Morris Lyon Marks (7 September 1824 – 4 March 1893) was a Jewish businessman remembered as a politician in the colony of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

. He was frequently referred to by his full name or as "Morris L. Marks" to distinguish him from several contemporaries named Morris Marks.

History

A son of Lyon Marks ( – ) and Mrs. Marks (c. 1783 – 5 February 1857), he and his brother Solomon Lyon Marks migrated from London to South Australia on the ''Abberton'', arriving in December 1846, and was a successful importer and merchant in Adelaide and Burra. He and his brother were, as M & S Marks, owners of the "Liverpool Mart" in

Hindley Street Hindley Street is located in the north-west quarter of the centre of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. It runs between King William Street and West Terrace. The street was named after Charles Hindley, a British parliamentarian and soc ...

, Adelaide's largest emporium. He was, in 1848, a member of the consortium (with Burnet Nathan, Louis Hart, Joseph Hart, and Samuel Hart) which purchased from

George Morphett George Morphett (21 May 1811 – 1893) was a settler in the colony of South Australia, and younger brother of John Morphett. History Morphett was born in London to solicitor Nathaniel Morphett and his wife Mary, ''née'' Gliddon, of "Cummins ...

land on

Rundle Street Rundle Street, often referred to as "Rundle Street East" as distinct from Rundle Mall, is a street in the East End of the city centre of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. It runs from Pulteney Street to East Terrace, where it becomes ...

for the first Synagogue (consecrated 3 September 1850). He married in 1850 and later had a large family. He was a passenger on the steamer '' Osmanli'', which hit a reef and sank in

D'Estrees Bay D'Estrees Bay (french: Baie D'Estrees) is a bay in the Australian state of South Australia located on the southern coast of Kangaroo Island about south of Kingscote, the Island's principal centre. D’Estrees Bay was named in 1803 by Peron a ...

Kangaroo Island Kangaroo Island, also known as Karta Pintingga (literally 'Island of the Dead' in the language of the Kaurna people), is Australia's third-largest island, after Tasmania and Melville Island. It lies in the state of South Australia, southwest ...

on 25 November 1853. No-one was seriously injured but Marks lost a quantity of gold. He was elected to the

South Australian House of Assembly The House of Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. The other is the Legislative Council. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Adelaide. Overview The House of Assembly was creat ...

, representing The Burra and Clare from March 1857 to August 1858, when he resigned in order to make a trip to Europe. On his return he continued his business, but did not stand for re-election. He spent some time alternating between New Zealand and

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 1883 Marks and his family left for New Zealand, and were resident in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

. They returned to Australia, living in

Albert Park, Victoria Albert Park is an inner suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south of Melbourne's Central Business District. The suburb is named after Albert Park, a large lakeside urban park located within the City of Port Phillip local government ar ...

, where he died on Saturday, 4 March 1893.

Family

Marks married Leah Solomon (ca.1832 – 9 August 1908), sister of

Judah Moss Solomon Judah Moss Solomon (21 December 1818 – 29 August 1880)Richards, Eric'Solomon, Judah Moss (1818 - 1880)' Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 6, Melbourne University Press, 1976, pp 163-164. was a successful businessman, Mayor of Adela ...

, on 30 January 1850. Their children were *Henry Morris "Harry" Marks (9 October 1856 – 14 February 1909) married Amelia Francis Cohen on 19 December 1883, died at

Heidelberg, Victoria Heidelberg is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, northeast of Melbourne's central business district, located within the City of Banyule local government area. Heidelberg recorded a population of 7,360 at the 2021 census. Once a large ...

*second son Sidney Algernon Marks (ca.5 May 1858 – ) married Blanche Rosetta Woolf on 19 October 1898 *Frederick M. "Fred" Marks (16 September 1859 – ) *Albert M. Marks ( – ) married Elizabeth Cohen on 22 September 1886, lived Wellington, New Zealand *Marcus "Mark" Marks ( – ) of Wellington, New Zealand *Louis Marks ( – ) of Brisbane *Lionel Marks ( – ) *Mrs. A. Phillips ( – ) of Albert Park *Mrs. B. Lyons ( – ) of South Yarra *Fanny or Fannie Marks ( – ) of Wellington, New Zealand His brother and business partner Solomon Lyon Marks (1827–1875) married Esther in 1846, the first marriage in the Adelaide Synagogue. They moved to Queensland.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marks, Morris Members of the South Australian House of Assembly Jewish Australian politicians 1824 births 1893 deaths 19th-century Australian politicians 19th-century Australian businesspeople