The Young and Murray Families
The Murray Clan ...

Hugh and Elizabeth Murray

4-Hugh Murray was born in Sep 1814 in Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland, was christened on 21 Oct 1814 in St Cuthberts, Edinburgh, Scotland, and died on 28 Jul 1869 in Colac, Victoria at age 54.

   Hugh Murray    Hugh Murray Elizabeth Young

Hugh married Elizabeth Young, daughter of Thomas F. Young and Janet MacTavish, on 22 Apr 1841 in Hobart, Tasmania. Elizabeth was born on 23 Mar 1823 in Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland and died on 11 Jun 1892 in Borongarook House, Colac, Victoria at age 69. They had 15 children:

 
Hugh Murray is commemorated as Colac district's first permanent white settler, having arrived in the district from Van Diemen's Land with his sheep in 1837, when he was 23 years of age. His early arrival and his status as an educated free man who was a major landholder, led to him taking responsibility for many aspects of life in the emerging settlement. He was appointed a magistrate in 1848, and initially he and David Stodart, the other newly appointed magistrate, were the only ones within a radius of 30 miles of the settlement. There was no courthouse and no regular sitting days, so sittings were held, firstly in the local inn, and then a store, when summons were issued by application to the magistrate. When a Court of Petty Sessions for Colac was formally proclaimed in 1848 two further Justices of the Peace were appointed, and sittings, starting from mid-1849, were held in a new building of 24 feet by 12 feet in size. In 1866 Hugh Murray resigned as a magistrate in protest against the appointment of former storekeeper, Joseph Connor, to the bench. Hugh Murray died in Colac in 1869.

The glowing accounts of Port Phillip as a sheep run attracted first eldest son, Hugh, who went over in 1837 with four friends, Anstey, Carter, Morris and Lloyd. They land­ed their sheep at Point Henry, on 2 April 1837. He first settled on the Barwon, calling his home "St. Leonards," after his father's first home in Van Diemen's Land. He secured an estate of 6000 acres on the shores of Lake Corangamite. There he built the first house in Colac. Borongarook, the fine home which he built later, was then wild forest country. Hugh Murray was known as the King of Colac. In the early days he did all that was required in public matters for the district. He arranged for the coming of the first medical man, Dr. Stodart. He start­ed the Presbyterian Church and helped in planning the town. Murray Street, Colac, bears his name. He was the first president of the Colac Shire, and in many ways laid the foundations of the town of Colac of today.

His letters to his sister, Lillias (Mrs, Strachan) and to his father give the best account of the life of those early days.

Hugh Murray, to his sister Lillias, 7th May, 1837.

"No spear wound or anything of the sort to recount to you, but live a quiet, peaceable, sober, monotonous, pleasant life, without bothering anybody or anybody bothering me. I can bake a damper, wash a shirt, put on a patch, grease a pair of boots, cook a dinner with any man in Port Phillip. I find the cooking a little awkward sometimes: it's not easy to boil a piece of beef, stew a duck, and make the tea all in the same pot, besides there are other inconveniences, such as no ducks to stew, etc.

A few extracts from our journey. I shall pass over all about the pleasant party at Robertson's, ditto at Denham's, and drop the anchor at Port Phillip, Geelong, on the 2nd April, 1837. Landed the sheep next morning. All had to go into the water, clothes and all, landed all very well, till from the last boatload an old ewe jumped off, and not seeing the others, swam out to sea. I walked a long way after her without being able to turn her, when I suddenly found myself sinking fast in mud. When getting past the middle, thought it best to swim for it, while I had a chance, so struck out, and the old ewe and I made a very interesting regatta of it.

A week afterwards got to Captain Pollock's, of Yeo. He was from home but returned soon afterwards. Anstey with him. He brought a sheep on his saddle which he had found a short way from home, one of Carter's ewes, alive when he took it up, but had kicked the bucket before he got home-took her jacket off, as sheep are sheep nowadays. We took what was left of her, after making Pollock a present of a quarter.

Next day, got home. Home!!! What comfort is implied in that little word. It was dark and we had walked since sunrise, sheep, horses and selves, tired and hungry. An extensive and beautiful sheep-run gave us a cheerful welcome, and we had only to make a fire, rig, up a place to sleep and cook a piece of the ewe for Slipper to put us in full possession of its luxuries. Went next morning to get a pole for tent; could not find a straight one, took another as a makeshift (it is up yet).

A sad catastrophe! We had left out cask of pork at George­town and had borrowed a few pieces here. Returning from sheep yards one evening, having no ducks, determined to griddle a piece of the pork, which had been hung up in the trees. Lo and behold the dogs had cajoled it, 12 or 18 Ibs-our all.

The dogs are useful for all that. We have two, very good ones. They keep off the wild dogs, and the natives are more frightened of them than anything else.

Dr. Cotter, Mr. Nailer, C.O. Parsons., young Gellibrand, and some others, forming a party looking for Gellibrand and Hesse, came here. They brought with them twenty-five natives who had followed them, and showed them a lake into which they said a tribe of blacks had thrown the bodies. There were part of the tribe on the banks and before the whites could interfere to stop them they had rushed on them with their spears and killed an old man and a little girl. They said it was in revenge for the whites for their killing Gellibrand and Hesse - rather think not but to satisfy their own, as the different tribes are very hostile to each other and they thought they had the protection of the party. The wretches brought part of the body of the girl with them, tied on the end of their spears. They exultingly be­smeared their faces with the grease, and making a fire a little way off sat down and ate it.

The sheep are thriving beautifully. The country is ideal for a sheep run, beautiful scenery, lovely hills, softly gliding streams -you never saw such grass, not even a stick of any sort, a stone it's a sight for sore eyes.  It is just three months since I left you. How do you like the name we have given our estate? It would remind you of our old St. Leonards. You have no idea how good our tea is out of a three-footed pot and drank from a pannikin. We live in style. We have ducks for dinner at least four times a week, we generally make them into soup.

