Kenneth Morris (politician)

Sir Kenneth Morris KBE, CMG
Morris (left) in 1959
Senator for Queensland
In office 30 November 1963 – 30 June 1968
Preceded by	George Whiteside
17th Deputy Premier of Queensland
In office 3 August 1957 – 26 September 1962
Premier	Frank Nicklin
Preceded by	Ted Walsh
Succeeded by	Alan Munro
Minister for Labour and Industry
In office 12 August 1957 – 28 December 1962
Premier	Frank Nicklin
Preceded by	Arthur Jones
Succeeded by	Alex Dewar
Deputy Leader of the Opposition in Queensland
In office 12 August 1954 – 3 August 1957
Leader	Frank Nicklin
Preceded by	Thomas Hiley
Succeeded by	Eric Lloyd
Leader of the Queensland Liberal Party Elections: 1956, 1957, 1960
In office 12 August 1954 – 26 September 1962
Deputy	Alan Munro
Preceded by	Thomas Hiley
Succeeded by	Alan Munro
Deputy Leader of the Queensland Liberal Party
In office 31 May 1950 – 12 August 1954
Leader	Thomas Hiley
Preceded by	Charles Wanstall
Succeeded by	Alan Munro
Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly for Mount Coot-tha Enoggera (1944–1950)
In office 15 April 1944 – 1 June 1963
Preceded by	George Taylor
Succeeded by	Bill Lickiss
Personal details
Born	(1903-10-12)12 October 1903 Brisbane, Queensland
Died	1 June 1978(1978-06-01) (aged 74) Chermside, Brisbane, Queensland
Nationality	Australian
Political party	Liberal Party
Other political affiliations	Queensland People's Party (1944–1949)
Spouse	Ettie Louise Dunlop
Children	Barbara Morris, David Morris, Grant Morris, Bruce Morris
Alma mater	Brisbane Grammar School
Occupation	Shoe/Boot Manufacturer, Grazier
Military service
Branch/service	Australian Army
Years of service	1939–1944
Rank	Major

Sir Kenneth James Morris, KBE, CMG (22 October 1903 – 1 June 1978) was an Australian politician who served as Deputy Premier of Queensland from 1957 to 1962.

Early life

Born in Brisbane,^[1] he was educated at Brisbane Grammar School before becoming the director of his family's boot manufacturing firm. In 1931, he married Ettie Louise Dunlop.^[2]

Morris served in the military 1939–1944, in Britain (1940), Tobruk (1941) and Egypt (1942); rising to the rank of Major.^[2]

Political career

A founding member of the Liberal Party in Queensland, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Queensland in 1944 as the member for Enoggera,^[1] transferring to Mount Coot-tha in 1950.^[1] Morris was state Leader of the Liberal Party 1954–1962, Deputy Premier 1957–1962, and Minister for Labour and Industry 1957–1962.^[1]

He stepped down as leader in August 1962 and as Deputy Premier in September for health reasons, and moved to Cooktown where he cultivated legume seed.^[3][2] In December 1963, he won a special election for a Senate seat in Queensland, filling the vacancy caused by the death of Labor Senator Max Poulter and to which George Whiteside had been appointed. Morris defeated Whiteside 50.6% to 49.4%.^[4] He retired in 1967.^[5]

Personal life

Morris died in 1978 at Chermside, Brisbane.^[2]

References

1. "Former Members". Parliament of Queensland. 2015. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
2. Stevenson, Brian F (2000). "Morris, Sir Kenneth James (1903–1978)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Vol. 15. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
3. "The Ayes Have It: The history of the Queensland Parliament, 1957–1989" (PDF). 2010. pp. 87, 88. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
4. Carr, Adam (2008). "1963 Senate: Queensland special election". Psephos, Adam Carr's Election Archive. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
5. Drinkwater, Derek (2010). "MORRIS, Sir Kenneth James (1903–1978)". The Biographical Dictionary of the Australian Senate. Retrieved 8 January 2023.

Parliament of Queensland
Preceded by George Taylor	Member for Enoggera 1944–1950	Abolished
New seat	Member for Mount Coot-tha 1950–1963	Succeeded by Bill Lickiss