Alexander Borthwick Murray (14 February 1816 – 17 March 1903) was an Australian sheep breeder and parliamentarian in the early days of
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
. He married his business partner Margaret Tinline after they had established a successful sheep business.
History
Murray was born at Langshall Burn, in the parish of
Eskdalemuir
Eskdalemuir is a civil parish and small village in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, with a population of 265. ,
Dumfriesshire
Dumfriesshire or the County of Dumfries or Shire of Dumfries (''Siorrachd Dhùn Phris'' in Gaelic) is a historic county and registration county in southern Scotland. The Dumfries lieutenancy area covers a similar area to the historic county.
I ...
, Scotland. After spending six years acclimatizing
Cheviot sheep
The Cheviot is a breed of white-faced sheep which gets its name from a range of hills in north Northumberland and the Scottish Borders. It is still common in this area of the United Kingdom, but also in northwest Scotland, Wales, Ireland and the ...
to the highlands of
Inverness
Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histori ...
and
Ross-shire
Ross-shire (; gd, Siorrachd Rois) is a historic county in the Scottish Highlands. The county borders Sutherland to the north and Inverness-shire to the south, as well as having a complex border with Cromartyshire – a county consisting of ...
he emigrated as a full fare-paying passenger in the ''Lady Lillford'' to South Australia, arriving at
Holdfast Bay
The Holdfast Bay is a small bay in Gulf St Vincent, next to Adelaide, South Australia. Along its shores lie the local government area of the City of Holdfast Bay and the suburbs of Glenelg and Glenelg North
European settlement on Holdfast Bay ...
on 27 September 1839.
He was contracted by Sir James Malcolm, a distant relative, to assist his eldest son William Oliver Malcolm (died 19 August 1865) in the care of sheep on his
Barossa property, where he worked for fifteen months with considerable success, got them into such fine order that they took a prize at the first pastoral show in South Australia. This exhibition was held at the Horseshoe (
Noarlunga), under the auspices of the
South Australian Company
The South Australian Company, also referred to as the South Australia Company, was formed in London on 9 October 1835, after the '' South Australia (Foundation) Act 1834'' had established the new British Province of South Australia, with the S ...
.
[ In 1842 he married Charlotte Murthwaite Scott in ]Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
, and on his return with his new wife and her sister (who later married brother P. M. Murray), began wheat farming on the property "Murray Vale" he had purchased by "special survey" at Mount Crawford.[ His efforts were met with problems of smut, cost of transport to the mill at ]Kent Town
Kent Town is an inner suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. It is located in the City of Norwood Payneham & St Peters.
History
Kent Town was named for Dr. Benjamin Archer Kent (1808 – 25 November 1864), a medical practitioner of Walsall, Sta ...
, and low prices brought about by the then recession, and he decided wheat farming was not for him. The sheep, cattle and horses he bred at Murray Vale were successfully exhibited at country shows.
In partnership with his sister-in-law (afterwards Mrs. P. M. Murray), Murray purchased merino
The Merino is a breed or group of breeds of domestic sheep, characterised by very fine soft wool. It was established in Spain near the end of the Middle Ages, and was for several centuries kept as a strict Spanish monopoly; exports of the bree ...
ewes and a ram from Duncan McFarlane, of Mount Barker which had been bred in New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
by James and Duncan McFarlane. These sheep formed the nucleus of the celebrated Murray flocks. His brother, John Murray, who arrived in South Australia on 5 September 1841, purchased part of his brother's land in the Barossa and half of his brother's share of the livestock.
A "special survey" taken out by Robert Cock
Robert Cock (25 May 1801 – 23 March 1871) was one of the first European explorers of the Adelaide region of South Australia following the establishment of the colony in December 1836.
History
Robert was born in Dysart, Fife, Scotland in 1801, ...
was stocked with sheep by Murray, Cock and John Warren, and met with considerable success.
Murray subsequently founded a cattle station near Warrina, west of Lake Eyre
Lake Eyre ( ), officially known as Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre, is an endorheic lake in east-central Far North South Australia, some north of Adelaide. The shallow lake is the depocentre of the vast endorheic Lake Eyre basin, and contains the ...
, and another at Bookpurnong, on the River Murray, which he purchased from Richard Holland of Turretfield. This station was only profitable for a few years before it was overrun with rabbits.
Murray ran sheep on Myrtle Springs and, in partnership with Leonard G. Browne (who for many years owned Buckland Park Estate), one at Leigh's Creek, but lost money prospecting for water, relinquished his interest in these properties. He decided against further investment in the north of the state,[ a finding later codified as the Goyder Line.
He and ]John Howard Angas
John Howard Angas (5 October 1823 – 17 May 1904) was an Australian pioneer, politician and philanthropist.
Early life and education
John Howard Angas was the second son of George Fife Angas and his wife Rosetta née French. He was born in New ...
formed a partnership A. B. Goyder and Co. which invested in land including the Reedy Creek survey and developed the Tungkillo area of Mount Crawford. On 1 November 1859 they dissolved the partnership and sold off their entire stock and properties (freehold, leasehold, special survey and rights of pasturage) at Tungkillo as well as Pernong (Purnong
Purnong or Purnong Landing is the location of a cable ferry across the Murray River upstream of Mannum. The town is on the cliffs above the left (eastern) bank of the river. It is by road from Mannum on the west side of the Murray, and on the e ...