Tell Lloyd to bring us some dish cloths, a little starch and some blue, we cannot get it here. We have tried flour as a sub­stitute for starch, but it does not do, and you know that we ought to wear starch on Sunday. Do you know we often have some trouble to find them out? We were nearly building a bridge the other day on Sunday, but John put us right and we spent it in as proper a manner as we always do. I wish that you would send us over the day of month and the time, as we are not sure if this is the 7th or" 14th, as the only account of time we have is breakfast and supper time."

 

Hugh Murray, to his Father, Hugh, 23 May 1837

"Do you think of coming over here? Things must alter strangely to render it comfortable enough for you. I cannot think of it anything but a sheep-walk for many years. Agricul­ture appears never to be thought about, and every person has come with the full intention of roughing it for a long time. You offer me a pair of bullocks. Thank you, hut I think it will be better to wait.

There is to be a sale of allotments on 1st June. It is sup­posed that they will go high. I do not think they can possibly sell here for a considerable time.

Dated 20th Aug., 1837 he speaks of the five-Murray, Anstey, Augustus Morris, Lloyd, Carter-forming his party, living together all their first run-St. Leonards- in great friend­ship.

"We have a splendid view on one side of a Lake, 20 miles long, and 8 or 9 wide, abounding in game."

 

Lake Colac, 24th Oct.. 1837.
Hugh Murray to Dr. Thomson, December, 1837

"I thought it necessary to secure a good run--this is the Port Phillip we really expected to see. The scenery around the Lake is beautiful beyond description. Colac is about ten miles from the Barwon-the country heavily timbered and hilly.

I am sorry to hear of the uneasiness it may have given my mother that we have gone to the notorious Colac; the scene of poor Gellibrand and Hesse's fate, and would have written much earlier to say that we are still in the land of the living, but had really not an opportunity of writing or of sending the letter.

We have each got comfortable huts. We shall manage without employing men. In the first place they are not easily got, and then they want 20/ per hundred."


Hugh Murray is commemorated as Colac district's first permanent white settler, having arrived in the district from Van Diemen's Land with his sheep in 1837, when he was 23 years of age. His early arrival and his status as an educated free man who was a major landholder, led to him taking responsibility for many aspects of life in the emerging settlement.

He was appointed a magistrate in 1848, and initially he and David Stodart, the other newly appointed magistrate, were the only ones within a radius of 30 miles of the settlement. There was no courthouse and no regular sitting days, so sittings were held, firstly in the local inn, and then a store, when summons were issued by application to the magistrate. When a Court of Petty Sessions for Colac was formally proclaimed in 1848 two further Justices of the Peace were appointed, and sittings, starting from mid-1849, were held in a new building of 24 feet by 12 feet in size. In 1866 Hugh Murray resigned as a magistrate in protest against the appointment of former storekeeper, Joseph Connor, to the bench.

In 1853 Victorian Lieutenant-Governor La Trobe addressed a circular letter to a number of early settlers, requesting information as to the time and circumstances of the first occupation of various parts of the colony. Hugh Murray responded as follows:

Colac, 18th August 1853.

I had the honour, on the 10th instant, to receive Your Excellency's letter dated 29th July, requesting information as to the time and circumstances of the first occupation of the Colac country, &c., and have now the honour briefly to give Your Excellency what information I possess.

The Colac country was first occupied in September 1837 by myself, accompanied or immediately followed by Messrs. Gr. F. and A. Lloyd, and Wm. Carter ; my flock consisted of 100 ewes, and theirs jointly of 500, which we joined together for mutual protection. These sheep were brought from Van Diemen's Land, at a cost of about 3 per head, the price there at that time being £2.

We were the only occupants of the country for about six months, our nearest neighbour being Mr. Thomas Ricketts, who occupied a station on the River Barwon about ten miles distant at the point where Gellibrand and Hesse were last seen.

Early in 1838, Messrs. Pollock, Dewing, Bromfield, and Mr. Briggs (for Capt. Fyans) took up the unoccupied land around the banks of Lake Colac. They were followed by Messrs. Watson and Hamilton, and after them the Messrs. Manifold stretched out to the west, and towards the end of that year and the beginning of 1839 the squatters spread rapidly over the Western District. All those persons I have named came from V. D. Land, and brought their sheep from there, except Capt. Fyans, who brought cattle from Sydney.

I first heard of the Colac country from a party who were in search of Gellibrand and Hesse, in August 1837, under the guidance of the Rev. Mr. Naylor, and believe they were the discoverers of it. It may be interesting to state that this party, consisting of fourteen men, fitted out by Mrs. Gellibrand for three months, at an expense of 700, when arrived at Lake Colac, allowed some of the Barrabool tribe of aborigines who were with them to murder an old man and a child of the Colac tribe, whom they found on the banks of the lake, and afraid of retaliation from the tribe fled back in haste next morning, having passed the night without fire for concealment, and gave up the search. The blacks brought with them, on the end of their spears, portions of the man and child they had killed, which I saw them eat with great exultation during the evening. They stayed at our tent at the Barwon on their return.

The Colac tribe of natives was not numerous when we came here men, women, and children not numbering more than 35 or 40. From their own account, they were once numerous and powerful, but from their possessing a rich hunting country, the Barrabool, Leigh, Wardy Yalloak, and Jaiicourt tribes surrounding, made constant war upon them, and the tribe, from having been the strongest, became the weakest. The extent of their country was a radius of about 10 miles from Lake Colac except on the south, where in the extensive Cape Otway Ranges there was no other tribe.

We had very little intercourse with them for the first eighteen months, their demeanour towards us being always treacherous and dishonest. They never lost an opportunity of stealing our sheep at first by night carrying off a few from the fold, but afterwards became more daring, and drove off a score or two in the day time from the shepherd. These they would take to some secure corner and feast upon them, breaking the legs of those they did not at once kill, to detain them. In such cases the settlers assembled and pursued them, and when their encampment was discovered they generally fled, leaving behind them their weapons, rugs, &c., which, together with their huts, were destroyed. I am happy to think that they met with more forbearance here than in many other parts of the country, and to be able to state with certainty Letters from Victorian Pioneers. 5 that never upon any such occasion, or at any time since their country was first occupied, was one of their number shot to death, with one single exception, when I believe a man died of a shot wound he received after having thrown a spear, and while in the act of throwing another at one of a party in pursuit of his stolen property.

