Family background
Les John Morka was born Lech-Jan Morka on 6 September 1947, the son of Wladyslaw (William) Morka and his wife Aline (born 1926). His father, born in 1914, died on 31 March 1986 at Bankstown and was buried in the Catholic Polish Monumental Lawn at Rookwood Cemetery.
Occupation & interests
Les Morka and his family arrived as Displaced Persons, on the Castelbianco which departed from Naples on 1 February 1950. He worked for the NSW State Rail Authority. A controversial Liberal Alderman known as ‘Macho’ Morka, he lived in Stanley Street, East Sydney and was an opponent of brothels in residential areas. He also tried to clear Moore Park of homosexual activity. In 1986 he campaigned for a peace summit in Sydney between US President Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.
Local government service
Morka was elected Alderman for Macquarie Ward, 14 April 1984 to 25 March 1987 when the Council was placed until the control of City Commissioners. Morka was a member of the Community Services Committee 1984-87, the Health Committee, the Cultural Committee, the Sydney Committee, the House Committee and the Equal Employment Opportunity Implementation Committee in 1984 and the Health and Environment Committee, 1985-87. The Prostitution Investigation Committee, chaired by Alderman Les Morka, was formed in 1985 to investigate all matters in relation to the current legislation concerning prostitution approved by the NSW Parliament. Morka was a member of the Liberal Party.
References
City of Sydney Archives: Aldermen’s Files
Daily Telegraph 26 September 1986
National Archives of Australia www.naa.gov.au
Society of Australian Genealogists: AGCI Index