Hubert Murray
Encyclopedia
Sir John Hubert Plunkett Murray, usually known as Hubert Murray, (29 December 1861 – 27 February 1940) was a judge and Lieutenant-Governor of Papua
from 1908 until his death at Samarai
.
, the son of Irish-born Sir Terence Aubrey Murray (1810-73), and his second wife Agnes Ann, née Edwards; he was named after Terence Murray's friend John Hubert Plunkett. Hubert Murray was educated at a non-denominational school in Sydney, then attended a preparatory school in Melbourne
in 1871. From 1872-1877 Murray attended Sydney Grammar School
where he won several sporting prizes and was school captain in 1877. Murray then moved to England
in 1878 and attended Brighton College
(which expelled him after he punched a master) and Oxford (B.A., 1886).
Murray was a tall (6'3" or 190 cms), powerfully built man, who played rugby
for the Harlequins
and won the English amateur heavyweight boxing title.
In 1892 Murray became a legal draftsmen for the New South Wales
parliament but described his time there as "living death in Macquarie Street" and left in 1896 to lead a more adventurous life. He took an interest in the volunteer movement, and in 1898 was in command of the New South Wales Irish rifles. He was a Lieutenant-Colonel with the Australian Forces mounted infantry brigade in the Boer War
. Murray held the rank of lieutenant-colonel in the Australian forces and of major in the Imperial service.
in 1940. When Murray first went to Papua there were 64 white residents. There were 90000 square miles (233,098.9 km²) of territory, much of it unexplored jungle land, with many native tribes of whom some were cannibals and head-hunters. He set himself to understand the native mind, and found that an appeal to vanity was often more effective than punishment. Murray eventually wiped out cannibalism and head-hunting, largely by ridiculing tribes that followed those practices, and praising those that did not.
In 1912 Murray published his interesting Papua or British New Guinea, in which the chapters on "The Native Population" and "The Administration of justice" give good descriptions of the many problems he had to deal with. In 1925 his Papua of Today appeared, which showed the progress that had been made in carrying out his ideas. Portions of this book included material from pamphlets published by Murray in 1919 and 1920 on the Australian Administration in Papua, and Recent Exploration in Papua. His sympathetic understanding of the native mind continued to be the strongest influence in his government. His policy had become more defined but its basis was always the "preservation of the native races, even of those weaker peoples who are not yet able to stand by themselves. The well-being and development of these peoples is declared by the League of Nations
to form a sacred trust of civilization, and this declaration is entirely in accord with all the best traditions of British administration". Murray held too that each native was an individual entitled to his own life, his own family, and his own village. He recognised that natives had their own codes of behaviour, and if these came into conflict with European codes no good could come from what he called the "swift injustice" of punitive expeditions. He preferred to lead his people into better ways and he persuaded them to keep their villages clean, because only inferior races preferred dirt; to pay taxes, because a man who did not do so was a social defaulter; to be vaccinated, because that was a sign of government approval. He trained suitable men to be policemen, and he had Sydney University opened to others to be trained in first aid and rudimentary medicine to fit them to be assistants to white doctors. In some of these things Murray was only carrying on or extending what his predecessor Sir William MacGregor
had begun, but it is an additional merit in an administrator to recognise the value of earlier men's work.
Murray was the leader of the Australasian delegates to the Pan-Pacific Science Congress held at Tokyo
in 1926, and president of the meeting of the Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science
in 1932. He went steadily on with his work until he died at Samarai, Papua, on 27 February 1940. The story is one of continued progress. Education of the natives had increased, a beginning had been made with native industrial enterprises, the natives had begun to understand European modes of conducting business, and not a few of them had banking accounts. This had been accomplished with as little breaking down as possible of native customs.
Murray was succeeded as administrator by his nephew, Hubert Leonard Murray (1886-1963), who had been Official Secretary since 1916.
district of New South Wales
, where his father Sir Terence Aubrey Murray once owned Yarralumla
.
Hubert was the brother of, and was survived by, Sir Gilbert Murray, KCMG
, professor of Greek at Oxford University.
In 1889 Murray married Miss Sybil Maud Jenkins ( - 1929). They had three children:
On 20 February 1930 Hubert Murray married an Irish widow Mrs Mildred Blanche Vernon née Trench (1875 - 1960). They were later separated.