After about two years our acquaintance became more friendly, and they began to be employed upon our stations.

I have, &c., HUGH MURRAY.

The Colac Herald of Tuesday 14 June 1892 published the following obituary for Elizabeth Murray on page 3.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH Mrs. Murray was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, on the 22nd March 1823, and was in her 70th year at the time of her death. Whilst yet a young girl she came out to Tasmania with her parents, Mr and Mrs T. Young, residing there for some years, her father, Mr Young, practising his profession of a solicitor in Hobartown. In 1841 she married the late Mr H. Murray, the pioneer to, and founder of Colac, as he was aptly termed. In the same year Mr and Mrs Murray came to the colony and took up their residence in Geelong for a short time, when Mrs Murray accompanied by her son, Mr T. C. Murray, came up to Colac to re-join her husband. It says much for her ardor and devotion to her husband when it is stated that she was the first white lady resident in the neighborhood. The nearest ladies to her then were Mrs A. Dennis of Tarndwarncoort, and Mrs Tuckfeld and Mrs Hurst of Buntingdale Mission Station. There was also Mr G. T. Lloyd's housekeeper at the Warrions.


Readers of the " History of Colac will remember that the late Mr H. Murray, who died in July 1869, was the leader of the first party of settlers who arrived in 1837, and occupied he country around Lake Colac. Mr Murray's station comprised nearly all the country on the southern shore of the lake including the township lands. His first homestead was situated between where the State School and the Royal Hotel now stand, and later on he built a cottage on the bank of the lake and nearly opposite the present residence of Mrs Coney in Chapel Street. Here he and his family resided for several years, until Borongarook House was erected about 1851.
At the time of Mrs Murray's arrival the place was merely a sheep walk, there being only the slightest tracings of man or habitation. With the exception of Mr Murray's cottage and a few huts here and there the site of the future town was barren and desolate- looking in the extreme, bearing no sign scarcely of "roofed or latched" door. Mrs Murray was often wont to relate some of the stirring and exciting events that occurred to fill up her life's measure in the early days, and a writer in the Argus alludes to some of these in the following terms :-


" What a wonderful record is that of Mrs Murray's. She has seen the founding of a nation, the birth of a race. The blackfellow, at first hostile, harried the flocks with their dogs, until Hugh  Murray, resolute and masterful, with two other white men, went amongst some hundreds of the natives who had camped near the sheep-fold, and putting their backs to a tree, showed them the power of a white man's weapons, and the strength of a white man's heart, by firing into the yelping curs who had destroyed the ewes of pure blood and high price, brought with such trouble to Colac's shores. More than a hundred to one the blacks at first offered fight. No notice was taken of them, but dog after dog bit the dust, and the natives suddenly appreciated the situation and vanished. But the young lady, sitting alone in the cottage a short distance off, must in deed have had an anxious time while listening to the firing." The same writer goes on to say that sufficient justice has never yet been done to pioneer womanhood in Australia. The men have had their share of praise, but the pluck and endurance of their wives has not been appreciated. "Mrs Murray was a pioneer, and if in years to come Australia can produce mothers like her, we need not fear the future of our children."


Contrasting the past with the present, Mr J. Bonwick, who visited Colac a few years after Borongarook House was built, gives his impressions as follows :-" The noblest building near Colac is the extensive mansion of Hugh Murray, Esquire. The contrast between the splendid residence of the successful colonist and the small cottage beside the lake, in which as a struggling squatter he resided for years, is as striking as that between the olden days of poverty and hardship and the golden times of the present. As I sat at Mr Murray's hospitable board and heard him and his good lady relate the dangers from wild blacks, want of supplies, want of markets, want of society, and often want of hope, I could not but regard him, like others of our pioneers, as a true bush hero, and as well earning the prosperity which is gilding his evening hours and blessing his interesting family. We who live in these latter days at ease and comfort, not to say, luxurious living, can hardly realise the amount of heroism required in a lady of such gentle and refined culture as Mrs Murray possessed. When not much past her majority she bravely ventured forth with her husband, taking up her abode far from kindred friends or congenial society, such comforts and blessings being surrendered for a life of hardship and difficulty, and surrounded as she was with wild and treacherous blacks, and rough and wicked white men, not to mention the absence of social intercourse with any of her own sex-surely the isolation, nay the desolation of such a life must have been for the first few years painful in the extreme. But Mrs Murray passed through it all with unwonted courage and fortitude, and as population flowed in, and a large township sprang into existence on the site of her husband's sheep run this pioneer lady must have been exceedingly gratified when she thought that all her past trials and difficulties - now overcome and conquered - had but paved the way for the great advances made in the community, in all of which she had taken such a large share of interest.


As a resident of 51 years standing Mrs Murray has been a credit and an honor to the womanhood of the colony, and the Colac district in particular. She possessed many estimable qualities, both as wife and mother, as well as in her capacity as one of the recognised leaders of the social life of the community in which she has lived so long. Her gentle and un assuming ways and manners endeared her to everybody she came in contact with, more especially to those who possessed a heart, which, like her's, was beating with kindly sympathy for the moral and material welfare of all around her.


As a Presbyterian, Mrs Murray, in conjunction with her late husband, took an energetic part in the erection of the first church of that denomination, besides interesting herself in all charitable and benevolent objects. Her kind and generous treatment of the blacks will not soon be forgotten amongst her other good deeds, and though those poor and wretched outcasts may be regarded by some thoughtless people as heartless and ungrateful, yet we know that they always spoke in the warmest praise of the "good lady up Borongarook" who so often befriended them in their hour of need.


Mrs Murray had a family of four teen children, of whom there are living Messrs T. C., A. S., Morris, Ernest, Chester, and Kenneth Murray, and Mrs Stokes (nee Miss Ethel Murray). All the sons are engaged either in pastoral or professional pursuits, and the greatest sympathy is felt by everyone for the sad bereavement the family have sustained.


