Andrew Murray (journalist)

For the British trade union official, see Andrew Murray (trade unionist).

Andrew Murray (1813–1880) was an Australian journalist.^[1]

Andrew Murray
Born	(1813-05-16)16 May 1813 Kirkbean, Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland
Died	8 October 1880(1880-10-08) (aged 67) Yarragon, Victoria, Australia
Occupation(s)	Draper Government printer Journalist Landowner Newspaper editor Newspaper owner Political writer Winemaker
Spouse	Jessie Spence (married 1841-1880)

Andrew Murray was born in Scotland, and educated at the Andersonian University in Glasgow, winning prizes (including a gold medal and a Glasgow Peel Club prize of 15 guineas)^[2] as an essayist.^[3]

He emigrated to Adelaide in 1839, and founded a drapery business in Hindley Street (at that time Adelaide's foremost shopping precinct) with George Greig as Murray, Greig, & Co. Murray married Jessie Spence, sister of Catherine Helen Spence, in 1841.^[4]

In 1841, the business failed, and Murray was able to find employment as a journalist with the Southern Australian, the second newspaper to be established in South Australia.^[5] In 1844, he purchased the Southern Australian from the proprietor, Richard Blackham, and was its editor and proprietor till the exodus of workers to the gold-fields of Victoria severely strained South Australia's economy, and the South Australian, as Murray had renamed it, reverted from bi-weekly to weekly, then in July 1851 was forced to fold.^[6] He was responsible for printing at least one other newspaper, the German-language Suedaustralische Zeitung^[7] and its successor Adelaider Deutsche Zeitung.^[8]

Murray then migrated to Victoria, and worked as commercial editor with The Argus, and acted as editor in 1855 and 1856.^[3] He was subsequently the editor and proprietor of the (Melbourne) Economist.^[9] He published Murray's Prices Current and an almanac book, and also traded in wines,^[3] but was forced to declare insolvency in 1874.^[10]

In the late 1850s, Murray bought land in Boroondara, 10 km East of Melbourne. He named his house 'Balwyn' from the Gaelic bal and the Saxon wyn, meaning 'the home of the vine'. Balwyn Road and the suburb of Balwyn were named after it. The house was located on the site now occupied by Fintona Girls' School.

He died at Waterloo (now Yarragon), Gippsland and is buried in Boroondara General Cemetery.

References

1. Camfield, D. (1974). "Murray, Andrew (1813–1880)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Vol. 5. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
2. "Victoria: Obitual", Australian And New Zealand Gazette, 4 December 1880, page 5. Via NewspaperArchive. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
3. "The Argus". The Argus. Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 9 October 1880. p. 7. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
4. Spence, Catherine Helen; Young, Jeanne F. (1910), An autobiography, W.K. Thomas, retrieved 23 November 2014
5. "The Late Catherine Helen Spence". The Register. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 16 April 1910. p. 15. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
6. "Intercolonial Items". The South Australian Advertiser. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 16 October 1880. p. 2 Supplement: The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1889–1931). Retrieved 23 November 2014.
7. "Bestullengen". Suedaustralische Zeitung. 2 May 1850. p. 4. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
8. "Subscriptions". Adelaider Deutsche Zeitung. 5 April 1851. p. 4. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
9. "The Late Mr. Andrew Murray". Adelaide Observer. SA: National Library of Australia. 16 October 1880. p. 29. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
10. "New Insolvents". The Argus. Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 1 October 1874. p. 5. Retrieved 23 November 2014.