Murray is a

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

Townsville The City of Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 201,313 as of 2024, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland and Northern Australia (specifically, the parts of Australia north of ...

in the City of Townsville,

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, Australia. It is not a conventional suburb, with the developed land in the suburb being within the Australian Army's

Lavarack Barracks Lavarack Barracks is a major Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia. It is a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF), along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Ai ...

. In the , Murray had a population of 1,739 people.

Geography

Bushmasters at Lavarack Barracks during Talisman Sabre 21

The suburb is bounded by University Road to the north. The southern parts of the suburb are on the slopes of Mount Stuart and are undeveloped. The northern part of the suburb is occupied by the Lavarack Barracks.

History

Murray is situated in the traditional Wulgurukaba Aboriginal country. The origin of the suburb name is from Lieutenant Colonel Henry William Murray who was awarded the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

in 1917 for his actions during the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme (; ), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and the French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18 Nove ...

. On 21 July 1939, with the Second World War looming, Murray volunteered for military service and was appointed as commanding officer of the 26th (Militia) Battalion, 11th Brigade, based in

; he was mobilised for full-time service on 21 October 1941. The 26th became an Australian Imperial Force unit in 1942, and in August Murray was removed from his post by General Sir Thomas Blamey, Commander in Chief Australian Military Forces, on the grounds of his advancing age. He was instead appointed to command the 23rd Queensland Regiment, Volunteer Defence Corps, which he led until his retirement from active duty on 8 February 1944. The suburb was named after Murray on 1 April 1969. In 1972, the Lavarack Golf Club opened at the barracks on land leased from Australian Department of Defence (). It was an 18-hole course and open to membership by the wider community. In December 2021, the golf club closed as the Department of Defence did not wish to renew the lease as it intended to redevelop the land as sporting and training facilities for defence force use.

Demographics

In the , Murray had a population of 1,491 people. In the , Murray had a population of 1,739 people.

Education

There are no schools in Murray. The nearest government primary schools are Annandale State School in neighbouring Annandale to the north and Wulguru State School in neighbouring Wulguru to the north-east. The nearest government secondary school is William Ross State High School in neighbouring Annandale to the north.

References

{{Suburbs of Townsville Suburbs of Townsville