5-Thomas Carmichael Murray

Thomas Carmichael Murray  was born on 7 Jul 1842 in Geelong, Victoria and died on 26 May 1913 in Victoria at age 70.   He was a pastoralist and grazier at "Borongarook", Colac, Victoria.   He later went to the Camden Harbour Settlement in Western Australia.   He also settled, briefly, in the Roebourne District of Western Australia, but later returned to Victoria.   He subsequently took up land at "Callimi", Deniliquin, New South Wales.   Later still, he returned to "Borongarook", Colac, Victoria, then leased "Borongarook" and bought "Warrion Station" in Victoria.

Thomas Carmichael Murray

Thomas married Miriam Eleanor Parker, daughter of Jabez Parker and Elizabeth Morris, in 1873 in Geelong, Victoria. Miriam was born on 15 Apr 1850 in Hamilton, Tasmania and died on 16 Sep 1912 in Colac, Victoria at age 62. They had one daughter: Ila Bessie.

6-Ila Bessie Murray was born in 1874 in Colac, Victoria and died in 1954 in Kew, Victoria at age 80. Ila married George Frederick Gordon Gutherie, son of George Gutherie and Mary Gordon, in 1910 in Colac, Victoria. George was born in 1866 in Geelong, Victoria and died on 7 Dec 1929 in Geelong, Victoria at age 63. They had one daughter: Mary Eleanor.

7-Mary Eleanor Gutherie was born in 1911 in Colac, Victoria. Mary married Thomas C. B. Patterson in 1942.  They had one daughter: Julia Mary.

8-Julia Mary Patterson was born in 1944.  

5-Hugh Murray

Hugh Murray was born on 14 Feb 1846 in Colac, Victoria, died on 26 Oct 1889 in Warrnambool, Victoria at age 43, and was buried in Warrnambool Cemetery, Victoria.  Hugh was a boarder at Geelong Church of England Grammar School, Geelong, Victoria in the late 1850's.  In 1858 he went as a boarder to Scotch College, Melbourne, Victoria.  A solicitor, In 1874 he was a member of the Western District (of Victoria) XI Cricket Team that played against W.G. Grace and the All England XI Cricket Team at Warrnambool, Victoria.  He was the Treasurer of the Warrnambool Racing Club in the late 1880's.  He went missing on 26 October 1889 and was found, drowned, in the Merri River, near Warrnambool.  He is buried in the Warrnambool General Cemetery, Warrnambool, Victoria.

Hugh Murray    Hugh Murray

Hugh married Martha Isabella Ware in 1877 in Colac, Victoria. Martha was born in Minjal via "Caramut", Victoria and died on 25 Aug 1931. They had three children: Maybyn Mary, Hugh Jennings and Eileen Ware.

6-Maybyn Mary Murray was born in 1878 in Warrion Station, Victoria.

6-Hugh Jennings Murray was born in 1878 in Warrion Station, Victoria.

6-Eileen Ware Murray was born on 22 Feb 1886 in Warrion Station, Victoria and died on 16 Jul 1930 in Lismore, New South Wales at age 44. Eileen married Clyde Cameron Redford on 26 Mar 1913 in Warrnambool, Victoria. Clyde was born on 23 Jan 1883 in Warrnambool, Victoria and died in 1928 in Lismore, New South Wales at age 45. They had seven children:

7- Eileen Redford

7- Mabine Redford

7-Sheila Joy Redford  1916 - 2000

7- Thomas Russell Redford 1918 - 1993

7-Russell Redford Dean 1919 - 1989

7-Clyde Redford 1920 - 1993

7-Mary Redford 1926 -

Andrew Strachan Murray 

Andrew Strachan Murray was born on 23 Oct 1847 in Colac, Victoria, died on 19 Aug 1930 in Colac, Victoria at age 82, and was buried on 20 Aug 1930 in Colac General Cemetery, Colac, Victoria.  Andrew Strachan Murray was a very fine pigeon shot and an active member of the Colac Gun Club.  He was also keenly interested in cricket and was one of the original trustees of the Colac Cricket Ground.   In addition, he had a great interest in the Colac Amateur Turf Club.   He was a Foundation shareholder of the Colac Bacon Co-operative Company, and was one of the founders of the Colac Dairying Company.   He was the first Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Colac Dairying Company.   He was educated at Scotch College, Melbourne, Victoria.   He is said to be the first European (white) child born in Colac.  Andrew married Florence Eleanor Blunden, daughter of Dr. John Blunden and Elizabeth Nance, on 4 Nov 1874 in Colac, Victoria. Florence was born in 1853, died on 19 Oct 1934 in Colac, Victoria at age 81, and was buried in Colac General Cemetery, Colac, Victoria. They had five children: Ilma Florence, Russell Mervyn, Vera Gladys, Esma Fay and Reginald Vernon.

6-Ilma Florence Murray was born in 1876 in Colac, Victoria and died in 1940 in Melbourne, Victoria at age 64. Ilma married Charles Frederick Elderton Davis, son of Henry Davis and Isabella Elderton, on 18 Jul 1903 in St. John's Church, Colac, Victoria. Charles was born in 1872 in Casterton, Victoria and died in 1923 in Violet Town, Victoria at age 51. They had two children: Jean Murray and Athol Charles.

7-Jean Murray Davis was born on 26 Oct 1907 in Malvern, Victoria and died on 22 Jul 1988 in Timboon, Victoria at age 80. Jean married Ronald Murnane, son of John Edward Murnane and Annie Jean Matthews. Ronald was born on 29 Oct 1910 in Mortlake, Victoria and died on 6 Jun 1981 in Terang, Victoria at age 70. They had two children: John and Lorna Fay.

8-John Murnane was born on 4 Oct 1943 in Terang, Victoria. John married Ingibjorg Fionnlagh on 19 Dec 1970 in England. Ingibjorg was born on 22 Oct 1949 in Folkstone, England. They had six children: William Alastair, Robert James, Andrew Charles, Katherine Ingibjorg Murray, Anna Asthildure Murray and Julia Helga Murray.

