William Morgan was born in
Wilshamstead,
Bedfordshire, England, the son of George Morgan, a farmer, and his wife Sarah Morgan (
née Horne). Morgan emigrated to
South Australia, arriving in
Port Adelaide on 13 February 1849 in the
Glenelg. Initially he worked on land near the
Murray River, his life was saved by an
Indigenous Australian named Ranembe, whose name Morgan gave later to one of his sons. Then Morgan worked for Boord Brothers grocers; and at the beginning of 1852 he went to the
Victorian gold rush. He had modest success, returned to Adelaide, and with a brother he purchased the Boord's business, establishing William Morgan & Co. and made it a successful enterprise. In 1865 he became a founder of the
Bank of Adelaide. In 1882 they joined a consortium, the Adelaide Milling and Mercantile Company, with John Hart & Co., W. Duffield & Co., James Cowan & Co. and
Harrold Brothers; Morgan was their foundation chairman. ==Political career==