William Murray (New Zealand politician)

William Archibald Murray (1832 – 26 June 1900) was a 19th-century Member of Parliament in Otago, New Zealand. During his time in parliament, he moved to the Waikato.

Biography

Brothers William, George (died 1889) and Thomas Murray (died 1899[1]) arrived in New Zealand from Scotland on 16 April 1858.[2] Initially, they all farmed sheep in the Mt Stuart and Waitahuna districts in Otago.[3] In 1868, William Murray had a fence wire straining mechanism patented under his name.[4] He applied for a further wire straining patent in 1877.[5] In 1885, he applied for a patent for a vehicle engine that ran on compressed gas.[6] The Otago Daily Times described him as follows:[7]

William Archibald Murray, the member for Bruce, is a tall, active, restless man, with an original, daring mind, that in the days of the Caesars or Stuarts would have certainly brought him to the gallows. He has no reverence for existing institutions, no veneration for the powers that be, no fear of the most daring novelties, and no want of confidence in himself.

Murray stood in the 1869 Taieri by-election[8] and of six candidates, he came third.[9]

New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate Party
1871–1875 5th Bruce Independent
1875–1879 6th Bruce Independent
1879–1881 7th Bruce Independent

He represented the Bruce electorate from 1871 to 1881 (at the 1875 election, he was returned unopposed[10]), when he was defeated by James Rutherford.[11] When Robert Gillies resigned from the Bruce electorate in 1885 over failing health, Murray was asked to offer himself for re-election but he declined.[12]

Shortly after the 1875 election he moved to the Piako district in the Waikato.[3][13] In circa 1890, he moved to Glen Murray near Raglan in the Franklin district.[3] Murray contested the 1891 Waikato by-election, but was beaten by Edward Lake.[14]

At the age of 68, Murray died on 26 June 1900 at Newmarket in Auckland.[15] He had never married.[3]

References
  1. "Untitled". Clutha Leader. XXVI (1323). 11 August 1899. p. 5. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  2. "Sudden death of a Mangapai settler". The New Zealand Herald. XXVI (9340). 17 April 1889. p. 5. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  3. "Obituary". Clutha Leader. XXVII (1413). 13 July 1900. p. 3. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  4. "Tokomairiro, February 10, 1869". The Bruce Herald. VI (250). 10 February 1869. p. 4. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  5. "The Southland Times" (2757). 1 May 1877. p. 2. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  6. "The Evening Star" (6869). 7 April 1885. p. 2. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  7. "Political sketches". Otago Daily Times (6119). 20 September 1881. p. 3. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  8. "Tokomairiro, June 16, 1869". The Bruce Herald. VI (628). 16 June 1869. p. 4. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  9. "The Taieri Election". Otago Daily Times (2302). 22 June 1869. p. 2. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  10. "The general election". Bruce Herald. VIII (763). 24 December 1875. p. 5. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  11. Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. p. 222. OCLC 154283103.
  12. "The Oamaru Mail". X (3007). 3 August 1885. p. 2. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  13. "The Bruce Herald". VIII (790). 31 March 1876. p. 5. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  14. "Waikato electoral district". Waikato Times. XXXVII (3003). 13 October 1891. p. 3. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  15. "Deaths". Otago Witness (2417). 12 July 1900. p. 39. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
New Zealand Parliament
Preceded by
James Clark Brown		 Member of Parliament for Bruce
1871–1881		 Succeeded by
James Rutherford


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