9-William Alastair Murnane was born on 4 Feb 1975 in East Melbourne, Victoria. William married Dorothee Prechtell on 22 Sep 2002 in Regisry Office, William Street, Melbourne, Victoria. Dorothee was born on 20 Apr 1977 in Germany.

9-Robert James Murnane was born on 8 Feb 1977 in East Melbourne, Victoria and died on 2 Nov 1997 in Melbourne, Victoria at age 20.

9-Andrew Charles Murnane was born on 13 Aug 1978 in East Melbourne, Victoria.

9-Katherine Ingibjorg Murray Murnane was born on 27 Oct 1979 in East Melbourne, Victoria.

9-Anna Asthildure Murray Murnane was born on 22 Oct 1981 in East Melbourne, Victoria.

9-Julia Helga Murray Murnane was born from 912 to 1984 in East Melbourne, Victoria.

8-Lorna Fay Murnane was born on 26 Jul 1946 in Terang, Victoria. Lorna married Graeme Leslie Bourke on 22 Mar 1969 in Christ Church, Warrnambool, Victoria. Graeme was born on 31 Oct 1942 in Terang, Victoria. They had two children: Megan Melita and Paul Ronald.

9-Megan Melita Bourke was born on 28 Jul 1942 in Saint Kilda, Victoria. Megan married Ashley Martin Trounce, daughter of Gordon George Trounce and Joy Annette Hocking, on 7 Feb 1998 in Anglican Church, Creswick, Victoria. Ashley was born on 19 Feb 1972 in Ballarat, Victoria. They had one daughter: Anna Jane.

10-Anna Jane Bourke was born on 23 Mar 2002 in Ballarat, Victoria.

9-Paul Ronald Bourke was born on 31 Aug 1975 in East Melbourne, Victoria.

7-Athol Charles Davis was born on 8 Nov 1910 and died in 1973 in Blackburn, Victoria at age 63. Athol married Annie Elizabeth Akehurst. Annie was born in 1909 in Malvern, Victoria and died in 1975 in Blackburn, Victoria at age 66. They had two children: Roger Charles and Andrew Elderton.

8-Roger Charles Davis.

8-Andrew Elderton Davis.

6-Russell Mervyn Murray was born on 12 Jul 1877 in Colac, Victoria and died on 22 Jan 1945 in Queenstown, Tasmania, Australia at age 67.

Russell Mervyn Murray (1877-1945), mining engineer, was born on 12 July 1877 at Elliminyt, Victoria, son of Victorian-born parents Andrew Strachan Murray, grazier, and his wife Florence Eleanor, née Blunden. His grandfather Hugh Murray, son of Hugh Murray , had settled in the Colac district during the Tasmanian pastoral exodus in the 1830s. Russell was to re-cross Bass Strait as a pioneer of modern mining.

Educated at Colac Grammar School and the University of Melbourne (B.C.E., 1900), Murray applied several times for employment with the Mount Lyell Mining & Railway Co., Tasmania, before being appointed draftsman and assistant surveyor at Gormanston in 1900. He became acting manager of the Mount Lyell mines on the death of W. T. Batchelor in 1906 and formally engineer-in-charge next year. He succeeded Robert Sticht  as general manager in 1922.

Murray had the sort of careful, analytical mind which avoided misplaced optimism and promoted efficiency. He looked, and was, kind and dependable. His courageous and calm direction of rescue operations during the fire at North Lyell in 1912, when forty-two died, earned him the Royal Humane Society's silver medal and the respect of the miners. His subsequent initiation of a scheme for improved living conditions, resembling the welfare programmes evolving at Port Pirie and Wallaroo, South Australia, earned him, in addition, the miners' gratitude. He deprecated the term 'welfare', preferring 'self-preservation': he saw that the renovation of houses at Gormanston, the provision of social clubs, of cheap firewood, food, electricity and railway fares, the subsidizing of bands, school of mines and soldiers' clubs would prevent the development of that acrimony which the 1912 disaster might have wrought between men and management. Later, Murray's policy proved of great importance in enabling the company to survive the post-war slump in copper prices.

During his period of management Murray introduced large-scale changes in mining operations. In 1906-22 he oversaw the development of the Mount Lyell complex as the biggest group of underground mines in Australia. From 1922 until he retired in 1944, crippled by arthritis, he supervised the swing back to open-cut mining as appropriate for the large-scale exploitation of the remaining low-grade copper deposits. He recommended the installation of an electrolytic copper refinery after his visit to the United States of America in 1926.

A leading exponent of industrial legislation, Murray was president of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy in 1927; he was also a member of the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers. In a peripatetic profession he was unusual in spending his entire working life on one field. Locally he remained popular: he was elected warden of Gormanston every year from 1920 until his death from coronary disease at Queenstown on 22 January 1945.

Murray had married Vivienne Douglas with Anglican rites in Hobart on 15 November 1905. She survived him with their two daughters and three sons, the eldest of whom, Hugh Mervyn, became general manager of Mount Lyell in 1948. Murray's estate, consisting mainly of government bonds, was valued for probate at £27,737.

See Australian Dictionary of Biography

Russell married Vivienne Douglas, daughter of Arthur Cunnigham Douglas and Susan Elizabeth Tapfield, on 15 Nov 1905 in St John the Baptist Church, Goulburn Street, Hobart. Vivienne was born on 18 Sep 1881 in Hobart, Tasmania and died on 19 Jun 1945 in Brighton, Victoria at age 63. They had five children: Hugh Mervyn, Florence Vivienne, Douglas Strachan, Andrew Russell and Margery Mary.

7-Hugh Mervyn Murray was born on 6 Sep 1906 in Gormanston, Tasmania, died on 4 Aug 1982 in Hobart, Tasmania at age 75, and was buried in Cornelian Bay, Hobart, Tasmania.

