Richard William Murden (22 April 1906 – 20 December 1997) was an Australian politician and a member of the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament Ho ...

for two terms from 1953 until 1959. He was a member of 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 ...

. Murden was born in Sydney and was the son of a master builder. He was educated at Petersham High School and was initially an apprentice French polisher but lost his job during the depression. He later entered the furniture retail business and owned a furniture shop. Murden was active in community organizations in the Ashfield area including the Haberfield Progress Association,

The Scout Association The Scout Association is the largest Scouting organisation in the United Kingdom and is the World Organization of the Scout Movement's recognised member for the United Kingdom. Following the origin of Scouting in 1907, the association was for ...

and the

National Trust of Australia The National Trust of Australia, officially the Australian Council of National Trusts (ACNT), is the Australian national peak body for community-based, non-government non-profit organisations committed to promoting and conserving Australia's Ind ...

. Between 1944 and 1953 and in 1959, Murden was elected as an alderman on the Ashfield Municipal Council and he was the mayor in 1951 and 1952. Murden was elected to parliament as the Liberal member for Ashfield at the

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito i ...

state election by 122 votes. He defeated the incumbent Labor member Jack Richardson, who had won the seat at a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

held 8 months before the election. Murden retained the seat at the next election in 1956. The electorate was abolished by a redistribution at the

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

elections and replaced by the seat of Ashfield-Croydon. This was a nominally safe Liberal seat composed of portions of Ashfield and

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

and the sitting Liberal members of both seats were endorsed to contest the election. Murden was defeated by Croydon's

David Hunter David Hunter (July 21, 1802 – February 2, 1886) was an American military officer. He served as a Union general during the American Civil War. He achieved notability for his unauthorized 1862 order (immediately rescinded) emancipating slaves ...

, and he then retired from public life. He did not hold party, parliamentary or ministerial office. He was made a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

in 1975.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murden, Richard 1906 births 1997 deaths Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of New South Wales Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly 20th-century Australian politicians Mayors of Ashfield