James Murray (9 April 1895 – 19 January 1974) was an Australian politician who served in both houses of the

Parliament of Western Australia The Parliament of Western Australia is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of Western Australia, forming the legislative branch of the Government of Western Australia. The parliament consists of a lower house, the Legislative Ass ...

, as a member of the Legislative Assembly from 1947 to 1950 and as a member of the Legislative Council from 1951 to 1965. He represented the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

. Murray was born in

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 ...

, Scotland, and attended

Inverness High School Inverness High School is a secondary school on Montague Row in Inverness, Scotland. Admissions From a peak of over 1,600 pupils, the school's current roll is around 450. Its feeders are Central, Dalneigh, Bishop Eden's, St Joseph's and Merkinch ...

. He came to Australia as a teenager, and in March 1915 enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force. Murray had reached the rank of lieutenant by the war's end, and in June 1918 was

wounded in action Wounded in Action (WIA) describes combatants who have been wounded while fighting in a combat zone during wartime, but have not been killed. Typically, it implies that they are temporarily or permanently incapable of bearing arms or continuing ...

while fighting in France. After being discharged from the army, he worked at various timbermills in Western Australia's

South West The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

, including as a millhand, clerk, and foreman. Murray re-enlisted in the army in 1940, but was able to remain in Western Australia, working as a training officer and in logistics.James Murray
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 22 May 2016. He entered politics at the 1947 state election, winning the seat of Bunbury from the Labor Party. However, his time in the Legislative Assembly was short-lived, with Labor's Frank Guthrie reclaiming the seat for his party at the 1950 election. Murray re-entered parliament at a 1951 by-election for South-West Province, having worked as a sawmill manager in the meantime. The by-election had been caused by the death of the sitting member, William Mann. Murray remained in parliament until retiring at the 1965 state election. He died in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

in January 1974, aged 78.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, James 1895 births 1974 deaths Australian Army officers Australian military personnel of World War I Australian Army personnel of World War II Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly Members of the Western Australian Legislative Council People educated at Inverness High School Military personnel from Inverness Scottish emigrants to Australia 20th-century Australian politicians