Sir Arthur Morgan (1856–1916) was an Australian politician and

Premier of Queensland The premier of Queensland is the head of government in the Australian state of Queensland. By convention the premier is the leader of the party with a parliamentary majority in the unicameral Legislative Assembly of Queensland. The premier is ap ...

from 1903 to 1906.

Early life

Morgan was born in

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Whi ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

. He is the fourth son of James Morgan (who later represented

in the

Legislative Assembly of Queensland The Legislative Assembly of Queensland is the sole chamber of the unicameral Parliament of Queensland established under the Constitution of Queensland. Elections are held every four years and are done by full preferential voting. The Assembl ...

and later 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 The Legislative Assembly of Queensland is the sole chamber of the unicameral Parliament of Queensland established under the Constitution of Queensland. Elections are held every four years and are done by full preferential voting. The Assembly ...

for the district of

, 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 The Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland is elected by the members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly to preside over sittings of the Assembly and to maintain orderly proceedings. The Speaker must be a member of the Legislative ...

. In 1903, businessman and politician

Robert Philp Sir Robert Philp, (28 December 1851 – 17 June 1922) was a Queensland businessman and politician who was Premier of Queensland from December 1899 to September 1903 and again from November 1907 to February 1908. Early life Philp was born in ...

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 labor 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 labor 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 The Queensland Legislative Council was the upper house of the parliament in the Australian state of Queensland. It was a fully nominated body which first took office on 1 May 1860. It was abolished by the Constitution Amendment Act 1921, which to ...

and was acting-governor on two occasions. In 1908 he was appointed to the seat of

Lieutenant-Governor of Queensland The governor of Queensland is the representative in the state of Queensland of the monarch of Australia. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia at the national level, the governor performs constitutional and ceremonial func ...

. He published a manuscript in 1902 entitled ''Discovery and Development of the Downs'', and was knighted in 1907.

Later life

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

*Rod Kirkpatrick,
Morgan, Sir Arthur (1856 - 1916)
, ''

Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...

'', Vol. 10, MUP, 1986, pp 584–585. Retrieved 2009-10-15 *
Morgan, Sir Arthur
— Brisbane City Council Grave Location Search

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, Arthur 1856 births 1916 deaths Premiers of Queensland Australian Knights Bachelor Australian politicians awarded knighthoods Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly Members of the Queensland Legislative Council Burials at Toowong Cemetery Presidents of the Queensland Legislative Council Speakers of the Queensland Legislative Assembly