Mark Fairles Morton (28 September 1865 – 28 September 1938) was an Australian politician. He was born near

Nowra Nowra is a city in the South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. It is located south-southwest of the state capital of Sydney (about as the crow flies). As of the 2021 census, Nowra has an estimated population of 22,584. Situated in th ...

to surveyor Henry Gordon Morton and Jane, ''née'' Fairlies. He attended Numbaa Public School and Hurstville College in

Goulburn Goulburn ( ) is a regional city in the Southern Tablelands of the Australian state of New South Wales, approximately south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Canberra. It was proclaimed as Australia's first inland city through letters pate ...

before working on the bridge over the

Shoalhaven River The Shoalhaven River is a perennial river that rises from the Southern Tablelands and flows into an open mature wave dominated barrier estuary near Nowra on the South Coast of New South Wales, Australia. Location and features The Shoalhaven ...

at Nowra. He subsequently worked as a stock agent before settling in Nowra as an auctioneer. He served on Nowra Council from 1896, with a period as mayor in 1901. From 1906 to 1916 he was a member of the Aborigines Protection Board. On 6 March 1907, he married Minnie Fuller, with whom he had a son; on 23 April 1919 he married Sarah Emily Fuller. From a political family, his brothers

Philip Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...

and

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) *Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

and his nephew Pat also served in the

New South Wales Parliament The Parliament of New South Wales is a bicameral legislature in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW), consisting of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly (lower house) and the New South Wales Legislative Council (upper house). Each ...

, while his brother-in-law George Fuller was

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

. In 1901, he was elected to the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament Ho ...

as the

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

member for

Shoalhaven The City of Shoalhaven is a local government area in the south-eastern coastal region of New South Wales, Australia. The area is about south of Sydney. The Princes Highway passes through the area, and the South Coast railway line traverses t ...

. Shoalhaven was renamed Allowrie in 1904. By the time proportional representation was introduced in 1920, Morton was a

Nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

, but he failed to win a seat until 1922, when he was elected as one of the members for

Wollondilly Wollondilly Shire is a periurban local government area adjacent to the south-western fringe of Sydney, parts of which fall into the Macarthur, Blue Mountains and Central Tablelands regions in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Wollon ...

. Defeated in 1925, he returned in 1928 and served until his death at Nowra in 1938. The

Morton National Park The Morton National Park is a national park located in the Southern Highlands, South Coast and Illawarra regions of New South Wales, Australia, situated approximately south southwest of Sydney. Location and features The most notable attractio ...

is named after him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morton, Mark 1865 births 1938 deaths Nationalist Party of Australia members of the Parliament of New South Wales United Australia Party members of the Parliament of New South Wales Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Mayors of places in New South Wales New South Wales local councillors Australian auctioneers