Alfred Morgans
MORGANS, Alfred Edward, MLA (1850-1933)
Alfred Morgans was born on February 17, 1850 at Ochr Churith Machen Lower in Monmouthshire (now Gwent, Wales), son of colliery manager and mining engineer Morgan Morgans and his wife Mary Ann, née Tucker. After an education at private schools in England and Wales and at several school of mines, he served an apprenticeship with a mechanical engineering company in Ebbw Vale and then worked in coal mining and iron mining projects in Britain.
On March 19, 1872, Alfred married Fanny Ridler, the daughter of a coal merchant, at Blakeney, Gloucestershire, and they had two sons. The elder, Morgan Percy Morgans, died in Mexico in August 1907, aged 33, and the younger, Walter Geoffrey Morgans died in Guatemala in 1884, aged 2.
In 1878 Morgans went to Mexico to supervise the construction and commissioning of gold and silver mining equipment, and afterwards represented British investment in mining and railways, notably in Guatemala and Nicaragua. He had up to 6,000 subordinates at this time.
In 1895 he represented mining consultants Bewick, Moreing and Company at testing of treatment methods of oxidised ore using filter presses in Germany. Later in 1895 he applied for a patent for improved processes of extracting precious metals from their ores.
Alfred arrived at Albany, Western Australia on the “Himalaya” on March 18, 1896 with his wife and maid. Their only surviving son, Percy, arrived in Western Australia the following year on the “Oratava”. Percy was later employed as the mine manager at the Westralia Mine and at the Millionaire Mine, both located at Mount Morgans.
Alfred had come to Western Australia to represent two syndicates, including the Morgans Syndicate Limited. He also assessed gold treatment plants on behalf of Bewick, Moreing and Company. An early mine he acquired in July 1896 was the Burbanks Grand Junction Limited near Coolgardie.
In 1896, Alfred inspected prospective ground between Leonora and Laverton and purchased 48 acres of leases. The mine was named Westralia Mount Morgans, with Alfred as its managing director. In 1903 the mine reached its peak annual production of 54,000 fine ounces of gold. The syndicate purchased two smaller neighbouring mines, Lily of the Valley Gold Mine and Guest’s Gold Mine Limited. Another mine was established in 1900, the Millionaire Limited which in 11 years produced 6,600 fine ounces of gold.
Alfred was elected as the Member for the WA Legislative Assembly seat of Coolgardie in May 1897 and he held the seat until June 1904. He was the fourth Colonial Treasurer and Premier of WA holding that position from November 21 to December 23, 1901. He was defeated when three of his Ministers failed to be endorsed by the Legislative Assembly, several of his supporters defected and the Governor refused a dissolution.
Morgans was a member of the Royal Commission into Mining in 1897, President of the 1899 Coolgardie International Exhibition, and Mayor of Coolgardie in 1898.
In 1898 Alfred supervised the recommissioning of the Hannan’s Croesus Mine which had been idle for three years. In 1898 he also travelled extensively through the Pilbara, forming the British Exploration of Australia Company, and becoming its managing director. The best Pilbara mines were Gauntlet and Bow Bells which produced 4,086 fine ounces of gold for his company. He also took an interest in mining at Ravensthorpe and at Greenbushes.
Alfred was the President of the Coolgardie Chamber of Mines which combined with the Kalgoorlie Chamber of Mines to form the Western Australian Chamber of Mines in 1901, and he was founding Vice President of the merged body. He was an enthusiastic supporter of railways, being a member of the Coolgardie Railway League and a strong advocate for a rail link to Marble Bar.
Alfred was the President of the Royal Automobile Club (RAC) from 1905 to 1910, State Consul for Austria Hungary from 1910 to 1917, Vice Consul for Spain in 1915 and Consular Agent for the USA from 1921 to 1930. He was a member of the Faculty of Engineering at UWA in 1929. He was President of the committee controlling the Perth Zoological Gardens from 1921 to 1929.
He died at South Perth on August 10, 1933, aged 83, with his wife and two sons having predeceased him.
References:
Denis A Cumming and Richard G Hartley, 'Westralian Founders of Twentieth Century Mining', Richard G Hartley, Rossmoyne, 2014;
G. C. Bolton, 'Morgans, Alfred Edward (1850–1933)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/morgans-alfred-edward-7653/text13387 accessed online 4 March 2021;
Western Mail, 27.3.1896, p20;
West Australian, 22.11.1901, p6;
West Australian, 10.10.1927, p11;
Sunday Times, 13.8.1933, p6;
Western Mail, 19.8.1933, p36.
