But there were times when he read in the morning paper things he wished he hadn’t said the night before.

This is Mr Morris’ way. To be at all times charming and, even at 90, he could probably sell ice to the Eskimos.

For 33 years, the man best known as Mr Maitland has been at the helm of the Hunter Valley Training Company and yesterday he watched as the company’s new $5 million skills centre was named in his honour.

Ever humble, Mr Morris said there were many others who kept the ship afloat and he was merely the talker.

But his words – crafted over nine decades – are worth listening to.

“It doesn’t matter where you spend your time on this Earth, whether it’s down at the pub or in your home or in Parliament,” Mr Morris told the Mercury on his 90th birthday in April.

“Just be with people, be with real people because relationships with people will always be superb.”

A product of the Great Depression (his family had to sell their home to live in a tent at Sandgate) Mr Morris was named an Officer of the Order of Australia in 1988 for his contribution to politics, youth and the community.

Other achievements include serving as the Member for Maitland – a role he held and cherished for nine elections, as state transport minister he made it compulsory for people to wear seatbelts, and chairman of the Hunter Valley Training Company.

Under his leadership, HVTC has provided training and employment opportunities for 20,000 apprentices and trainees in NSW and Queensland across the company’s 10 regional branches.

“As long as I live, I can never repay the city of Maitland for what it gave me – someone born on the wrong side of the tracks,” Mr Morris said in an earlier interview with The Mercury.

“There is no better place in the world – and I have seen so many places. For me, it [the Hunter Valley] is the centre of the universe.”