St George Rugby League Club and people across the south west Queensland town are mourning the loss of William 'Meggs' Morris, who passed away on February 7 aged 92.
Morris, born May 23, 1930, spent more than 75 years contributing to rugby league as a player, coach, selector, committee member and most recently as ground announcer, earning him the “Golden Tonsils” moniker in some circles.
Morris started his rugby league involvement in 1946 and represented St George in 1948. That year they overcome Cunnamulla to win the Brassington Cup, which previously had been held by their rivals for 17 years.
After Meggs retired as a player following a decade in A grade, he switched his attention to coaching juniors and team management, with great success, before serving as a selector and committee member.
His contribution expanded in the early 1960s when he took over as ground announcer at Rowden Park, a task he continued until 2021.
It all started from a rudimentary setup of a chair, table and stopwatch with no shelter from the hostile outback elements.
Morris was honoured with life membership of the club in 1983, and in 2018 he was presented with a plaque for his efforts with the microphone.
Outside of rugby league, the St Patrick’s Catholic School student was actively involved with the local community all his life and his interests included rugby league, cricket, golf and music. He worked at Beeson’s Electrical until retiring in 1995 and gave great service to the St George Fire Brigade.
Descendants of Meggs have made a massive contribution to the town and it is significant that his father Tom, two of his sons, Mark and Greg, and his daughter-in-law Majella, are all life members of the St George Rugby League Club.
A large crowd is expected to attend the funeral for William 'Meggs' Morris at 10am on February 17.
-John Barrett OAM, St George Rugby League Club life member
