Obituaries Australia

The announcement of the sudden death, on the 19th ultimo, at the age of 54 years, of Mr. W. L. [William Laurence] Morrissey, of the Victorian Railways, was received throughout the railway service, as well as in union circles generally, with profound regret. Although it was known that Mr. Morrissey's health had been rather precarious for some two years back, no one expected that the end was so near, so that the sorrowful news of the sad event came as a shock. Mr. Morrissey was one of the pioneers of Unionism in the Railways, he having been connected with the Guards' and Shunters' Association many years ago, and at the time that that body, together with other smaller railway unions, became a Federation, known as the Federated Traffic and Transportation Association of Australia, he was appointed secretary of its metropolitan branch. Subsequently, when the general linking-up of railway organisations took place, in 1911, resulting in the establishment of the Victorian Railways Union, Mr. Morrissey was elected as one of its councillors, to which office he was reelected each succeeding year, until he retired in 1918. In 1916 he was appointed to the highest office the Union has to offer—that of General President; a position he filled with conspicuous ability. Always a staunch unionist, and straight fighter, he was held in the highest esteem. The industrial movement is much the poorer for his loss. Peace be to his ashes.