Patrick John Murdoch (10 June 1850 – 1 July 1940) was a

Scottish-Australian Scottish Australians ( sco, Scots Australiens, gd, Astràilianaich Albannach) are ‌‍‍‍‍residents of Australia who are fully or partially of Scottish descent. According to the 2021 Australian census, 130,060 Australian residents wer ...

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

minister, known for being the father of

Keith Murdoch Sir Keith Arthur Murdoch (12 August 1885 – 4 October 1952) was an Australian journalist, businessman and the father of Rupert Murdoch, the current Executive chairman for News Corporation and the chairman of Fox Corporation. Early life Murdoc ...

and the grandfather of

Rupert Murdoch Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian-born American business magnate. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of local, national, and international publishing outlets around the world, including ...

Life

Murdoch was born on 10 June 1850 in the Free Church manse at

Pitsligo Pitsligo was a coastal parish in the historic county of Aberdeenshire, Scotland, containing the fishing villages of Rosehearty, Pittulie and Sandhaven,

in Aberdeenshire, the son of Rev James Murdoch (1817–1884) and Helen Garden.Ewing, William ''Annals of the Free Church'' He studied at the

University of Aberdeen , mottoeng = The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom , established = , type = Public research universityAncient university , endowment = £58.4 million (2021) , budget ...

graduating MA in 1870 and then studied Divinity at

New College, Edinburgh New College is a historic building at the University of Edinburgh which houses the university's School of Divinity. It is one of the largest and most renowned centres for studies in Theology and Religious Studies in the United Kingdom. Students ...

and was licensed to preach by the Free Church of Scotland in September 1876. He acted as an assistant at the Scots Church in Regent Square in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and at Aberdeen South Free Church before being ordained as a minister at Cruden in 1878. In 1884, he emigrated to the

Colony of Victoria In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state'' ...

with his parents ( James and Helen Murdoch) and his wife Annie. After three years at West Melbourne Presbyterian Church, Murdoch was called to Trinity Church, Camberwell, where he served from 1887 to 1928. He also served as moderator of the

Presbyterian Church of Victoria The Presbyterian Church of Victoria is one of the constituent churches of the Presbyterian Church of Australia. It was established in 1859 as a union of Church of Scotland, Free Presbyterian and United Presbyterian congregations. The Presbyte ...

in 1898–99 and Moderator General of the Presbyterian Church of Australia in 1905–06. Murdoch was also Clerk of the Presbytery of Melbourne South in from 1896 to 1920. During the ''Ronald'' v. ''

Harper Harper may refer to: Names * Harper (name), a surname and given name Places ;in Canada * Harper Islands, Nunavut *Harper, Prince Edward Island ;In the United States *Harper, former name of Costa Mesa, California in Orange County * Harper, Il ...

'' slander and libel case in 1909, he refused to produce a letter which was in the presbytery's possession, and spent a night in

gaol A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, English language in England, standard English, Australian English, Australian, and Huron Historic Gaol, historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention cen ...

for contempt of court. William Gray Dixon suggested some twenty years later that this incident demonstrated how the Presbyterian Church of Australia "maintains her traditional spirit of independence". He died on 1 July 1940 in Hawthorn, Victoria.

Family

In June 1882 he married Annie Brown (1856–1945) at Longhaven House, in Cruden near Aberdeen. Their five sons included Sir

Keith Arthur Murdoch Sir Keith Arthur Murdoch (12 August 1885 – 4 October 1952) was an Australian journalist, businessman and the father of Rupert Murdoch, the current Executive chairman for News Corporation and the chairman of Fox Corporation. Early life Murdoc ...

(father of

) and World war I veteran

Ivon Murdoch Ivon George Murdoch MC and bar (19 October 1892 – 12 August 1964) was an Australian Army officer during World War I, notable for the rare distinction of twice being awarded the Military Cross (MC) for bravery. Both nominations and awards wer ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murdoch, Patrick John 1850 births 1940 deaths People from Aberdeen Alumni of the University of Aberdeen 19th-century Ministers of the Free Church of Scotland

Patrick John Patrick Roland John (7 January 1938 – 6 July 2021) was the first Prime Minister of Dominica as well as its last Premier. He led Dominica to independence from the United Kingdom. He was leader of the Waterfront and Allied Workers' Union and ma ...

Scottish emigrants to colonial Australia Australian Presbyterian ministers

Life

Family

See also

References