# Frederick Moorhead
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{{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](/source/King's_Counsel)
|image = Frederick William Moorhead HOFWA.jpg
|office = Justice of the [Supreme Court](/source/Supreme_Court_of_Western_Australia)
of [Western Australia](/source/Western_Australia)
|term_start = 24 April
|term_end = 27 November 1902
|predecessor = None {{Small|(new position)}}
|successor = [Robert Bruce Burnside](/source/Robert_Bruce_Burnside)
|office2 = [Attorney-General of Western Australia](/source/Attorney-General_of_Western_Australia)
|premier2 = [Alf Morgans](/source/Alf_Morgans)
|term_start2 = 21 November
|term_end2 = 23 December 1901
|predecessor2 = [George Leake](/source/George_Leake)
|successor2 = George Leake
|office3 = Member of the [Legislative Assembly](/source/Western_Australian_Legislative_Assembly)
of [Western Australia](/source/Western_Australia)
|constituency3 = [North Murchison](/source/Electoral_district_of_North_Murchison)
|term_start3 = 13 October 1899
|term_end3 = 10 December 1901
|predecessor3 = [Henry Kenny](/source/Henry_Kenny_(Australian_politician))
|successor3 = [John Holman](/source/John_Holman_(politician))
|birth_date = 1863
|birth_place = [King's County](/source/County_Offaly), Ireland
|death_date = 27 November 1902
|death_place = [West Perth](/source/West_Perth%2C_Western_Australia), [Western Australia](/source/Western_Australia), Australia
}}
'''Frederick William Moorhead''' [KC](/source/King's_Counsel) (1863 – 27 November 1902) was an Australian barrister, politician, and judge. He was born in Ireland and emigrated to [Western Australia](/source/Western_Australia) in 1889. Moorhead was a member of the [Legislative Assembly](/source/Western_Australian_Legislative_Assembly) of Western Australia from 1899 to 1901, and briefly served as the state's [attorney-general](/source/Attorney-General_of_Western_Australia) in the government of [Alf Morgans](/source/Alf_Morgans). He was appointed to the [Supreme Court of Western Australia](/source/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](/source/County_Offaly), Ireland, to Elizabeth (née Humphrys) and Michael J. Moorhead. He attended [St Stanislaus College](/source/St_Stanislaus_College) before going on to [Trinity College Dublin](/source/Trinity_College_Dublin), where he studied arts and laws. He was [called to the bar](/source/Call_to_the_bar) in 1887.[{{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}}] In his youth, Moorhead was a talented [association football](/source/association_football) player. A representative of [Dublin University A.F.C.](/source/Dublin_University_A.F.C.), he played a single match for the [Irish national team](/source/Ireland_national_football_team_(1882%E2%80%931950)), appearing against [England](/source/England_national_football_team) during the [1884–85 British Home Championship](/source/1884%E2%80%9385_British_Home_Championship).[[http://www.national-football-teams.com/player/38072/Freddie_Moorhead.html Home / Teams / Northern Ireland / Freddie Moorhead] – National Football Teams. Retrieved 15 June 2016.][[http://nifootball.blogspot.com.au/2008/10/frederick-moorhead.html Frederick Moorhead] – Northern Ireland's Footballing Greats. Retrieved 15 June 2016.] Moorhead moved to Australia in 1889, and opened a law firm in [Perth](/source/Perth). He was admitted to the Western Australian bar the following year.[{{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}}]
In November 1901, Alf Morgans replaced [George Leake](/source/George_Leake) as [premier](/source/Premier_of_Western_Australia), and appointed Moorhead as attorney-general in [his new ministry](/source/Morgans_Ministry). Under the state constitution at the time, newly appointed ministers were required to resign and recontest their seats in a [ministerial by-election](/source/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](/source/Matthew_Moss) and [Frank Wilson](/source/Frank_Wilson_(politician))) were defeated, resulting in the collapse of the Morgans government after just over a month.[[http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/80864350 "THE FOURTH JUDGE."], ''[The Daily News](/source/Daily_News_(Perth%2C_Western_Australia))'', 12 April 1902.] In April 1902, Moorhead was appointed as a [puisne judge](/source/puisne_judge) of the Supreme Court, joining [Edward Stone](/source/Edward_Albert_Stone) (the [chief justice](/source/Chief_Justice_of_Western_Australia)), [Alfred Hensman](/source/Alfred_Hensman) (who died in October 1902), and [Stephen Henry Parker](/source/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.[[http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/24742727 "THE FOURTH JUDGE."], ''[The West Australian](/source/The_West_Australian)'', 12 April 1902.] However, in November 1902, Moorhead suffered a mental and physical breakdown.[[http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/57218897 "JUSTICE MOORHEAD"], ''[The Sunday Times](/source/Sunday_Times_(Western_Australia))'', 2 November 1902.][[http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/24847147 "ILLNESS OF MR. JUSTICE MOORHEAD."], ''The West Australian'', 3 November 1902.] He had suffered from [locomotor ataxia](/source/locomotor_ataxia) since an accident in 1897,[[http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/24848940 "DEATH OF MR. JUSTICE MOORHEAD."], ''The West Australian'', 27 November 1902.]
Moorhead died at his home in [West Perth](/source/West_Perth%2C_Western_Australia) in late November.[[http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/24849209 "FUNERAL OF THE LATE MR. JUSTICE MOORHEAD".], ''The West Australian'', 29 November 1902.] 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](/source/John_Henry_Monger) and a sister of [Frederick Charles Monger](/source/Frederick_Charles_Monger), both of whom were members of parliament.