Sir James Anderson Murdoch (10 March 1867 – 30 January 1939) was a Scottish-born Australian politician. He was born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

to cabinetmaker Thomas Murdoch and Margaret Anderson. He worked at a wool warehouse before migrating to

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

in 1884; after a period in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

, he established a business in Sydney in 1893. In 1892 he married Isabella Binning, with whom he had three daughters. His business eventually became a large retail company. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he served with the

Australian Army Medical Corps The Royal Australian Army Medical Corps (RAAMC) is the branch of the Australian Army responsible for providing medical care to Army personnel. The AAMC was formed in 1902 through the amalgamation of medical units of the various Australian coloni ...

, holding the rank of

lieutenant-colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colo ...

; he was mentioned in despatches four times. In 1918 he was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George. Appointed to the New South Wales Legislative Council as a

Nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...

in 1923, he was created a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1928. He left the Legislative Council on its reconstitution in 1934, and died at Manly in 1939.

Burnside Public School

In 1922, Burnside Public School (known as Murdoch School for many years) was built for 17,000 pounds by James Murdoch in order to overcome the "problems of transporting the Burnside Homes children to North Parramatta School".

References

1867 births 1939 deaths Nationalist Party of Australia members of the Parliament of New South Wales United Australia Party members of the Parliament of New South Wales Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council Australian Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Australian Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire British emigrants to Australia {{Australia-Nationalist-politician-stub