James Duncan Morris

James Duncan Morris was born in Victoria, and for years was a prosperous storekeeper at Morwell.

He suffered from sciatica and sold his business to seek relief from the mineral waters at Moree, NSW. He found little relief there, so moved on to Muckadilla in Queensland. Still suffering and having heard of the curative properties of the Dalby artesian water, he arrived in Dalby in 1914. After a lengthy course of the artesian water at the Dalby Bore Baths, his health improved considerably, and he decided to remain in Dalby indefinitely.

Not long after his arrival in Dalby, James Morris was encouraged to enter public life, and he became an Alderman of the Dalby Town Council. The following year he became chairman of the finance committee, and in 1919 he was elected Mayor, a position he held for two years.

James Morris remained on the Council as an Alderman but resigned as the result of a controversy concerning organised sport on Sundays, to which he was emphatically opposed.

James Morris was a member of the Dalby Hospital Committee for many years, was an elder of the Presbyterian Church, and treasurer of St. Thomas's Church.

During WWI, James Morris took an active part in many patriotic movements, and he was associated with the War Memorial Committee which organised the erection of the Soldiers' Memorial in Anzac Park.

James Morris died in 1942 at the age of 77 years.