Thomas Lodge Murray-Prior
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The Hon Thomas Murray-Prior |
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Murray-Prior circa. 1865
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| Member of the Queensland Legislative Council | |
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In office 22 February 1866 – 31 December 1892 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
Thomas Lodge Murray-Prior 13 November 1819 Wells, Somerset, England |
| Died | 31 December 1892 (aged 73) Brisbane, Queensland, Australia |
| Resting place | Toowong Cemetery |
| Nationality | English Australian |
| Spouse(s) | Matilda Harpur (m.1846 d.1868), Nora Clarina Barton (m.1872 d.1931) |
| Relations | Rosa Praed (daughter), Thomas Murray-Prior (son) |
| Occupation | Farmer, Grazier, Public servant |
| Religion | Church of England |
The Hon. Thomas Lodge Murray-Prior of Maroon (Wells, Somerset, England, 13 November 1819 – Albion, Queensland, 31 December 1892) was an Australian politician. He held the office of Postmaster-General in Queensland, Australia, whilst Member of the Legislative Council of Queensland and Governor of Queensland.
Born the son of Thomas Murray-Prior of Windsor Terrace (1790 – Southsea, 19 July 1864), an Officer in the 11th Hussars who served at the Battle of Waterloo, and his second wife Eliza Catherine Skinner (died 18 November 1863) (married at Cookham Church, Berkshire, 31 December 1818), paternal grandson of Thomas Murray-Prior of Rathdowney and Catherine Palmer and maternal grandson of William Augustus Skinner of Moor Hall, Cookham, and Mary Orlebar.
Murray-Prior was educated by the private tutors Monsieur Giron at Reading, and Dr. Burney at Gosport and in Brussels under Reverend William Drury. Murray-Prior took up sheep farming on a large scale; during one scab outbreak in 1858 he lost 8,000 sheep; during that same year he sold his sheep farm and bought a banana plantation at Ormiston, Queensland.
In 1860 Murray-Prior tried but failed to be elected to the seat of East Moreton, and in 1861 became a Postal Inspector – he became Postmaster-General in 1862. When this position became a political post, he was nominated to the Legislative Council on 10 April 1866. In 1863 Rachel Henning wrote: "I suppose it does not require any great talent to be a Postmaster General. I hope not, for such a goose I have seldom seen. He talked incessantly and all his conversation consisted of pointless stories of which he himself was the hero."
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