Hugh Mervyn Murray (1906-1982), metallurgical engineer and mine manager, was born on 6 September 1906 at Gormanston, Tasmania, eldest of five children of Victorian-born Russell Mervyn Murray, civil engineer and manager (1922-44) of the Mount Lyell Mining & Railway Co. Ltd, and his Tasmanian-born wife Vivienne, née Douglas. Hugh Murray was his great-great-grandfather. Reared in a strict Presbyterian household, young Hugh was educated at Scotch College, Melbourne, and the University of Melbourne (B.Sc., 1928; B.Met.Eng., 1931), where he resided in Ormond College. He started work as a research metallurgist in Mount Lyell's flotation plant laboratory in 1930, later becoming mill superintendent (1934), metallurgical superintendent (1944), assistant general manager (1946) and general manager (1948). On 14 March 1944 at St David's Cathedral, Hobart, he married with Anglican rites Nora Nel Scott-Power, a stenographer.

Tall and handsome, Murray was quietly spoken, both at work and at home, with a gentle and respectful manner. As general manager, he was a hard, but fair, negotiator, and over four decades passed without strike action at Mount Lyell. He built good relations with the Queenstown community, which was dependent on the company for its existence, providing housing for employees and ensuring their safety in the mine. He was also active in sporting and community organisations. For many seasons he captained the local cricket team in the Country Week competition.

Murray had inherited a company with an unhealthy reliance on the old West Lyell open-cut mine. Heavy expenditure on exploration in the 1950s and 1960s revealed new reserves, including the Crown Lyell orebody, which resulted in revived underground mining. Strict financial management was required to draw a profit from the very low-grade ore: without the Commonwealth government's copper bounty Mount Lyell would not have been able to compete with higher-grade copper mining operations such as those at Mount Isa, Queensland. Under Murray's direction, savings were made by improved metallurgy and by replacing in 1963 the inefficient Abt railway—which had delivered ore to the port of Regatta Point, near Strahan, since 1899—with road haulage. The company's investment in 1958-59 in Renison Associated Tin Mines NL, Rosebery, generated increased profits. In 1963 Boral Ltd acquired a controlling interest in Mount Lyell, and next year sold its share to Consolidated Gold Fields (Australia) Pty Ltd.

Appointed in 1952 to the interim committee of the Australian Atomic Energy Commission, Murray was a commissioner in 1953-60 and chairman of the AAEC's advisory committee on uranium mining until November 1971. He was a councillor of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and sometime president of the Australian Mines and Metals Association. Before retiring from Mount Lyell at the end of 1966, he reported that drilling had more than trebled the company's known ore reserves. He moved to Taroona, Hobart, after a civic farewell at Queenstown attended by 250 people. In 1967 he was appointed CBE.

Holding the post in 1967-76 of full-time careers counsellor at The Hutchins School, Murray remained a keen sportsman, enjoying boating, golf and target-shooting. He served as chairman (1970-77) of the Urban Fire Brigades Commission of Tasmania and as a member (1971-77) of the Commonwealth Advisory Committee (Commission) on Advanced Education. Survived by his wife and their son and two daughters, he died on 4 August 1982 in Hobart and was cremated.

See Australian Dictionary of Biography


Hugh Mervyn Murray graduated from the University of Melbourne and returnes to the Mount Lyall Mining Company in 1929 to work in the Company's research laboratory.  He became Metallurgy Superintendant in 1935, General Superintendant in 1944, and in 1948 he was appointed the Company's General Manager.  His father had been the Company's General Manager from 1922-1944.  Hugh Mervyn Murray was late of 17 Norwood Avenue, Taroona, Tasmania. Hugh married Nora Scott-Power.  They had three children: Helen Vivienne, Hugh Edmund and Jean.

8-Helen Vivienne Murray was born in 1946. Helen married Squier.

8-Hugh Edmund Murray, solicitor, Hobart, Tasmania. Hugh married Hawkes.

8-Jean Murray, actress

7-Florence Vivienne Murray was born on 22 Jan 1908 and died in Toorak, Victoria. Florence Vivienne Murray died unmarried and without children.  In 1930 she graduated from The University of Melbourne with a Master of Science degree.  She was engaged in scientific research work until 1936.  She published several scientific paoers.  She was a member of the staff of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research.

7-Douglas Strachan Murray was born on 19 Feb 1909 in Gormanston, Tasmania and died on 20 Jul 1990 in Ballarat, Victoria at age 81. Douglas Strachan Murray graduated from the University of Melbourne in 1932 with the degree of Bachelor of Agricultural Science.  He then gained experience on various pastoral properties.  In 1935 he was appointed the manager of "Wongan", a pastoral property near Skipton, Victoria, which property was owned by his mother. Douglas married Kathleen Joyce Tabart, daughter of Reginald Tabart and Louisa Victoria Healey. Kathleen was born on 1 Aug 1909 in Queenstown, Tasmania, Australia and died on 20 Dec 1993 in Ballarat, Victoria at age 84. They had four children: Vivienne Anne, Margaret Louise, Robert Mervyn and Reginald Douglas.

8-Vivienne Anne Murray was born on 3 Jan 1937 in Melbourne, Victoria and died on 9 Jun 1940 in Melbourne, Victoria at age 3.

8-Margaret Louise Murray was born on 3 Jan 1937 in Melbourne, Victoria. Margaret married Roger Andrew Geoffrey Vines.  They had four children: Andrew Geoffrey Strachan, Julia, Russell Gordon and Elizabeth.

9-Andrew Geoffrey Strachan Vines was born on 2 Jun 1962 in Sydney, New South Wales. Andrew married Elizabeth Jane Mitchell on 2 Jun 1962 in Sydney, New South Wales. Elizabeth was born on 12 Jun 1966. They had two children: Cameron Roger Andrew and Olive Joan.

10-Cameron Roger Andrew Vines was born on 1 Oct 1999 in Sydney, New South Wales.

10-Olive Joan Vines was born on 29 Nov 2001 in Perth, Western Australia.

9-Julia Vines was born on 6 May 1965 in Geelong, Victoria.

9-Russell Gordon Vines was born on 13 Jun 1967 in Geelong, Victoria. Russell married someone.  He had two children: Benjamin Ernest and Hugh Frederick.

10-Benjamin Ernest Vines was born on 24 Feb 2003 in Sydney, New South Wales.

