Jack Keith Murray

Jack Keith Murray (1889-1979) OBE was the Administrator of the Australian Territories of Papua and New Guinea, and foundation Professor of agriculture the Queensland Agricultural College.

Jack Keith Murray was born February 8, 1889 in Middle Brighton, Melbourne, Victoria. His parents' marriage ended when he was 2 and his mother moved to Sydney with him, working to find the fees to pay his attendance at St Joseph’s College, Hunters Hill in 1904.

Murray enrolled at the University of Sydney in 1908, and after serving two years as an agricultural cadet at Cowra, he completed his B.Sc.Agric. in 1914 and B.A. in 1915. He enlisted in the Army in 1916 and was discharged a year later. He re-enlisted in the Australian Army Veterinary Corps from 1918-1919. While in Britain, Murray took leave to study at an agricultural college in Scotland, and visited the U.S. before returning to Australia.

Murray was appointed a lecturer in dairy bacteriology and technology at Hawkesbury Agricultural College, before taking up a role as Principal of the Queensland Agricultural High School and College in Gatton, Queensland in 1923. He married Evelyn Andrews in 1924, a fellow University of Sydney graduate, before being employed as the first Professor of Agriculture at the Queensland Agricultural College (now known as the University of Queensland Gatton). He worked to improve the standard of education in agricultural science.

During WW2 Murray enlisted and was made Commanding Officer of the 25th (Darling Downs) Battalion in 1940, managed staff training for Northern Command, and rose to the rank of Colonel in charge of AIF training depots. He became Chief Instructor of the Land Headquarters School of Civil Affairs at Duntroon, helping to retrain ex-servicemen after the war. His wife, Evelyn was also involved with teaching at Gatton.

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