At age 15 he won a scholarship to the University of Sydney, but was too young to enrol; instead he worked as a clerk at the Metropolitan Water, Sewerage and Drainage Board for a year, and then bred poultry.
[2] In 1945, soon after turning 18, Morris enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force, but did not see active service, the war having ended while he was still in training.
[1][2] After graduation, Morris choose to do research, and from 1952 to 1955 worked at the Kanematsu Memorial Institute of Pathology at Sydney Hospital, investigating the role of lymphatic vessels in restoring fluid balance.
[1][2] He remained based at the Australian National University until his death in 1988, researching lymph flow, lipid metabolism, the immune system, and reproductive biology, and pioneering the use of sheep and cattle as experimental animals.
[1][2] In 1965 Morris travelled to Paris on study leave, beginning a lifelong "love of France, its people, its culture".
He was a consultant to the French government, and in recognition of his contributions was awarded Chevalier dans l'Ordre national du Mérite, and (in May 1988) the Légion d'honneur.