10-Hugh Frederick Vines was born on 30 Sep 2004 in Sydney, New South Wales.

9-Elizabeth Vines was born on 17 Dec 1970. Elizabeth married Thomas Richard Wilson.  They had one son: Thomas Murray.

10-Thomas Murray Wilson was born on 23 Sep 2001.

Margaret next married Stephen Doyle.  They had two children: Sarah and Peter.

9-Sarah Doyle.

9-Peter Doyle.

8-Robert Mervyn Murray was born on 17 Oct 1939. Robert married Yvonne Elizabeth Driscoll. Yvonne was born on 14 Nov 1941. They had three children: Catherine, Michael Strachan and Jennifer.

9-Catherine Murray was born on 1 Sep 1965 and died on 6 Feb 2002 at age 36.

9-Michael Strachan Murray was born on 28 Jun 1966. Michael married Alissa Jane Forbes.  They had two children: Julia Clare and William Strachan.

10-Julia Clare Murray was born on 22 May 2000.

10-William Strachan Murray was born on 30 May 2002.

9-Jennifer Murray was born on 18 Apr 1968.

8-Reginald Douglas Murray was born on 6 Nov 1943 in Melbourne, Victoria. Reginald married Ruska Dimova Ivanova. Ruska was christened on 25 Apr 1945 in Vama, Bulgaria. They had two children: Alexander Strachan and Emilia Mila.

9-Alexander Strachan Murray was born on 15 Aug 1975.

9-Emilia Mila Murray was born on 27 May 1977.

7-Andrew Russell Murray was born on 22 Aug 1910 in Gormanston, Tasmania and died in 1955 in Brisbane, Queensland at age 45. Andrew was a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburghg although he lost left leg in a shooting accident as a child. Andrew married Gertrude Cookson.  They had three children: Andrew Strachan, Elizabeth and David.

8-Andrew Strachan Murray.

8-Elizabeth Murray.

8-David Murray.

7-Margery Mary Murray was born on 9 Sep 1911 and died in 1978 in Malvern, Victoria at age 67.

6-Vera Gladys Murray was born in 1881 in Colac, Victoria and died in 1964 in Sandford, Victoria at age 83. Vera married Lawrence Keate Hudspeth, son of Reverend Francis Hudspeth and Lucy Mills Cogle, in 1910 in Borongarook House, Colac, Victoria. Lawrence was born on 2 Apr 1880 in Hobart, Tasmania and died in 1953 in Melbourne, Victoria at age 73. They had six children: Geoffrey Francis, Brian Reginald, Elizabeth Lucy, Florence Marion, Ronald Keate and Margaret Vera.

7-Geoffrey Francis Hudspeth was born on 10 May 1911 in Gormanston, Tasmania. Geoffrey married Joan Shaw.

7-Brian Reginald Hudspeth was born on 7 Mar 1913 in Gormanston, Tasmania and died on 10 Apr 1914 in Highbury Hospital, Hobart, Tasmania at age 1.

7-Elizabeth Lucy Hudspeth was born on 25 Mar 1915 in Lower Sandy Bay, Hobart, Tasmania.

7-Florence Marion Hudspeth was born on 8 Feb 1918 in Sandy Bay Road, Hobart and died on 20 Nov 1990 in Hobart, Tasmania at age 72. Florence married Peter Matcham Watchorn on 22 May 1943 in East Malvern, Victoria. Peter died in 2009.

7-Ronald Keate Hudspeth was born on 26 Jul 1920.

7-Margaret Vera Hudspeth was born on 26 Jul 1920.

6-Esma Fay Murray was born in 1883 in Colac, Victoria and died on 31 Jul 1944 in Victoria at age 61.

6-Reginald Vernon Murray was born on 3 Nov 1885 in Colac, Victoria and died in Croydon, Victoria. Reginald married Lillian Fanny Marsh. Lillian was born in Victoria. They had two children: Noel Lillias and Alan Arthur.

7-Noel Lillias Murray. lorence vi

7-Alan Arthur Murray was born on 17 Jan 1922 in Colac, Victoria. Alan married Kathleen.

5-Augustus Morris Murray

Augustus Morris Murray was born in 1849 in Colac, Victoria, died on 17 Jan 1915 in Victoria at age 66, and was buried on 19 Jan 1915 in Colac General Cemetery, Colac, Victoria. Augustus married Jane Herd in 1905 in Colac, Victoria.  They had no children.

5-Jessie Irvine Murray

Jessie Irvine Murray was born in Jan 1851 in Colac, Victoria and died on 20 Aug 1951 in Colac, Victoria at age 100. Jessie married someone in 1887 in Colac, Victoria.

5-Ernest Murray

Ernest Murray was born on 30 Jun 1852 in Colac, Victoria and died on 3 Oct 1936 in Brisbane, Queensland at age 84. Ernest Murray was educated at Geelong College, Geelong, Victoria.  He joinerd the staff of the National Bank of Australasia Limited (now National Australia Bank Limited).  He later joined the staff of the Queensland National Bank Limited.  Later on he was appointed Secretary of the Queensland Farmers' Co-operative Company.  He retired in 1933 after thirty years service.  Ernest married Ada Jessie Hall-Scott, daughter of James Hall-Scott and Sarah Ross, on 26 Sep 1898 in Bowen, Queensland. Ada was born on 15 Jun 1865 in Bowen, Queensland. They had three children: Keith Morris, Rowland Hall-Scott and Basil Ross.

6-Keith Morris Murray was born on 18 Mar 1901 in Brisbane, Queensland and died in 1962 at age 61. Keith married Thelma Elizabeth Parker. Thelma was born in Scotland and died in 1974. They had three children: Patricia, Kenneth Ross and Geoffrey Hamilton.

7-Patricia Murray was born on 8 Dec 1929 in Brisbane, Queensland. Patricia married Evan Gwynne Carne on 24 Sep 1953.  They had three children: Linda, Andrew Gwynne and Sue.

8-Linda Carne was born on 13 Apr 1957. Linda married Mark Osborne on 28 Dec 1980.  They had two children: Ross and Hayley.

