer.

Life

John Morrison was born in Sunderland, England on 29 January 1904. His interest in flora and the natural world saw him begin work at the

Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens is a municipal museum in Sunderland, England. It contains the only known British example of a gliding reptile, the oldest known vertebrate capable of gliding flight. The exhibit was discovered in Eppleton qua ...

at the age of 14. After two and a half years there he went to work as a learner-gardener for a wealthy shipowner at East Boldon His first wife was Frances Jones (?-1967). They had two children: John, and Marie. He married his second wife, Rachel Gordon (?-1997), in 1969.

Australia

He migrated to Australia in 1923 and initially worked on sheep-stations in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

His first Australian job was in the garden of historic Zara Station at Wanganella, outback of
Deniliquin Deniliquin () is a town in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia, close to the border with Victoria. It is the largest town in the Edward River Council local government area. Deniliquin is located at the intersection of the Riverina ...
. The wide open spaces gave him a sense of freedom: warm friendship with his mates imbued him with the confidence to explore the Australian working class milieu in his stories, and he determined to live out his life in this place of "glamor and independence".
Family pressure took him back to England in 1927 — there was a crippled brother suffering from infantile paralysis — but the brief visit was disastrous due to his intense homesickness for Australia. From this unhappy time comes one of his best short stories, ''The Incense Burner''. An Aussie digger exiled to a shabby London rooming house lives and dies with no comfort other than the scent of smouldering eucalyptus leaves.

On his return to Australia, he and Frances settled in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

in 1928, where he began a ten-year stint working on the Melbourne waterfront and, later, as a gardner. He subsequently joined the

Communist Party of Australia The Communist Party of Australia (CPA), known as the Australian Communist Party (ACP) from 1944 to 1951, was an Australian political parties, Australian political party founded in 1920. The party existed until roughly 1991, with its membersh ...

. He worked as a gardener at Caulfield Grammar School from 1950 to 1963.

Writer

He published his first stories under the name of "Gordon", and later as "John Morrison", in trade union publications during this time. He was later a member of the Realist Writers Group and went on to publish a number of short stories in newspapers, two novels, four collections of stories and a book of essays. After leaving the waterfront he worked as a jobbing gardener based in Mentone. He later worked as a gardner at Caulfield Grammar School until 1963, when he became a full-time writer; publishing also book reviews and journalism. Morrison, “likened the writer to the man who comes across an interesting rock or stone and puts it in his pocket. For months, perhaps years, he carries it about, rolling it in his hands from time to time until it is polished. His stories, he said, were like these stones.” His literary friends and associates included John Behan, Alan Marshall,

Frank Dalby Davison Frank Dalby Davison (23 June 1893 – 24 May 1970), also known as F. D. Davison and Freddie Davison, was an Australian novelist and short story writer. Whilst several of his works demonstrated his progressive political philosophy, he is be ...

Frank Hardy Francis Joseph Hardy (21 March 1917 – 28 January 1994), published as Frank J. Hardy and also under the pseudonym Ross Franklyn, was an Australian novelist and writer. He is best known for his 1950 novel '' Power Without Glory'', and for his ...

and Judah Waten. He was a member of the Realist Writers Group.

Awards

He won a number of short story competitions. He was awarded a

Commonwealth Literary Fund The Commonwealth Literary Fund (CLF) was an Australian Government initiative founded in 1908 to assist needy Australian writers and their families. It was Federal Australia's first systematic support for the arts. Its scope was later broadened to e ...

grant in both 1948 and 1949, the Gold Medal of the

Australian Literature Society The Association for the Study of Australian Literature (ASAL) is an Australian organisation which promotes the creation and study of Australian literature and literary culture especially through the interaction of Australian writers with teacher ...

in 1963, and the

Patrick White Literary Award The Patrick White Award is an annual literary prize established by Patrick White. White used his 1973 Nobel Prize in Literature award to establish a trust for this prize. The $25,000 cash award is given to a writer who has been highly creative o ...

in 1986. He was made a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Order (distinction), honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarchy of Australia, Queen of Aus ...

in the 1989 Queens Birthday Honours List.

Bibliography

Novels

* ''The Creeping City'' (1949) * ''Port of Call'' (1950)

Short fiction

;Collections * ''Sailors Belong Ships'' (1947) * ''Black Cargo'' (1955) * '' Twenty-Three : Stories'' (1962) * ''John Morrison, Selected Stories'' (1972) * ''North Wind'' (1982) * ''Stories of the Waterfront'' (1984) * ''This Freedom'' (1985) * ''The Best Stories of John Morrison'' (1988) ;Stories

Non-fiction

;Books * ''Australian by Choice'' (essays, 1973) * ''The Happy Warrior'' (memoirs, 1987) ;Journalism
"That'll be the bloody day!", ''The (Sydney) Tribune'', (Tuesday, 10 July 1973), p.7.

Death

He died in Melbourne on 11 May 1998.

Legacy

In 1974, the Victorian branch of the

Fellowship of Australian Writers The Fellowship of Australian Writers (FAW) was established in Sydney in 1928, with the aim of bringing writers together and promoting their interests. The organisation played a key role in the establishment of the Australian Society of Authors in ...

instituted ''The John Morrison Short Story Award'', "an award for a story of up to 3000 words on any theme".The last award (as of 22 November 2018) was made in 2015 to Free Vreman for her short story "for Flight" (see
Free Vreman, ''Austlit''
.

References

Portraits

* Louis Kahan, Kahan, Louis (not dated)
felt tip pen portrait of John Morrison, ''University of Melbourne Library Print Collection''.

John Gordon Morrison, Wharf Labourer and Author; Recipient of the Patrick White Literary Award, 1986 and the Order of Australia, 1989, ''Australian National University Library Collection''.

Bolton, A.T., Portrait of John Morrison, Ripponlea, 1986, ''National Library of Australia''.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morrison, John 1904 births 1998 deaths 20th-century Australian male writers 20th-century Australian novelists 20th-century Australian short story writers ALS Gold Medal winners Australian gardeners Australian male novelists Australian male short story writers Australian waterside workers Meanjin people Members of the Order of Australia Writers from Sunderland British emigrants to Australia