The Electorate I represent, the Electoral District of Morphett, was created in 1976 following the electoral redistribution which took effect from the 1977 election.
The district is named after Sir John Morphett (1809 – 1892), a prominent nineteenth-century landowner and politician who arrived in South Australia on the Cygnet in 1836.
In 1837 Morphett played a key role in confirming the site of Adelaide in the new province. In 1843 he was nominated to be one of the first non-official members of the Legislative Council. In 1851 he was Speaker of the reformed Legislative Council and between 1865 and 1873 he was President of the elected Legislative Council.
Terrence Groom was the first Member of Parliament for Morphett, and he held the seat from 1977 to 1979, and was succeeded by the Liberal Party’s John Oswald. Oswald held the seat for over twenty years. He served as a minister in the mid-1990s, and then as Speaker of the House of Assembly from 1997 to 2002, when he retired. Duncan McFetridge was elected to represent Morphett at the 2002 election and served until 2018.
To the West of Adelaide, Morphett comprises the suburbs of Camden Park, Glengowrie, Glenelg, Glenelg East, Glenelg North, Glenelg South, Morphettville, Novar Gardens, Park Holme, and a portion of Somerton Park.
