Milton Arthur Morris
AO (2 April 1924 – 27 February 2019) was an Australian politician who represented the
Electoral district of Maitland between 3 March 1956 and 29 August 1980 for the
Liberal Party. He helped pass several laws promoting automobile safety.
Early life
He was born in April 1924 at
Mayfield, New South Wales, to Arthur Henry Morris, a
railway guard, and his wife Janet Thomson. He was educated at Wickham Public School and
Newcastle Junior Boys High School Newcastle usually refers to:
* Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England
*Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England
* Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcast ...
. Morris briefly joined the
Royal Australian Navy in 1942 before transferring to the part-time
Volunteer Defence Corps, where he served as an anti-aircraft gunner from 1942 until 1945. He married Colleen Joan Burgess on 13 October 1945. They had one son and three daughters.
Political career
Morris joined the
Liberal Party in 1954 and was a member of the
Tarro Branch of the Party. He was a Councillor on the Lower Hunter Shire (1954–1958). With the retirement of Incumbent member for
Maitland,
Walter Howarth, Morris was preselected by the Liberal Party and won the seat at that election. He subsequently won re-election at the 1956, 1959, 1962, 1965, 1968, 1971, 1973, 1976 and 1978 New South Wales State elections.
During his political career Morris held various portfolios in the
Askin Government,
Lewis Government and
Willis Government including
Minister for Transport (1965–1975). During his tenure of that portfolio, he introduced the
breathalyser,
radar speed traps, compulsory wearing of seat belts and a number of other road-safety initiatives partly though his formation of the scientifically-based Traffic Accident Research Unit, led by Dr Michael Henderson. He was also
Minister for Lands, Minister for Forests (1975–1975) and Minister for Decentralisation and Development (1976–1976).
On 25 June 1972 in Sydney's ''
The Sun-Herald'' newspaper, an article by motoring journalist, television commentator and successful rally driver
Evan Green entitled "160 MPH 'Super Cars' Soon" about proposed high powered
V8 engined
A V8 engine is an eight-cylinder piston engine in which two banks of four cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration.
The first V8 engine was produced by the French Antoinette company in 1904, developed and use ...
cars from
Holden
Holden, formerly known as General Motors-Holden, was an Australian subsidiary company of General Motors. It was an Australian automobile manufacturer, importer, and exporter which sold cars under its own marque in Australia. In its last thre ...
,
Ford and
Chrysler Australia that were being developed for the annual
Bathurst 500 mile race would and soon be on sale to the Australian public, quoted Morris as saying that he was appalled at these cars—which he labelled "bullets on wheels". This article and Morris' comment would set in motion the so-called
Supercar scare
The Supercar scare was a national controversy that arose in Australia in 1972 in regard to the sale to the public of high performance "homologation special" versions of Australian-built passenger cars.
The reason
Despite the popular belief of ...
which would see the V8 powered
Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1,
Ford Falcon GTHO Phase IV and the
Chrysler Valiant Charger
The Chrysler Valiant Charger was a two-door hardtop coupe introduced by Chrysler Australia in 1971. It was a short wheelbase version of the concurrent Australian Chrysler Valiant sedan. Introduced within the VH Valiant series, it continued as a v ...
scrapped by their respective manufacturers.
He resigned from his seat of Maitland on 29 August 1980 to contest the New South Wales
Federal Seat of
Lyne
Lyne may refer to:
Places
* Division of Lyne, an electoral division in New South Wales, Australia
* Lyne, Denmark, a town in southwest Denmark
* Lyne, Surrey a village in southern England
* River Lyne, a river of Cumbria in England
* Lyne, Sco ...
for the Liberal Party. The Lyne contest was a three cornered contest between the
Labor Party candidate,
National Country Party candidate
Bruce Cowan
David Bruce Cowan AM (15 January 1926 – 7 April 2011) was an Australian politician and Minister of the Crown in the cabinets of Tom Lewis and Sir Eric Willis. He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for 14 years from 6 ...
and himself.
The results of the 1980 Lyne election were close with Morris coming within 2.9% of out voting his National Country opponent and winning through preferences against the Labor candidate in a heavily conservative seat.
On his departure from parliament, he was permitted by
Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...
, on the Governor's recommendation, to continue to use the title "The Honourable".
Later life
Morris had not contested any election since his Lyne campaign. In a 2008 interview with the ''Maitland Mercury'' it was noted that he had the
nickname 'Mr Maitland'.
[ In the interview he claimed that he had no regrets about not re-entering politics, but did say that if given the chance would jump at it. "I loved every minute of it eing Transport Minister.][ Morris died in his sleep on 27 February 2019.
]
Community activity and honours
* Chairman of Hunter Valley Training.
* Honorary Chairman of Lewis House Apprentice Hostel, Mayfield
* Patron of East Maitland sub branch, Returned Serviceman's League.
* Patron – The Mai-Wel Group.
* Patron – Waratah Brass
* Honorary Prefect of Hunter Christian School (formerly Mayfield Christian Community School)
* Patron - Sydney Heritage Fleet
Sydney Heritage Fleet, is the trading name of Sydney Maritime Museum Ltd., a public (non-profit) company in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
The Fleet restores and operates a number of historic vessels including the barque ''James Craig' ...
(1965-1986)
Honours
* Officer of the Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...
(AO) – 1988, for his contribution to politics, youth and the community.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Milton
1924 births
2019 deaths
Australian businesspeople
Volunteer Defence Corps soldiers
Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of New South Wales
Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
New South Wales local councillors
Officers of the Order of Australia
Officers of the Order of Polonia Restituta
Royal Australian Navy personnel of World War II
Royal Australian Navy sailors
Deaths from cerebrovascular disease