Person

Morton, Cecil Charles (1891 - 1955)

Born
10 July 1891
Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia
Died
8 November 1955
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Occupation
Geologist and Mineralogist

Summary

Cecil Morton was Chief Government Geologist of the Geological Survey of Queensland from 1946 to 1955. He joined the Survey in 1914 after qualifying at the Charters Towers School of Mines and several years as a surveyor and assayer for mining companies at Irvinebank, Chillagoe and Mount Perry. Much of his work for the Survey involved geological mapping and assessment of mineral deposits. He came to be acknowledged as an authority on the deposits in the Cairns hinterland. When the Survey was decentralised in 1935, Morton became District Geologist in Charters Towers. His publications included nearly 170 reports in Queensland Government mining journal. During his tenure as Chief Government Geologist, the Geological Survey of Queensland was the only State geological survey to welcome the involvement of the Bureau of Mineral Resources in regional mapping within its jurisdiction, the outcome being the start of the process to produce maps covering the whole State at the scale of 1:250 000. Morton also oversaw the establishment of Coal Section within the Survey, with subsequent assessment of the Bowen and Galilee Basins for coal reserves.

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Details

Chronology

1911
Education - Completed his studies with honours in all subjects, Charters Towers School of Mines
1911 - 1914
Career position - Mining surveyor and assayer, Irvinebank, Chillagoe and Mount Perry, Queensland
1914 - 1919
Career position - Field Assistant, Geological Survey of Queensland
1915 - 1919
Career position - Served with the Australian Imperial Forces (promoted 2nd Lieutenant July 1916, Captain November 1918)
1918
Award - Military Cross
1919 - 1935
Career position - Government Geologist, Geological Survey of Queensland
1935 - 1946
Career position - District Geologist, Charters Towers, Geological Survey of Queensland
1946 - 1955
Career position - Chief Government Geologist, Geological Survey of Queensland
1952 - 1955
Career position - Founding Member, Geological Society of Australia

Related Corporate Bodies

Archival resources

Geological Survey of Queensland

  • Cecil Charles Morton - Records, 1914 - 1946; Geological Survey of Queensland. Details

Published resources

Journal Articles

  • Denmead, A. K., 'An appreciation [of C. C. Morton]', Queensland Government Mining Journal, 56 (1955), 828-9. Details
  • Denmead, A.K., 'The Chiefs of the Geological Survey of Queensland From 1899 to 1955', Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland, lxviii (10) (1956), 51-60. Details
  • Whitehouse, F. W., 'Some notes on the Mesozoic plants collected by C. C. Morton, near North Arm', Queensland Government mining journal, 32 (1931), 274. Details
  • Withnall, Ian, 'War service, career and legacy of Cecil Morton MC ACTSM: the first economic geologist of the Geological Survey of Queensland', Newsletter, Earth Sciences History Group, 45 (2018), 10-22. Details

Resources

See also

  • Johns, R.K. ed., History and role of government geological surveys in Australia (Adelaide: South Australian Government Printer, 1976), 111 pp. Details

Gavan McCarthy [P004098] and Helen Cohn

Created: 20 October 1993, Last modified: 6 October 2023

EOAS ID: biogs/P000658b.htm

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