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Sir Terence Aubrey MURRAY, Kt (1810 - 1873)

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Date of Birth: 01/01/1810
Place of Birth: Balliston, County Limerick, Ireland
Date of Death: 22/06/1873
Place of Death: Darlinghurst, New South Wales, Australia
Parliamentary Service
Position Start End Period Notes
President of the Legislative Council 14 Oct 1862 22 Jun 1873 10 years 8 months 9 days Took oath before Governor
Member of the NSW Legislative Council 14 Oct 1862 22 Jun 1873 10 years 8 months 9 days Life Appointment under the Constitution Act. Date of Writ of Summons 13 October 1862
Library Committee No.3 28 May 1862 01 Aug 1862 2 months 5 days Chairman
Standing Orders Committee No.2 28 May 1862 28 May 1862 1 day Speaker and Chairman
Library Committee No.3 04 Sep 1861 20 Jan 1862 4 months 17 days Chairman
Standing Orders Committee No.2 04 Sep 1861 20 Jan 1862 4 months 17 days Chairman
Privilege Committee No.29 04 Apr 1861 11 May 1861 1 month 8 days Chairman
Library Committee No.3 15 Jan 1861 11 May 1861 3 months 27 days Chairman
Standing Orders Committee No.2 15 Jan 1861 11 May 1861 3 months 27 days Chairman
Member for Argyle 05 Dec 1860 15 Oct 1862 1 year 10 months 11 days
Library Committee No.3 27 Sep 1860 09 Nov 1860 1 month 14 days Chairman
Standing Orders Committee No.2 27 Sep 1860 09 Nov 1860 1 month 14 days
Speaker of the Legislative Assembly 31 Jan 1860 13 Oct 1862 2 years 8 months 13 days
Petition of Mrs Frances Dr Courcy Committee No.25 18 Oct 1859 04 Jul 1860 8 months 17 days
Wesley College Bill Committee No.21 12 Oct 1859 04 Jul 1860 8 months 23 days
Petition of Mr William Sutherland Committee No.20 07 Oct 1859 04 Jul 1860 8 months 28 days
Case of James Hibburd Committee No.16 23 Sep 1859 04 Jul 1860 9 months 12 days Chairman
Church and School Lands Committee No.15 23 Sep 1859 04 Jul 1860 9 months 12 days
Dismissal of Mr .F Gorton Committee No.9 14 Sep 1859 04 Jul 1860 9 months 21 days
Sydney Grammar School Committee No.6 13 Sep 1859 04 Jul 1860 9 months 22 days
University of Sydney Committee No.5 13 Sep 1859 04 Jul 1860 9 months 22 days Chairman
Library Committee No.3 01 Sep 1859 04 Jul 1860 10 months 4 days Chairman
Standing Orders Committee No.2 01 Sep 1859 04 Jul 1860 10 months 4 days Chairman
Member for Argyle 18 Jun 1859 10 Nov 1860 1 year 4 months 24 days
Proposed Vote of Censure on the Attorney General Committee No.11 25 Mar 1859 09 Apr 1859 16 days
Parliamentary Accommodation Committee No.10 17 Mar 1859 09 Apr 1859 24 days
Vacant Seat – Question of Privilege Committee No.9 03 Mar 1859 09 Apr 1859 1 month 7 days
University of Sydney Committee No.8 14 Jan 1859 09 Apr 1859 2 months 27 days
Irish Female Immigrants Committee No.4 15 Dec 1858 09 Apr 1859 3 months 26 days
University of Sydney Committee No.29 20 Jul 1858 26 Nov 1858 4 months 7 days
Railway Accident Committee No.28 14 Jul 1858 26 Nov 1858 4 months 13 days
Landed Property in cases of Intestacy Descent Bill Committee No.25 02 Jul 1858 26 Nov 1858 4 months 25 days Chairman
Railway Services of Thomas Woore Esq. Committee No.24 02 Jul 1858 26 Nov 1858 4 months 25 days Chairman
Irish Female Immigrants (Petition from Celtic Association) Committee No.20 28 May 1858 09 Apr 1859 10 months 13 days
State of the Magistracy Committee No.17 18 May 1858 26 Nov 1858 6 months 9 days Chairman
Navigation of the Murray, & c. Committee No.8 13 Apr 1858 26 Nov 1858 7 months 14 days
Member for Southern Boroughs 28 Jan 1858 11 Apr 1859 1 year 2 months 15 days
Navigation of the Murray and its Effluents Committee No.10 27 Oct 1857 18 Dec 1857 1 month 22 days
Member for Southern Boroughs 24 Sep 1857 19 Dec 1857 2 months 26 days
Secretary for Lands and Works 07 Sep 1857 12 Jan 1858 4 months 6 days
St John’s College Bill Committee No.6 26 Aug 1857 18 Dec 1857 3 months 23 days
Elections and Qualifications Committee 19 Aug 1857 18 Dec 1857 4 months By Speaker's Warrant
Sole Commissioner of Railways Incorporation Bill Committee No.22 19 Nov 1856 18 Mar 1857 4 months
Member for Southern Boroughs 05 Sep 1856 07 Sep 1857 1 year 3 days
Auditor General 26 Aug 1856 17 Sep 1856 23 days
Secretary for Lands and Works 26 Aug 1856 02 Oct 1856 1 month 7 days
Additional Ministerial Department Committee No.12 20 Aug 1856 18 Mar 1857 6 months 27 days
Church and School Lands Committee No.11 19 Aug 1856 18 Mar 1857 7 months
Masters’ and Servants’ Acts Continuation Bill Committee No.8 13 Aug 1856 18 Mar 1857 7 months 6 days
Appointed by Speaker's Warrant 28 May 1856 18 Mar 1857 9 months 19 days
Chairman of Committees 26 May 1856 26 Aug 1856 3 months 1 day
Governor General's Opening Speech 23 May 1856 23 May 1856 1 day
Member for Southern Boroughs 04 Apr 1856 26 Aug 1856 4 months 23 days
