Robert Andrew Muir (20 June 1821 18 August 1904) was a merchant and politician who served as the mayor of

Albany, Western Australia Albany ( ; nys, Kinjarling) is a port city in the Great Southern region in the Australian state of Western Australia, southeast of Perth, the state capital. The city centre is at the northern edge of Princess Royal Harbour, which is a ...

. Muir was born in

Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...

, Scotland on 20 June 1821; his family emigrated to Western Australia when he was a young boy. Arriving aboard ''Ganges'' on

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...

in 1844 the family moved to

Cape Riche Cape Riche is a cape and rural locality in the Great Southern region of Western Australia. By road, it is 525 km south-east of Perth and 123 km north-east of Albany Facilities in the locality include a boat launching ramp and a ca ...

shortly afterward. The family later took up land along the

Hay River Hay River may refer to: Places * Hay River, Northwest Territories * Hay River, Wisconsin Rivers * Hay River (Wisconsin) * Hay River (Canada), a river in Alberta and Northwest Territories, Canada * Hay River, Northern Territory, Australia * Hay R ...

but eventually settled at the property ''Forest Hill'' near Mount Barker. The family soon expanded their business interests and set up as merchants in Albany. The business, named A. Muir and Sons, prospered and Robert Muir took over in 1884. The family also pioneered the Eucla region setting up a

sheep station A sheep station is a large property ( station, the equivalent of a ranch) in Australia or New Zealand, whose main activity is the raising of sheep for their wool and/or meat. In Australia, sheep stations are usually in the south-east or sout ...

in the area. In 1887 Muir purchased Pyrmont, a now heritage listed building, as his Albany residence. He entered local politics and served as chairman of the municipal council from when it was first declared in 1871. Contesting the first mayoral election in 1885 Muir lost to

William Finlay William Thomas Finlay (July 12, 1853 – May 9, 1914) was a merchant, politician and cabinet minister in Alberta and Northwest Territories, Canada. Finlay served as the second mayor of Medicine Hat, represented the electoral district of Med ...

. In 1891 Muir was elected Mayor of Albany but retired at the end of his year's term due to ill health. One of his last acts was to lay the

foundation stone The cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure. Over time ...

for Oddfellow's Hall, built for the institution of which he was an honorary member. After retiring but remaining in the district Muir died after a short illness on 18 August 1904 in Albany at an age of 83 years, and was buried at Memorial Park Cemetery. Muir had six children; the youngest, J.W. Muir, served two terms as Mayor of Albany in 1902 and 1903.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Muir, Robert Andrew 1821 births 1904 deaths 19th-century Australian politicians Mayors of Albany, Western Australia

See also

References