Morris, Kenneth James, KBE, CMG
Personal
Birth Date:
22 October 1903 (Brisbane, Queensland)
Death Date:
1 June 1978 (Brisbane, Queensland)
Parents:
James Reuben Morris and Christina McKenzie (nee Grant)
Family:
Ettie Louise Dunlop on 1 October 1931, 4 sons, 1 daughter
Education:
Ithaca Creek, Yeppoon and Mapleton state schools; Brisbane Grammar School
Religion:
Presbyterian
Career
Chairman of Directors, Hazelmere Grazing Co. and Hazelmere Tropical Pastures Pty Ltd; Farmer, 'Rosebank', Cooktown, 1958; Director, Family boot manufacturing factory and other subsidiary companies
Military Service:
Major, Reserve of Officers, June 1944; Lieutenant, 2nd AIF, 9th Division, England, Tobruk, El Alamein, New Guinea, 1939 to 1944
Party Positions:
- Foundation Executive Member, Liberal Party (Qld).
- Chairman, Queensland Liberal Party Policy Committee. 1953 - 1962
Parliamentary Representation
| House | Party | Electorate | From | To | Elected/Departure Reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assembly | QPP | Enoggera | 15 Apr 1944 | 29 Apr 1950 | |
| Assembly | LIB | Mount Coot-tha | 29 Apr 1950 | 1 Jun 1963 | Did not contest |
Parliamentary Service
| Description | From | To |
|---|---|---|
| Leader, Queensland delegation of nine businessmen to Britain, Europe, Canada and the USA to promote new industries and investments | 1958 | |
| Minister for Labour and Industry | 12 Aug 1957 | 28 Dec 1962 |
| Deputy Premier | 3 Aug 1957 | 23 Aug 1963 |
| Leader of the Liberal Party | 17 Aug 1954 | 23 Aug 1962 |
| Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party | 1950 | 1954 |
| Liberal Party Whip | 1944 | 1950 |
Additional Information
Notes:
Interests included bowls and fishing; Freemason; As the minister in charge of police in October 1959, Sir Kenneth ordered a state-wide police alert to halt `battlefield' casualties on Queensland roads, calling for tougher policies on all traffic breaches, including careless driving; To cope with the increasing use of cars in Brisbane's inner city, Sir Kenneth implemented a traffic plan involving a system of coordinated traffic lights and a network of one-way streets
Sources:
Image sourced from C Lack, Three decades of political history, 1929-1960 (1962); Stevenson, Brian F, 'Morris, Sir Kenneth James (1903–1978)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/morris-sir-kenneth-james-11173; Courier-Mail, 'Sir Kenneth Morris dies in hospital', 3 June 1978; Parliamentary Handbook of the Commonwealth of Australia Sixteenth Edition 1965-1968 (Canberra: Commonwealth Parliamentary Library, 1968); Lack, Clem, Three Decades of Queensland Political History, 1929-1960 (Brisbane: Government Printer, 1962); Legge, JS, Who's Who in Australia XXIInd Edition (Melbourne, Vic: The Herald and Weekly Times Ltd, 1977)
[Last Modified: Friday, 25 August 2017]