Bruce Scott (Maranoa, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to honour a true outback hero from my electorate of Maranoa. Mr Lyle Morton was one of the longest serving councillors on the Diamantina shire. He epitomised the true spirit of the outback, dedicating his life to his community. Mr Morton passed away at the age of 86 on 3 November this year.

Mr Morton was born in Birdsville in 1924. He grew up at Roseberth station at the homestead which was referred to as ‘The Bluff’ along the Diamantina River, which he left to attend school in Adelaide at Scotch College. School years were to be a tough time for Mr Morton, with little opportunity to return to his beloved home in the bush. In 1949 he returned home and married Phyllis Beech, a Birdsville nursing sister.

In 1955 Mr Morton embarked on what was to become a long and rewarding career with the Diamantina Shire Council. He was elected councillor and chairperson in his first term. He held the position of deputy chair of the council in March 1967 and was again elected chairperson in 1967, 1975, from 1980 to 1982 and from 1984 to 1991. After 35 years of service to his community he retired from the council in 1991 but still remained an avid and active member of the Diamantina shire and community.

Mr Morton was passionate about improving life for residents of the Diamantina shire. Along with his many wonderful achievements as councillor was his determination in obtaining an electric light service for Birdsville and laying bitumen on the local airstrip, even though money was tight.

In recognition of his service and dedication to the Diamantina Shire Council and his community, Mr Morton was named a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 1988. He received a certificate for 30 years of service to local government from the Local Government Association of Queensland in 1988 and in 1991 he was awarded an Australia Day Citizen of the Year award. His most treasured award, however, was being named the Diamantina Shire Council’s Senior Citizen, received during his last year in local government.

Mr Morton was a true Australian to his bootstraps. He was a fine horseman; he rode some of the roughest and toughest horses in the outback and in his own district. He was a tough but fair man and he never asked his men to undertake a job that he himself could not do, a quality so rarely seen today. Mr Morton was, above all, a passionate advocate for regional and rural and, particularly, remote communities, and his family should be proud of his achievements.

I pay tribute to Lyle Morton and I pass on my condolences to his extended family. I have been privileged to know him and his achievements in his very full life.