{{Short description|Australian politician}} {{Use Australian English|date=August 2021}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}} {{Infobox MP |honorific_prefix = |name = Frederick Moorhead |honorific_suffix = KC |image = Frederick William Moorhead HOFWA.jpg |office = Justice of the Supreme Court<br/>of Western Australia |term_start = 24 April |term_end = 27 November 1902 |predecessor = None {{Small|(new position)}} |successor = Robert Bruce Burnside |office2 = Attorney-General of Western Australia |premier2 = Alf Morgans |term_start2 = 21 November |term_end2 = 23 December 1901 |predecessor2 = George Leake |successor2 = George Leake |office3 = Member of the Legislative Assembly<br/>of Western Australia |constituency3 = North Murchison |term_start3 = 13 October 1899 |term_end3 = 10 December 1901 |predecessor3 = Henry Kenny |successor3 = John Holman |birth_date = 1863 |birth_place = King's County, Ireland |death_date = 27 November 1902 |death_place = West Perth, Western Australia, Australia }} '''Frederick William Moorhead''' KC (1863 – 27 November 1902) was an Australian barrister, politician, and judge. He was born in Ireland and emigrated to Western Australia in 1889. Moorhead was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1899 to 1901, and briefly served as the state's attorney-general in the government of Alf Morgans. He was appointed to the Supreme Court of Western Australia in April 1902, but died after only seven months in office.
==Early life== Moorhead was born in King's County, Ireland, to Elizabeth (née Humphrys) and Michael J. Moorhead. He attended St Stanislaus College before going on to Trinity College Dublin, where he studied arts and laws. He was called to the bar in 1887.<ref name="bio">{{cite web |title=Fredrick William Moorhead |url=http://parliament.wa.gov.au/parliament/library/MPHistoricalData.nsf/%28Lookup%29/D11F064905AF0211482577E50028A725?OpenDocument |website=Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia |publisher=Parliament of Western Australia |access-date=15 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160412154433/http://parliament.wa.gov.au/parliament/library/MPHistoricalData.nsf/(Lookup)/D11F064905AF0211482577E50028A725?OpenDocument |archive-date=12 April 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref> In his youth, Moorhead was a talented association football player. A representative of Dublin University A.F.C., he played a single match for the Irish national team, appearing against England during the 1884–85 British Home Championship.<ref>[http://www.national-football-teams.com/player/38072/Freddie_Moorhead.html Home / Teams / Northern Ireland / Freddie Moorhead] – National Football Teams. Retrieved 15 June 2016.</ref><ref>[http://nifootball.blogspot.com.au/2008/10/frederick-moorhead.html Frederick Moorhead] – Northern Ireland's Footballing Greats. Retrieved 15 June 2016.</ref> Moorhead moved to Australia in 1889, and opened a law firm in Perth. He was admitted to the Western Australian bar the following year.<ref name="bio"/>
==Parliamentary career== Moorhead first attempted to enter parliament at an 1895 Legislative Council by-election for Central Province, but lost to William Alexander (by only seven votes).<ref name="bio"/> At the 1897 general election, he stood for the Legislative Assembly, but lost to Henry Kenny in the seat of North Murchison. However, Kenny died in August 1899, and Moorhead was successful at the resulting by-election. He was re-elected at the 1901 general election.<ref name="res">{{cite book|last=Black|first=David|authorlink=David Black (historian)|last2=Prescott|first2=Valerie|title=Election statistics : Legislative Assembly of Western Australia, 1890-1996|year=1997|publisher=Western Australian Parliamentary History Project and Western Australian Electoral Commission|location=Perth, [W.A.]|isbn=0730984095}}</ref>
In November 1901, Alf Morgans replaced George Leake as premier, and appointed Moorhead as attorney-general in his new ministry. Under the state constitution at the time, newly appointed ministers were required to resign and recontest their seats in a ministerial by-election. These were often uncontested, but the outgoing premier, Leake, organised opposing candidates in each seat. Moorhead and two other ministers (Matthew Moss and Frank Wilson) were defeated, resulting in the collapse of the Morgans government after just over a month.<ref name="bio"/>
==Later life== After his electoral defeat, Moorhead returned to his law practice. He had been appointed Queen's Counsel (QC) in 1900, and was regarded as one of the most capable barristers in the state.<ref>[http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/80864350 "THE FOURTH JUDGE."], ''The Daily News'', 12 April 1902.</ref> In April 1902, Moorhead was appointed as a puisne judge of the Supreme Court, joining Edward Stone (the chief justice), Alfred Hensman (who died in October 1902), and Stephen Henry Parker on the bench. Prior to his appointment, the court had had only three justices, but an additional justice was deemed necessary to alleviate their workload.<ref>[http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/24742727 "THE FOURTH JUDGE."], ''The West Australian'', 12 April 1902.</ref> However, in November 1902, Moorhead suffered a mental and physical breakdown.<ref>[http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/57218897 "JUSTICE MOORHEAD"], ''The Sunday Times'', 2 November 1902.</ref><ref>[http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/24847147 "ILLNESS OF MR. JUSTICE MOORHEAD."], ''The West Australian'', 3 November 1902.</ref> He had suffered from locomotor ataxia since an accident in 1897,<ref name="bio"/> but his breakdown brought on what was described as a "general paralysis", which he never recovered from.<ref name="obit">[http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/24848940 "DEATH OF MR. JUSTICE MOORHEAD."], ''The West Australian'', 27 November 1902.</ref>
Moorhead died at his home in West Perth in late November.<ref name="obit"/> His funeral was held two days later at St Mary's Cathedral, Perth, and he was afterward buried in Karrakatta Cemetery.<ref>[http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/24849209 "FUNERAL OF THE LATE MR. JUSTICE MOORHEAD".], ''The West Australian'', 29 November 1902.</ref> Moorhead had married Amy Campbell (née Monger) in 1891, with whom he had one daughter, but he was widowed in 1900. His wife was a daughter of John Henry Monger and a sister of Frederick Charles Monger, both of whom were members of parliament.<ref name="bio"/>
==References== {{reflist}}
{{s-start}} {{s-par|au-wa}} {{s-bef|before=Henry Kenny}} {{s-ttl|title=Member for North Murchison|years=1899–1901}} {{s-aft|after=John Holman}} {{s-off}} {{s-bef|before=George Leake}} {{s-ttl|title=Attorney-General|years=1901}} {{s-aft|after=George Leake}} {{s-end}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moorhead, Frederick}} Category:1863 births Category:1902 deaths Category:Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Category:Attorneys-general of Western Australia Category:Australian barristers Category:Australian King's Counsel Category:Irish barristers Category:Irish emigrants to colonial Australia Category:Judges of the Supreme Court of Western Australia Category:Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly Category:People educated at University College School Category:Lawyers from County Offaly Category:Pre-1950 IFA men's international footballers Category:Public servants of Western Australia Category:Irish association footballers (before 1923) Category:19th-century Australian politicians Category:Dublin University A.F.C. players Category:Sportspeople from County Offaly Category:Men's association football players not categorized by position Category:Burials at Karrakatta Cemetery Category:People educated at St Stanislaus College