He was one of the earliest men to take an interest in horse racing in South Australia, and Morphettville Racecourse was named after him.
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In September 1846, as a protest against the mining royalty bill being passed by the casting vote of Governor Robe, Morphett and the three other non-official council members left the chamber - in consequence the council was left without a quorum.
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Morphett was born in London, the second son of Nathaniel Morphett, a solicitor, and his wife Mary, née Gliddon, of Cummins, Ide, Devon, and was educated at Plymouth and Highgate Grammar Schools.
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In 1921, the area, which also included that part of Cummins Estate where Cummins House is located, was renamed to Novar Gardens to honour Viscount Novar, (who as Sir Ronald Munro Ferguson was the sixth Governor-General of Australia from 1914 to 1920).
Morphett Street was named after Sir John Morphett, a prominent pioneer, whose votes at a meeting on 10 February 1837, (including a large number of proxies), were critical in confirming the site of Adelaide.
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The first Europeans to ascend the mountain, on 27 November 1837, were a six-man party comprising John Barton Hack, John Morphett, Samuel Stephens, Charles Stuart (South Australian Company's stock overseer), Thomas Davis (Hack's stockman), and John Wade (a "gentleman from Hobart Town").
The following five men were then elected to become members of Free Masonry: John Morphett, Richard Hanson, Thomas Gilbert, Robert Gouger, and Daniel Wakefield with John Morphett, Richard Hanson and Thomas Gilbert being initiated into the craft later in the same meeting.