Edward Ellis Morris

Born in Madras on December 25, 1843, and educated at Rugby School and Lincoln College, Oxford, Edward Ellis Morris built a career in education before moving to Australia in 1875. He became headmaster of Melbourne Church of England Grammar School, where he expanded school life in practical ways, from student publications to new traditions and facilities.

After leaving school leadership, he moved into university teaching and became professor of modern languages and literature at the University of Melbourne. There he taught English, French, and German, helped shape courses of study, and took an active role in the university's wider intellectual life.

Morris also wrote on history and public life, including a memoir of George Higinbotham, but his best-known achievement is Austral English: A Dictionary of Australasian Words, Phrases and Usages, published in 1898. The book remains important for the way it recorded local speech carefully and seriously, showing how Australian English had developed its own voice.