John Murray (Victorian politician)
| John Murray | |
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| 23rd Premier of Victoria | |
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In office 8 January 1909 – 18 May 1912 |
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| Preceded by | Thomas Bent |
| Succeeded by | William Watt |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 8 July 1851 Koroit, Victoria, Australia |
| Died | 4 May 1916 (aged 64) Warrnambool, Victoria, Australia |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Spouse(s) | Alice Bateman |
John (Jack) Murray (8 July 1851 – 4 May 1916), Australian politician, was the 23rd Premier of Victoria.
Murray was born near Koroit, Victoria, the son of James Murray (died 1885) and his wife Isabella, née Gordon, both Scottish immigrants. When Murray was a child his parents settled on a farm, Glenample station, at Port Campbell in the Western District of Victoria. Murray attended Allansford National School and, from 1868, Henry Kemmis's Warrnambool Grammar School. Murray visited Britain when around 20 years of age and was horrified by the poverty he saw there; but returned to Victoria. Murray inherited the farm and lived there all his life. On 4 April 1888 Murray married Alice Jane Bateman at Warrnambool, eventually having six children.
In 1883 Murray opposed James Francis for Warrnambool in the Victorian Legislative Assembly, but was defeated. Francis died in 1884, Murray obtained the vacant seat and held it until his death 32 years later. Murray was often opposed, and in his early days his indulgence in alcohol threatened his career. Murray overcame this weakness and afterwards as an advocate of temperance did not hesitate to mention the danger he had been in. A typical rural conservative, he was Chief Secretary and Minister for Labour in the government of William Irvine from 1902 to 1904, and President of the Board of Land and Works and Commissioner of Crown Lands in the government of Thomas Bent from 1904 to 1906. After 1907, however, Murray emerged as the leader of a country faction of Bent's Liberal Party which opposed his free-spending policies. In January 1909 he successfully moved a motion of no-confidence in Bent's government and succeeded him as Premier, also becoming Chief Secretary and Minister for Labour.
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