James Laurence Murphy

James Laurence Murphy (c. 1860 – 17 February 1942) was an Irish-born Australian politician.

Murphy was born in County Cork to farmer Laurence Murphy and Mary Flynn. In the early 1880s he migrated to Victoria, and worked as a traveller before becoming a cordial manufacturer in the early 1890s, after going into partnership with cordial manufacturer Joseph Plummer as Plummer, Murphy & Co. On 11 January 1892 he married schoolteacher Margaret O'Flaherty.[1][2]

A member of the Labor Party, he served on South Melbourne City Council from 1904 to 1942, and was mayor from 1910 to 1911.[1] He was South Melbourne representative on the Harbour Trust from 1910 to 1913.[3]

In 1917 he was elected to the Victorian Legislative Assembly for Port Melbourne after successfully challenging incumbent MP Owen Sinclair for Labor preselection, and represented the seat until his death.[4][1] He was credited with key roles in the establishment of the Fair Rents Court, having repeatedly tried to introduce a private member's bill for many years prior to its adoption by his government, as well as in the development of housing at Fishermans Bend. Alongside his parliamentary role, he was a member of the Metropolitan Fire Brigades Board from 1940 to his death and its chairman in 1941.[3][5][6]

He died at his South Melbourne home in February 1942 after a short illness, and was buried at Melbourne General Cemetery.[3]

References
  1. Parliament of Victoria (2001). "Murphy, James Laurence". re-member: a database of all Victorian MPs since 1851. Parliament of Victoria. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  2. "OUR LOCAL INDUSTRIES". Record. Vol. V, no. 44. Victoria, Australia. 27 January 1900. p. 3. Retrieved 10 November 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. "OBITUARY". The Age. No. 27094. Victoria, Australia. 18 February 1942. p. 3. Retrieved 10 November 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. "REJECTED LABOUR MEMBER". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 22, 100. Victoria, Australia. 29 May 1917. p. 9. Retrieved 10 November 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. "FAIR RENTS BILL". Record. Vol. XLII, no. 28. Victoria, Australia. 17 July 1937. p. 8. Retrieved 10 November 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. "MR. MURPHY, MLA, DIES SUDDENLY". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 29, 793. Victoria, Australia. 18 February 1942. p. 4. Retrieved 10 November 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
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