Member of the NSW Legislative Assembly 04 Apr 1856 15 Oct 1862 6 years 6 months 12 days
Member of the NSW Legislative Council 01 Sep 1851 29 Feb 1856 4 years 6 months An Elective Member of the first Legislative Council 1843 - 1856 for the Southern Boroughs viz., Goulburn, Queanbeyan, Braidwood and Yass
Member of the NSW Legislative Council 01 Jul 1848 30 Jun 1851 3 years An Elective Member of the first Legislative Council 1843 - 1856 for the Counties of Murray, King and Georgiana
Member of the NSW Legislative Council 01 Jun 1843 20 Jun 1848 5 years 20 days An Elective Member of the first Legislative Council 1843 - 1856 for the Counties of Murray, King and Georgiana
Political Party Activity
Community Activity
Qualifications, occupations and interests
Pastoralist. Educated at the school of Reverend William White, Church of England clergyman, in Ireland. Arrived in New South Wales with his father in April 1827. Took up land grant at Lake George 1829; Inherited adjoining grant on father's death 1835; Purchased other adjoining land and called the consolidated property Winderradeen, building a fine homestead there. With T. Walker he bought Yarralumla near Queanbeyan in 1836, where he lived until 1855 when he moved to Winderradeen. Took up land at Jingellec, Upper Murray; in 1846 he announced that he had given up squatting in unsettled districts, but continued to lease large areas of Crown land in settled districts (42,680 acres in 1857). Settled Yarralumla and part of Winderradeen on his wife and lost most of the property to her family by her will when she died in 1858; almost bankrupt 1865. Executive Commissioner for New South Wales at Paris Exhibition 1866-1867. Active as the President of the Society for Abolition of Capital Punishment. Advocated importation of coolie labour from India 1841. Admired Garibaldi. Probably the only member of Parliament to oppose democracy but supported John Robertson's Land Acts 1861. Uncle of F.J. Gibbes Member of the Legislative Assembly.
Military Service
Honours Received
Knighted in 1869
Membership of other Parliaments & Offices Held
Local Government Activity
Personal
Son of Captain Terence Murray, military officer, and Ellen Fitzgerald. Married (1) Mary Gibbes on 27 May 1843 in Sydney, and had issue, l son and 5 daughters. Married (2) Agnes Ann Edwards on 4 August 1860 at Winderradeen, and had issue, 2 sons. Roman Catholic.
Additional Information
Biography and portrait in ‘Australian Men of Mark’, Volume 1. Sydney, [?1889] , page 159 Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 2 G. Wilson, Murray of Yarralumla, Melbourne, 1968 Text from the book: 'The Presiding Officers of the Parliament of New South Wales', Sydney, 1995 Terence Murray was born in 1810 in County Limerick, Ireland. After completing his education in Ireland Murray emigrated to New South Wales to join his father in 1827 and two years later they took up adjoining land grants at Lake George. After his father's death, Murray joined the properties and formed the Winderradeen estate. Until 1855 he lived near Queanbeyan at Yarralumla, the property that was later to become Government House. He married Mary Gibbes in 1843; and Agnes Edwards in 1860. He had one son and five daughters from his first marriage and two sons from his second marriage. After the death of his first wife in 1858, Murray lost Yarralumla. and part of Winderradeen to his wife's family, leaving him almost without land. He was elected as a Member of the old Legislative Council from 1843 until 1856, where he fought ardently against capital punishment. From 1856 he was the Member for the Southern Boroughs in the Legislative Assembly until he successfully contested the seat of Argyle in 1859. Throughout 1856 Murray held the positions of Chairman of Committees, Secretary for Lands and Works, and Auditor-General. He was also the Secretary for Lands and Works between 1857 and 1858. Murray was elected Speaker of the Legislative Assembly from 1860 until 1862 when he was appointed to the reconstituted Legislative Council. Upon entering the upper house he was immediately appointed President of the Legislative Council, holding that office until 1873. In October 1862, when Murray ruled that the Council should not attempt to amend money bills he was in fact attempting to persuade the Legislative Council to adopt the traditions of the English House of Lords. However, his decision was met with great opposition and the Council continued to amend money bills. He died on 22 June 1873 at Darlinghurst in New South Wales.

The Parliament of New South Wales acknowledges and respects the traditional lands of all Aboriginal people, and pays respects to all Elders past and present. We acknowledge the Gadigal people as the traditional custodians of the land on which the Parliament of New South Wales stands.