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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2009-05-13 Daily Xml
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MORPHETT, SIR JOHN

Dr McFETRIDGE (Morphett) (15:40): On 4 May this year, it was the 200th birthday of Sir John Morphett. My electorate of Morphett is named after Sir John; and it is with great honour that I serve the people of the electorate of Morphett. Sir John Morphett was one of four children born to his father, Nathaniel, and his mother, Mary. In 1838, Sir John married his wife, Elizabeth Fisher, in Adelaide and settled at Cummins, which is in Novar Gardens. It will be at Cummins House on Sunday week that we will be cutting the cake to celebrate the 200th birthday of Sir John.

Sir John was not a good student. He left school at the age of 16. Following his schooling at Plymouth and Highgate Grammar, he worked in a ship's brokering office until he was 21, before spending the next three years of his life working for Harris & Co, a counting house in Alexandria, Egypt. It was in Egypt where he became good friends with Colonel William Light. Can I just thank Leah Skrzypiec of the Parliamentary Research Library for the work that she has done in getting these facts together for me for this grievance speech.

The role of Sir John Morphett both in this place and in this state is one that is quite extensive and is a history which I will read into Hansard because it is worth every member of this place realising the quality of the person who helped found this state. Sir John and his wife moved to Cummins House in 1842 at Novar Gardens. It was from there that he became involved in many other businesses in South Australia, besides his initial interest in stockbroking and property development.

Unlike Sir John Morphett, I do not get up each morning and go for a swim in the sea at Glenelg—the Icebergers do go down there every morning. Every morning, Sir John Morphett would ride from his house at Cummins to the beach—rain or shine, summer or winter—and go for a swim. It just shows something of that man's constitution. I am afraid the water has to have steam coming off it before I go down there.

In 1834, after the declaration of the South Australia Act in London, Morphett announced his desire to migrate to and his ability to purchase land in South Australia. By 1835, he was one of the most energetic advocates of this new province. In 1836, Morphett came to South Australia on the boat Cygnet and landed on Kangaroo Island on 11 September. Here he spent some time exploring the island and its suitability for settlement while waiting for Colonel Light's team of surveyors to return from the mainland.

While at Nepean Bay, Morphett explored Kingscote, Penneshaw, American River and Cygnet River. Morphett was also able to take two short visits to the mainland, and this helped him and Colonel Light confirm that Kangaroo Island did not provide a suitable land for a major city; rather, they needed to continue exploring the other potential sites.

In 1836, after leaving Kangaroo Island for the final time, Morphett travelled on the Rapid, which landed at the Patawalonga mouth on 5 November. This team was one of the first groups of Europeans to camp on the Adelaide Plains. While at Rapid Bay, on 6 November, Morphett was anticipating the arrival of the first migrants aboard the Africaine, whom he would have helped to establish. Also on board was Colonial Secretary Robert Gouger. On 7 November, Morphett, along with Lieutenant Field and Sir George Kingston, continued the search for an appropriate space for settlement. It was at this time that they came across and named the River Torrens.

In 1837, during the debate about the site for the city of Adelaide between Governor Hindmarsh, Colonel Light and Sir James Fisher, Morphett was clearly on the side of the latter two. At the crucial meeting on 10 February 1837, Morphett's vote was decisive in confirming the site of Adelaide.

In 1840, Sir John Morphett became treasurer of the South Australian Municipal Corporation. He entered parliament in 1843 and became the first speaker of the Legislative Council. Morphett was one of its seven elected members.

One of the things that Morphett did that perhaps we would not agree with now is that he wanted to have a House of Lords in South Australia with hereditary members nominated by the Queen. In 1851, after the first public elections were held for the Legislative Council, Morphett, as a nominee of the Crown, was selected by the members to become speaker. We now have a president, and it is one of the trick questions that we like to ask the school students visiting this place.

The Morphettville Racecourse is in my electorate, and Sir John Morphett was one of the founders of the South Australian Jockey Club. He was also a founding member of the South Australian Cricket Association and served as one of its earliest members. In 1870 Morphett was knighted, and he retired from politics in 1873 and died in 1892.

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