David Murdoch (23 January 1887 – 10 June 1960) was a New Zealand farmer, storekeeper and politician. He was appointed a member of the New Zealand Legislative Council on 22 June 1950.

Biography

Born at Ngapara in

North Otago North Otago in New Zealand covers the area of Otago between Shag Point and the Waitaki River, and extends inland to the west as far as the village of Omarama (which has experienced rapid growth as a developing centre for astronomy and for glid ...

on 23 January 1887, Murdoch was the son of Alexander Murdoch and Alice Hunter Murdoch (née Howden). Murdoch took up farming, and was a sheep farmer at Waitahuna for many years, serving as president of the Waitahuna Agricultural and Pastoral Society and on local branch committees of the

New Zealand Farmers' Union New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

. Prior to becoming politically active, he was best known as a judge at

sheep dog A sheep dog or sheepdog is generally a dog or breed of dogs historically used in connection with the raising of sheep. These include livestock guardian dogs used to guard sheep and other livestock and herding dogs used to move, manage and co ...

trials. In the 1930s, he became a storekeeper at

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, south of

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

, where he remained for 15 years, and served as president of the local football and bowling clubs. Murdoch was the

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candidate in the electorate in and in electorate in , but was unsuccessful on both occasions. He stood for selection in the St Kilda electorate for the but lost to Leonard James Ireland. He served as the chair of the Otago–Southland division of the National Party. In 1950, he was appointed to the Legislative Council as a member of the suicide squad nominated by the

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to vote for the abolition of the council. Most of the new members (like Murdoch) were appointed on 22 June 1950, and served until 31 December 1950 when the council was abolished.

Family

On 5 April 1917, Murdoch married Reba Rebecca Golden Muir Espie, and the couple went on to have three sons. Murdoch died in Dunedin on 10 June 1960. His wife died a few months later, on 1 December the same year.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murdoch, David 1887 births 1960 deaths People from Otago Members of the New Zealand Legislative Council New Zealand National Party MLCs Unsuccessful candidates in the 1943 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1949 New Zealand general election 20th-century New Zealand farmers New Zealand businesspeople in retailing