Godfrey Morgan (Australian politician)


Godfrey Morgan was an Australian journalist, politician, and farmer. He served on the Legislative Assembly of Queensland from 1909 until 1938, first for the electoral district of Murilla and then for the electoral district of Dalby.

Biography

Godfrey Morgan was born on 29 July 1875 in Landsborough, Victoria, Australia, to Godrey Morgan, a newspaperman and printer, and Mary Elizabeth Morgan, née Williamson. When Morgan was young his father began a newspaper at Donald, Victoria, and when his father died in 1891, Morgan took over management of the paper. On 8 December 1896, he married Annie Jane Pace.
In 1908, after the government of Queensland requested settlers to come help fight a prickly pear infestation, the Morgan family moved to a 7000-acre plot of land named Arubial, on the Condamine River near Condamine.

In 1909 Morgan was elected first to the Murilla Shire Council and then to the Legislative Assembly of Queensland, representing the seat of Murilla. When Murilla was abolished in 1935, he represented the seat Dalby till he was defeated by 57 votes in the 1938 state election.
When A.E. Moore came to power in 1929, Morgan served as Secretary for Railways till 1932 and then as Minister for Transport till the government's defeat in the 1932 state election.

Later years

Morgan moved to Brisbane after his 1938 election loss and died there in 1957. He was accorded a State funeral and was cremated.

Legacy

The locality of Morganville in the North Burnett Region is named after him.