What is in a Street Name - Morrison Road

James Morrison (seated) with four sons and two pet dogs

New Junction is boundered by Morrison Road to the North. So where does the name come from?

Meet James Morrison, responsible for the original subdivision of land on the southern side of Woodbridge Terrace and Boundary Road (now Morrison Road) back in the 1890’s from Helena Vale (now Midland) right up to Blackboy Hill Estate (Greenmount & Swan View).

James Morrison was born on 25 June 1846 in Islington, London in England to Joseph and Christina Morrison.

He left England and headed for New Zealand in 1863 before moving to Melbourne, Victoria to manage a family business and then made his way to Western Australia where James arrived in December 1868.

Morrison married Clara De Burgh on 23 March 1870 at St Matthew’s Church in Guildford. He became a well-known sales agent and auctioneer and acquired a significant amount of land including Guildford where he made his family home at ‘Waterhall’.

Other significant land holdings included a parcel of land at Butler’s Swamp which he subdivided to create Claremont Estate named after his wife, Clara in 1883. The estate name replaced Butler’s Swamp as the name of the suburb in 1898.

In 1886, he acquired Swan Location 16 in Helena Vale which encompassed the land south of Woodbridge Terrace and Boundary Road (Morrison Road). As a sales agent and auctioneer, he was responsible for the subdivision of Helena Vale, Blackboy Hill and the release of the first lots.

Morrison was one of the first directors of the AMP Society in Western Australia in 1884 and was chairman until 1925. He was on the board of the West Australian Trustee and Agency Company from 1882 to 1925 and its chairman for 15 years and a director of the Sun Insurance Company and Dalgety and Company Ltd. He also served on the Legislative Council of Western Australia from 1887 to 1894.

His ailing health forced him to resign from the board positions he held in 1925 and on 24 December 1927, James passed away aged 81 at his North Perth residence.

Morrison will be remembered as someone who possessed high ideals and was very well respected in the community.

Midvale, Swan View and Woodbridge also have a Morrison Road which are also named from James Morrison.

Image from Swan Guildford Historical Society

Information from Remember Midland