Morris Lyon Marks (7 September 1824 – 4 March 1893) was a Jewish businessman remembered as a politician in the colony of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

. He was frequently referred to by his full name or as "Morris L. Marks" to distinguish him from several contemporaries named Morris Marks.

History

A son of Lyon Marks ( – ) and Mrs. Marks (c. 1783 – 5 February 1857), he and his brother Solomon Lyon Marks migrated from London to South Australia on the ''Abberton'', arriving in December 1846, and was a successful importer and merchant in Adelaide and Burra. He and his brother were, as M & S Marks, owners of the "Liverpool Mart" in

Hindley Street Hindley Street is located in the north-west quarter of the Adelaide city centre, centre of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. It runs between King William Street, Adelaide, King William Street and West Terrace, Adelaide, West Terrace. Th ...

, Adelaide's largest emporium. He was, in 1848, a member of the consortium (with Burnet Nathan, Louis Hart, Joseph Hart, and Samuel Hart) which purchased from

George Morphett George Morphett (21 May 1811 – 20 October 1893) was a settler in the colony of South Australia, and younger brother of John Morphett. History Morphett was born in London to solicitor Nathaniel Morphett and his wife Mary, ''née'' Gliddon, ...

land on

Rundle Street Rundle Street, often referred to as "Rundle Street East" as distinct from Rundle Mall, is a street in the East End of the city centre of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. It runs from Pulteney Street to East Terrace, where it becomes Ru ...

for the first Synagogue (consecrated 3 September 1850). He married in 1850 and later had a large family. He was a passenger on the steamer ''

Osmanli The Ottoman dynasty () consisted of the members of the imperial House of Osman (), also known as the Ottomans (). According to Ottoman tradition, the family originated from the Kayı tribe branch of the Oghuz Turks, under the leadership of Os ...

'', which hit a reef and sank in

D'Estrees Bay D'Estrees Bay () is a bay in the Australian state of South Australia located on the southern coast of Kangaroo Island about south of Kingscote, the Island's principal centre. D’Estrees Bay was named in 1803 by Peron and Freycinet of the B ...

Kangaroo Island Kangaroo Island (, ) is Australia's third-largest island, after Tasmania and Melville Island, Northern Territory, Melville Island. It lies in the state of South Australia, southwest of Adelaide. Its closest point to the mainland is Snapper Poi ...

on 25 November 1853. No-one was seriously injured but Marks lost a quantity of gold. He was elected to the

South Australian House of Assembly The House of Assembly (also known as the lower house) is one of two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia, the other being the Legislative Council. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Adelaide. Overview The House of Assem ...

, representing The Burra and Clare from March 1857 to August 1858, when he resigned in order to make a trip to Europe. On his return he continued his business, but did not stand for re-election. He spent some time alternating between New Zealand and

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

. In 1883 Marks and his family left for New Zealand, and were resident in

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

. They returned to Australia, living in

Albert Park, Victoria Albert Park is an inner suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south of Melbourne's Central Business District. The suburb is named after Albert Park, a large lakeside urban park located within the City of Port Phillip local government are ...

, where he died on Saturday, 4 March 1893.

Family

Marks married Leah Solomon (ca.1832 – 9 August 1908), sister of

Judah Moss Solomon Judah Moss Solomon (21 December 1818 – 29 August 1880)Richards, Eric'Solomon, Judah Moss (1818 - 1880)' Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 6, Melbourne University Press, 1976, pp 163-164. was a successful businessman, Mayor of Adelai ...

, on 30 January 1850. Their children were *Henry Morris "Harry" Marks (9 October 1856 – 14 February 1909) married Amelia Francis Cohen on 19 December 1883, died at

Heidelberg, Victoria Heidelberg () is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, northeast of Melbourne's central business district, located within the City of Banyule local government area. Heidelberg recorded a population of 7,360 at the 2021 census. Once a ...

*second son Sidney Algernon Marks (ca.5 May 1858 – ) married Blanche Rosetta Woolf on 19 October 1898 *Frederick M. "Fred" Marks (16 September 1859 – ) *Albert M. Marks ( – ) married Elizabeth Cohen on 22 September 1886, lived Wellington, New Zealand *Marcus "Mark" Marks ( – ) of Wellington, New Zealand *Louis Marks ( – ) of Brisbane *Lionel Marks ( – ) *Mrs. A. Phillips ( – ) of Albert Park *Mrs. B. Lyons ( – ) of South Yarra *Fanny or Fannie Marks ( – ) of Wellington, New Zealand His brother and business partner Solomon Lyon Marks (1827–1875) married Esther in 1846, the first marriage in the Adelaide Synagogue. They moved to Queensland.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marks, Morris Members of the South Australian House of Assembly Jewish Australian politicians 1824 births 1893 deaths 19th-century Australian politicians 19th-century Australian businesspeople