Reginald Augustus Frederick Murray (18 February 1846 – 5 September 1925) was a

Victorian Government The Victoria State Government, also referred to as just the Victorian Government, is the state-level authority for Victoria, Australia. Like all state governments, it is formed by three independent branches: the executive, the judicial, and th ...

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althou ...

and

surveyor Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. A land surveying professional is ca ...

-general. Murray was born in

Frimley Frimley is a town in the Borough of Surrey Heath in Surrey, England, approximately southwest of central London. The town is of Saxon origin, although it is not listed in Domesday Book of 1086. Train services to Frimley (on the line betwe ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, the eldest child of Captain Virginius Murray (1817-1861) and his wife Elizabeth Alice, ''née'' Poitiers. He went to Australia in 1855 with his mother, three years after his father. Murray was educated at Rev. T. P. Fenner's, (M.A.) private school in

South Yarra South Yarra is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 4 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Melbourne and Stonnington local government areas. South Yarra recorded a popul ...

, a suburb of

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 ...

. Murray left school in 1860, and worked on a cattle run near

Avoca, Victoria Avoca is a town in the Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia, north west of Ballarat. It is one of two main towns in the Pyrenees Shire, the other being Beaufort to the south. Geography The town stands in the gently undulating basin of the ...

and later had some success as a

gold prospector Gold prospecting is the act of searching for new gold deposits. Methods used vary with the type of deposit sought and the resources of the prospector. Although traditionally a commercial activity, in some developed countries placer gold prospe ...

. In April 1862 Murray joined the

Geological Survey of Victoria Geological Survey of Victoria (GSV) is a government agency responsible for mapping the geology of Victoria, Australia. The Geological Survey was founded in the 1852 in the Victorian gold rush era, and proceeded to actively explore the state of ...

, directed by Alfred Selwyn, as field assistant to

Charles Smith Wilkinson Charles Smith Wilkinson (22 August 1843 – 26 August 1891) was an Australians, Australian geologist. He became geological surveyor in charge in New South Wales in 1875 and was president of the Royal Society of New South Wales in 1887. Early li ...

. Murray had experience in

Bacchus Marsh Bacchus Marsh (Wathawurrung: ''Pullerbopulloke'') is an urban centre and suburban locality in Victoria, Australia located approximately north west of the state capital Melbourne and west of Melton, Victoria, Melton at a near equidistance to th ...

, Ballan, the Otway ranges, and many other districts. When the Geological Survey was terminated on economic grounds in 1869, Murray engaged in mining and mining surveying in the

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands (Victoria), Central Highlands of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resid ...

district. He joined the government service again in 1871, and made geological surveys of the

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is a city in Victoria, Australia, located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2019, Bendigo had an urban population of 100,991, makin ...

and Ballarat goldfields. Murray did a lot of pioneering surveying in

Gippsland Gippsland is a rural region that makes up the southeastern part of Victoria, Australia, mostly comprising the coastal plains to the rainward (southern) side of the Victorian Alps (the southernmost section of the Great Dividing Range). It covers ...

much of which had not been explored; some of this was done with

Alfred William Howitt Alfred William Howitt , (17 April 1830 – 7 March 1908), also known by author abbreviation A.W. Howitt, was an Australian anthropologist, explorer and naturalist. He was known for leading the Victorian Relief Expedition, which set out to es ...

. In 1881 Murray was appointed geological surveyor for the Department of Mines,

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, and remained until his resignation in 1897. He afterwards held appointments with various British mining companies and in his later years did a good deal of prospecting work. In 1887 he published a capable volume, ''Victoria: Geology and Physical Geography'', and a large number of his reports and maps will be found listed in ''Bulletin No. 23'' of the geological survey of Victoria, p. 33. He was a hard-working and able geologist, who did excellent exploring and pioneering geological work in Victoria and particularly in relation to mining country. Murray died in Caulfield, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, on 5 September 1925. He married twice and was survived by sons and daughters of both marriages.

Works

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, Reginald 1925 deaths 1846 births Australian public servants Geologists from Melbourne