) and other squatting properties on the River Murray. This may be seen as a consolidation on Murray's part, as he soon purchased a number of newly released blocks in the Tungkillo region.
He was a member of the Agricultural and Horticultural Society and its president from 1866 to 1867. At the "Grand General Show" held during the visit of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh in November 1867, his entries "scooped the pool" of prizes for merino sheep.
From around 1883 to March 1898 Murray was a director of Elder's Wool and Produce Company (afterwards Elder Smith & Co Ltd).[
]
Public life
In 1850 he was one of the many who supported ''South Australian Register
''The Register'', originally the ''South Australian Gazette and Colonial Register'', and later ''South Australian Register,'' was South Australia's first newspaper. It was first published in London in June 1836, moved to Adelaide in 1837, and f ...
'' editor John Stephens who was being attacked for his outspoken criticism of some influential people.
In 1851 he was appointed to the District Road Commission for the Hundred
100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101.
In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to de ...
of Para Wirra, the precursor of the District Council of Tungkillo, of which he was one of the original councillors and for some time chairman.
Murray supported compulsory implementation the Real Property Act (Torrens Title
Torrens title is a land registration and land transfer system, in which a state creates and maintains a register of land holdings, which serves as the conclusive evidence (termed " indefeasibility") of title of the person recorded on the regist ...
), as a way of depriving usurious lawyers of a source of unearned revenue.
In April 1862, he was elected to the House of Assembly
House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level.
Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible governme ...
for the District of Gumeracha at the by-election brought about by the retirement of the Hon. Alexander Hay, so was one of those named in the reformed List of Justice of the Peace. He was reelected at the 1862 general election and again in 1865.
In March 1869 he was elected to the Legislative Council and retained his seat till February 1877. He reentered the Legislative Council in July 1880, which he held until 14 April 1888, when he retired to his home, 'Murray Park', at Magill and was appointed Justice of the Peace.
Family
He had three brothers who spent some time in Australia: John Murray (who arrived in 1843 and was responsible for much of the improvement in merino
The Merino is a breed or group of breeds of domestic sheep, characterised by very fine soft wool. It was established in Spain near the end of the Middle Ages, and was for several centuries kept as a strict Spanish monopoly; exports of the bree ...
breeding), P. M. Murray, and William Murray (ca.1820 – 18 October 1901), jam manufacturer of Sea View, Glen Osmond
Glen Osmond is a suburb of Adelaide, South Australia in the City of Burnside which is in the foothills of the Adelaide Hills. It is well known for the road intersection on the western side of the suburb, where the South Eastern Freeway (National ...
, whose daughter Esther Tinline Murray married George Swan Fowler
George Swan Fowler (9 March 1839 – 1 October 1896) was a South Australian politician and a Treasurer of South Australia.
Fowler was born in Kilrenny, Fife, Scotland, son of James Fowler (ca.1794 – 9 December 1872), who kept a general store ...
.
In 1842 he married Charlotte Murthwaite Scott; On 23 June 1857 he married Margaret Tinline, the sister of (John
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Secon ...
and) George Tinline
George Tinline (28 October 1815 – 4 February 1895) was a nineteenth-century South Australian banker and politician. Tinline made his fortune when the Bank of South Australia created 25,000 guinea coins solving a currency crisis caused by a gol ...
(ca.1816 – 1 February 1895), of the Bank of South Australia, fellow parliamentarian and for a time his business partner. They had eight children including:
*Esther "Ettie" Murray (from the first marriage) married railway engineer Peter Galt (ca.1835 – 28 March 1883) on 9 November 1871
*Alexander Scott Murray (c. 1846 – August 1880) married Elizabeth Helen Ferguson ( – ) in 1874. A monument to his memory was erected in Wirrabara. Elizabeth was a daughter of William Ferguson William Ferguson may refer to:
Arts
* William Ferguson (tenor), operatic tenor, see '' The Tempest''
* William Gouw Ferguson, Scottish painter of still life
* Will Ferguson (born 1964), Canadian writer
Sportspeople
* Bill Ferguson (American foo ...
, one of the earliest settlers of S.A.
*Sir George John Robert Murray
Sir George John Robert Murray (27 September 1863 – 18 February 1942) was a judge from 2 April 1913 until 18 February 1942 on the Supreme Court of South Australia, which is the Australian court hierarchy, highest ranking court in the Australian ...
(27 September 1863 – 18 February 1942), solicitor and Chief Justice, Lieutenant Governor and Chancellor of the University of Adelaide.
*John Murray ( –1885) married Elizabeth Thomson Melrose, daughter of George Melrose of Mount Pleasant, on 29 November 1877.
:*Sir John Stanley Murray (1884–1971) married (Winifred) Olive Wigg ( –1964) on 8 June 1910.
*Margaret Tinline Murray (ca.1869 – 9 March 1936)
*Charlotte Mary Murray (died 15 September 1920) married Frank H(agger) Downer (18 October 1863 – 19 March 1938) on 8 August 1900.
*Malcolm Murray (died 10 April 1900) of Wirrabara.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, Alexander Borthwick
Settlers of South Australia
Australian pastoralists
Australian sheep breeders
Members of the South Australian House of Assembly
Members of the South Australian Legislative Council
Scottish emigrants to colonial Australia
People from Dumfries and Galloway
1816 births
1903 deaths
19th-century Australian politicians
19th-century Australian businesspeople