Brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...

Sir Murray William James Bourchier, CMG, DSO, VD (4 April 1881 – 16 December 1937) was an Australian soldier and politician. He was

Deputy Premier of Victoria The deputy premier of Victoria is the second-most senior officer in the Government of Victoria. The deputy premier position was created in May 1932, with Robert Menzies being the first person to hold the position. The deputy premier is appointe ...

from April 1935 until June 1936.

Early life

Murray was the eldest son of Edward and Francis Bourchier, owners of the Woodland Park property near

Strathmerton, Victoria Strathmerton is a town in Victoria, Australia. It is located in the Shire of Moira local government area on the Murray Valley Highway and Goulburn Valley Highway, about west of Cobram. At the , Strathmerton had a population of 1072. History St ...

. He was educated privately in

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 ...

and afterwards worked at Woodland Park.

Military career

World War I

Bourchier commanded a CMF light horse troop at

Numurkah, Victoria Numurkah ( ) is a town in Victoria, Australia, located on the Goulburn Valley Highway, north of Shepparton, in the Shire of Moira. At the , Numurkah had a population of 4,768. History The area was occupied by the Yorta Yorta people prior to ...

from 1909 to 1914. At the outbreak of

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 was commissioned into the 4th Light Horse Regiment and left with the first contingent of the

First Australian Imperial Force The First Australian Imperial Force (1st AIF) was the main expeditionary force of the Australian Army during the First World War. It was formed as the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) following Britain's declaration of war on Germany on 15 Aug ...

. He served with the regiment in the

Gallipoli The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles ...

, Egyptian, Sinai, Palestine and Syrian campaigns. While on Gallipoli he was appointed temporary captain on 1 July 1915 and adjutant of the 4th Light Horse Regiment on 7 September. He became the acting commander of "A" Squadron on 19 October 1915 and gained his substantive captaincy on 22 November. He was promoted to major on 20 January 1916. The recommendation for promotion noted that "he was always quite cool and collected, and this had a very good effect upon his men". He assumed full command of "A" Squadron on 1 February 1916. Lieutenant Colonel Murray Bourchier

Bourchier was promoted to

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 colone ...

on 15 March 1917 and took command of the 4th Light Horse Regiment. On 31 October 1917 he led the 4th and 12th Regiments in the four-mile charge against Turkish positions at the Battle of Beersheba, capturing 15 of the 17 wells intact and taking over 700 prisoners. In a later report he summed up the effect of the attack: Bourchier Statement of Service

He received the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typ ...

on 4 November 1917: In September 1918 Bourchier again commanded a joint force of the 4th and 12th Regiments ("Bourchier's Force") in the final advance on

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

, capturing 12,000 Turks. He was awarded the

Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

on 3 June 1919 for the following recommendation: He took temporary command of 4th Light Horse Brigade in November–December 1918 while Brigadier William Grant was in temporary command of the ANZAC Mounted Division. During the war he was

mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

three times. The regiment returned to Australia in June 1919.

Post war

After the war Bourchier returned to his farm near

. He remained an officer in the

Australian Citizens Military Forces The Australian Army Reserve is a collective name given to the reserve units of the Australian Army. Since the Federation of Australia in 1901, the reserve military force has been known by many names, including the Citizens Forces, the Citizen ...

, becoming

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

in command of the 5th Cavalry Brigade in 1921 and

in command of the 2nd Cavalry Division in 1931.

Political career

Bourchier was elected to the

Victorian Legislative Assembly The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria in Australia; the upper house being the Victorian Legislative Council. Both houses sit at Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne. The presiding ...

in 1920, representing the

Victorian Farmers' Union The Victorian Farmers' Union (VFU) was an association of farmers and primary producers formed in 1914 in the Australian state of Victoria. Although initially formed as an "absolutely non-political" entity, the VFU became a political party in 1916 ...

in the electoral district of

Goulburn Valley The Goulburn Valley is a sub-region, part of the Hume region of the Australian state of Victoria. The sub-region consists of those areas in the catchment of the Goulburn River and other nearby streams, and is part of the Murray-Darling Basin. ...

. His maiden speech was an attack on the Lawson government's neglect of ex-servicemen. He was re-elected as a Country Party candidate in 1921 and re-elected (unopposed) several times until his resignation in 1936. He was deputy leader of the Country Party in 1927–1930, leader in 1933–1935 and deputy leader again in 1935–1936. During his political career he served as Minister of Agriculture and Markets in the

Allan Allan may refer to: People * Allan (name), a given name and surname, including list of people and characters with this name * Allan (footballer, born 1984) (Allan Barreto da Silva), Brazilian football striker * Allan (footballer, born 1989) ...

government and the Chief Secretary, Minister of Labour and

in the early years of the

Dunstan Saint Dunstan (c. 909 – 19 May 988) was an English bishop. He was successively Abbot of Glastonbury, Abbot of Glastonbury Abbey, Bishop of Worcester, Bishop of London and Archbishop of Canterbury, later canonised as a saint. His work restor ...

government. He resigned from Parliament in August 1936 and was appointed Victorian Agent-General. While in this position he represented Victoria at the

coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The coronation of George VI and his wife, Elizabeth, as King and Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth, and as Emperor and Empress of India took place at Westminster Abbey, London, on Wednesday 12 May 1937. ...

. He died in London from

pernicious anaemia Pernicious anemia is a type of Vitamin B12 deficiency, vitamin B12 deficiency anemia, a disease in which not enough red blood cells are produced due to the malabsorption of Vitamin B12, vitamin B12. Malabsorption in pernicious anemia results fr ...

and cancer on 16 December 1937. He was

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

posthumously Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award - an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication – material published after the author's death * ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1987 * ''Posthumous'' (E ...

in January 1938.

Personal life

Of Irish Protestant descent, the Bourchier surname is of Anglo-Norman origin. He was also a

Freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

. He married Minona Francis Madden, daughter of politician Sir Frank Madden, on 16 June 1921. They had a daughter and two sons.

Legacy

Bourchier Street in

Shepparton, Victoria Shepparton () ( Yortayorta: ''Kanny-goopna'') is a city located on the floodplain of the Goulburn River in northern Victoria, Australia, approximately north-northeast of Melbourne. As of the 2021 census, the estimated population of Shepparton, ...

, is named after Lieutenant Colonel Bourchier. Bourchier Street Primary School also recognises the contribution he made with a memorial plaque in its front office. In the 1987 film '' The Lighthorsemen'' and a 1993 episode of ''

The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles ''The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles'' is an American television series that aired on ABC from March 4, 1992, to July 24, 1993. Filming took place in various locations around the world, with "Old Indy" bookend segments filmed in Wilmington, North ...

'', both depicting the Battle of Beersheba, Bourchier was portrayed by

Tony Bonner Anthony Frederick Bonner (born 23 November 1943) is an Australian television, film and stage actor and singer. Bonner became famous in the 1960s children's television series '' Skippy the Bush Kangaroo'', later moving on to lead roles in the ...

.''Tony Bonner'', imdb.com (without date).
/ref>

References

External links

Honours and awards (gazetted)
- Australian War Memorial {{DEFAULTSORT:Bourchier, Murray 1881 births 1937 deaths Australian military personnel of World War I Australian Army soldiers Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Deaths from pernicious anemia Deputy Premiers of Victoria Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Chief Secretaries of Victoria Agents-General for Victoria 20th-century Australian politicians Ministers for Agriculture (Victoria)