John Morphett
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sir John Morphett (4 May 1809 – 7 November 1892) was a South Australian pioneer and politician.
Contents |
[edit] Early life
Morphett was born in London, the son of Nathaniel Morphett, a solicitor, and his wife Mary, née Gliddon, of Cummins, Ide, Devon. He was well educated at a private school, and soon became interested in the South Australian colonisation schemes. Around the end of 1835 he attended the dinner given to honour Captain Hindmarsh's appointment as governor of South Australia.
[edit] Arrival in South Australia
On 20 March 1836, Morphett sailed for South Australia in the Cygnet, which arrived at Holdfast Bay on 11 September 1836. Morphett had no official position but he assisted Colonel William Light in laying out the new city of Adelaide. Morphett Street, in Adelaide's central business district, was named after him. He opened an agency business, took a leading place in the community, and in December 1838 was selected to sign the letter accompanying the piece of plate presented to Robert Gouger by a number of the most prominent colonists.
On 15 August 1838 he married Elizabeth Fisher, the eldest daughter of James Hurtle Fisher (later Sir James).
Morphett appears to have had private means: in May 1839 he paid £4000 for 4,000 acres (16 km²) of land, and he was concerned in other comparatively large transactions.
[edit] Political life
Morphett was appointed treasurer to the town corporation on 5 December 1840, and on 15 June 1843 was nominated as one of four non-official members of the expanded South Australian Legislative Council. In January 1845 he chaired the meeting called to protest the British government's proposal to send Parkburst prison boys to South Australia. In September 1846, as a protest against the mining royalty bill being passed by the casting vote of Governor Robe, Morphett and the three other non-official council members left the chamber - in consequence the council was left without a quorum. In August 1851 Morphett was chosen speaker of the again enlarged council, and on 9 March 1857 he was elected a member of the legislative council at the first election under responsible government. He was chief secretary in the Thomas Reynolds ministry from February to October 1861, and on 31 March 1865 was elected president of the legislative council, a position he held until his retirement from politics in February 1873. He was knighted in 1870.
[edit] Death
Morphett died at his home, Cummins House, Morphettville, on 7 November 1892. He was survived by his wife Elizabeth, six daughters and four sons.
[edit] Legacy
Morphett's birth and education allowed him to become a leader among the pioneers of South Australia. He had faith in the colony from the beginning: although he realized that for a period South Australia would be regarded as a pastoral colony, depending chiefly on its export of wool, as early as 1838 he had sanguine hopes of raising wine, olive oil, figs, maize, flax, silk, rice, indigo and tobacco (J. Stephens, The Land of Promise, p. 49). He supported Fisher and Gouger in their quarrels with Hindmarsh, later becoming a force in the legislative council, and he worked hard for responsible government. He took an active part in the formation of the Literary Association and the Mechanics Institute, and was an early supporter of St Peter's College. He was one of the earliest men to take an interest in horse racing in South Australia, and Morphettville Racecourse was named after him. Also named after him were the suburbs of Morphettville and Morphett Vale.
[edit] References
- Serle, Percival (1949). "Morphett, John". Dictionary of Australian Biography. Sydney: Angus and Robertson.
- 'Morphett, Sir John (1809 - 1892)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 2, MUP, 1967, pp 261-262.
- This article incorporates text from the public domain 1949 edition of Dictionary of Australian Biography from Project Gutenberg of Australia, which is in the public domain in Australia and the United States of America.