9-Ross Osborne was born on 15 Jul 1983.

9-Hayley Osborne was born on 21 Dec 1985.

8-Andrew Gwynne Carne was born on 22 Jun 1959.

8-Sue Carne was born on 5 Feb 1961.

7-Kenneth Ross Murray was born on 21 Dec 1933 in Brisbane, Queensland. Kenneth married Anneke Van Tholen on 12 Jan 1963.  They had two children: Tjenke and Ulan.

8-Tjenke Murray was born on 27 Sep 1967. Tjenke married Ian Bartholomew on 22 Dec 1990.  They had one daughter: Elya.

9-Elya Bartholomew.

8-Ulan Murray was born on 1 Mar 1969. Ulan married Rachel.

7-Geoffrey Hamilton Murray was born on 20 Jan 1937.

6-Rowland Hall-Scott Murray was born on 17 Jul 1902 in Brisbane, Queensland and died on 8 Mar 1986 in Southport Hospital, Queensland at age 83. Rowland was a station manager. He married Elizabeth Carmen Blunt, daughter of George Blunt and Norma O'Donnell. Elizabeth was born on 16 Nov 1910 in Muswellbrook, New South Wales and died on 9 Mar 1990 in Mermaid Beach, Queensland at age 79. They had two children: Peter Rowland and Michael Eon.

7-Peter Rowland Murray was born on 9 Oct 1936. Peter married Ann Hordern, daughter of Phillip Hordern and Joan Cobb, on 27 Dec 1958 in Southport, Queensland. Ann was born on 29 Sep 1935. They had four children: Susan Elizabeth, Michael Rowland, Michael Rowland and David Angus.

8-Susan Elizabeth Murray was born in Aug 1959 in Goondiwindi, Queensland.

8-Michael Rowland Murray was born in Aug 1959 in Goondiwindi, Queensland and died on 14 Aug 1959 in Goondiwindi, Queensland.

8-Michael Rowland Murray was born on 18 Jul 1960 in Southport Hospital, Queensland. Michael married Majella Fay Loudon on 6 Jun 1987 in Sacred Heart Church, Duffey St, Freshwater, Cairns, Queensland. Majella was born on 12 Apr 1958 in Cairns, Queensland. They had two children: Jernnifer Jane and Claire Elizabeth.

9-Jernnifer Jane Murray was born on 8 Dec 1988 in Cairns Base Hospital, Queensland.

9-Claire Elizabeth Murray was born on 4 Oct 1990 in Cairns Base Hospital, Queensland.

8-David Angus Murray was born on 31 Dec 1961 in Mt Isa, Queensland. David married Anne Caroline Reid on 27 Jun 1984 in St Lukes Church, Mosman Park, Perth, Western Australia. Anne was born on 25 Jun 1965. They had three children: Miranda, Jordan Scott and Oliver.

9-Miranda Murray was born on 21 Nov 1984 in St John of Good Hospital, Subiaco, Perth, Western Australia.

9-Jordan Scott Murray was born on 24 Jul 1987 in St John of Good Hospital, Subiaco, Perth, Western Australia.

9-Oliver Murray was born on 30 Jun 1990 in St John of Good Hospital, Subiaco, Perth, Western Australia.

7-Michael Eon Murray was born on 10 Sep 1938 in Cairns, Queensland and died on 5 Feb 2000 in Buderim, Queensland at age 61. Michael married Diana Evelyn Fletcher on 6 Jan 1967 in St Thomas' Church, Toowong, Brisbane, Queensland. Diana was born on 20 Feb 1914 in Turrawan Hospital, Sandgate Road, Clayfield, Queensland. They had one daughter: Lindy Elizabeth.

8-Lindy Elizabeth Murray was born on 26 Jun 1968 in Royal Brisbane Women's Hospital, Queensland.

6-Basil Ross Murray was born on 12 Nov 1903 in Ipswich, Queensland and died in 1910 in Ipswich, Queensland at age 7.

5-Isabella Young Murra

Isabella Young Murray was born in 1854 in Colac, Victoria and died on 7 Jan 1890 in Colac, Victoria at age 36. Isabella never married.

5-Alice Stodart Murray

Alice Stodart Murray was born in Jan 1854 in Colac, Victoria, died on 22 Aug 1854 in Colac, Victoria, and was buried in Colac General Cemetery, Colac, Victoria.

5-Chester Jervis Murray

Chester Jervis Murray was born in Aug 1855 in Colac, Victoria and died in 1940 in Cheltenham, Victoria at age 85. Chester never married.  He was a pastoralist.

5-Kenneth Murray

Kenneth Murray was born in 1857 in Colac, Victoria and died on 26 Nov 1900 in Colac, Victoria at age 43. He never married.  he was a Land and Estate Agent.

5-Ethel Murray

Ethel Murray was born in 1860 in Colac, Victoria and died on 17 Mar 1927 in Malvern, Victoria at age 67. Ethel married John Herbert Stokes, son of William Alexander Stokes and Elizabeth Sophia Carroll, in 1886 in Colac, Victoria. John was born in 1859 in Melbourne, Victoria and died in 1940 in Melbourne, Victoria at age 81. They had two children: Harold Murray and Noel Murray.

6-Harold Murray Stokes was born in 1887 in Kew, Vic., Aust..

6-Noel Murray Stokes.

5-Elizabeth Murray

Elizabeth Murray was born in 1861 in Colac, Victoria, died on 7 Mar 1862 in Colac, Victoria at age 1, and was buried in Colac General Cemetery, Colac, Victoria.

5-Richard Murray

Richard Murray was born in 1861 in Colac, Victoria, died on 7 Mar 1862 at age 1, and was buried in Colac General Cemetery, Colac, Victoria.

5-Lillian Murray

Lillian Murray was born in Jul 1862 in Colac, Victoria and died on 8 Aug 1862 in Colac, Victoria.

5-Russell Murray

Russell Murray was born in 1863 in Colac, Victoria, died on 5 Jun 1864 in Colac, Victoria at age 1, and was buried in Colac General Cemetery, Colac, Victoria.