Papua Of To-Day or An Australian Colony in the Making, P.S. King and Son, London 1925
Papua (Australian territory)
The Territory of Papua comprised the southeastern quarter of the island of New Guinea from 1883 to 1949. It became a British Protectorate in the year 1884, and four years later it was formally annexed as British New Guinea...
from 1908 until his death at Samarai
Samarai
Samarai is an island and former administrative capital in Milne Bay Province, Papua New Guinea. Located off the south-eastern tip of New Guinea in the China Strait Samarai has an area of just ....
.
Early life
Murray was born in SydneySydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, the son of Irish-born Sir Terence Aubrey Murray (1810-73), and his second wife Agnes Ann, née Edwards; he was named after Terence Murray's friend John Hubert Plunkett. Hubert Murray was educated at a non-denominational school in Sydney, then attended a preparatory school in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
in 1871. From 1872-1877 Murray attended Sydney Grammar School
Sydney Grammar School
Sydney Grammar School is an independent, non-denominational, selective, day school for boys, located in Darlinghurst, Edgecliff and St Ives, all suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia....
where he won several sporting prizes and was school captain in 1877. Murray then moved to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in 1878 and attended Brighton College
Brighton College
Brighton College is an institution divided between a Senior School known simply as Brighton College, the Prep School and the Pre-Prep School. All of these schools are co-educational independent schools in Brighton, England, sited immediately next to each another. The Senior School caters for...
(which expelled him after he punched a master) and Oxford (B.A., 1886).
Murray was a tall (6'3" or 190 cms), powerfully built man, who played rugby
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
for the Harlequins
Harlequin F.C.
The Harlequin Football Club is an English rugby union team who play in the top level of English rugby, the Aviva Premiership. Their ground in London is Twickenham Stoop...
and won the English amateur heavyweight boxing title.
In 1892 Murray became a legal draftsmen for the New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
parliament but described his time there as "living death in Macquarie Street" and left in 1896 to lead a more adventurous life. He took an interest in the volunteer movement, and in 1898 was in command of the New South Wales Irish rifles. He was a Lieutenant-Colonel with the Australian Forces mounted infantry brigade in the Boer War
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
. Murray held the rank of lieutenant-colonel in the Australian forces and of major in the Imperial service.
New Guinea
In 1904, Murray was appointed as a judge in what was still British New Guinea. He was appointed Acting Administrator in 1907 and Lieutenant-Governor in 1908, a position he held until his death at SamaraiSamarai
Samarai is an island and former administrative capital in Milne Bay Province, Papua New Guinea. Located off the south-eastern tip of New Guinea in the China Strait Samarai has an area of just ....
in 1940. When Murray first went to Papua there were 64 white residents. There were 90000 square miles (233,098.9 km²) of territory, much of it unexplored jungle land, with many native tribes of whom some were cannibals and head-hunters. He set himself to understand the native mind, and found that an appeal to vanity was often more effective than punishment. Murray eventually wiped out cannibalism and head-hunting, largely by ridiculing tribes that followed those practices, and praising those that did not.
In 1912 Murray published his interesting Papua or British New Guinea, in which the chapters on "The Native Population" and "The Administration of justice" give good descriptions of the many problems he had to deal with. In 1925 his Papua of Today appeared, which showed the progress that had been made in carrying out his ideas. Portions of this book included material from pamphlets published by Murray in 1919 and 1920 on the Australian Administration in Papua, and Recent Exploration in Papua. His sympathetic understanding of the native mind continued to be the strongest influence in his government. His policy had become more defined but its basis was always the "preservation of the native races, even of those weaker peoples who are not yet able to stand by themselves. The well-being and development of these peoples is declared by the League of Nations
League of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
to form a sacred trust of civilization, and this declaration is entirely in accord with all the best traditions of British administration". Murray held too that each native was an individual entitled to his own life, his own family, and his own village. He recognised that natives had their own codes of behaviour, and if these came into conflict with European codes no good could come from what he called the "swift injustice" of punitive expeditions. He preferred to lead his people into better ways and he persuaded them to keep their villages clean, because only inferior races preferred dirt; to pay taxes, because a man who did not do so was a social defaulter; to be vaccinated, because that was a sign of government approval. He trained suitable men to be policemen, and he had Sydney University opened to others to be trained in first aid and rudimentary medicine to fit them to be assistants to white doctors. In some of these things Murray was only carrying on or extending what his predecessor Sir William MacGregor
William MacGregor
Sir William MacGregor GCMG, CB was a Lieutenant-Governor of British New Guinea, Governor of Newfoundland and Governor of Queensland.-Early life:...
had begun, but it is an additional merit in an administrator to recognise the value of earlier men's work.
Murray was the leader of the Australasian delegates to the Pan-Pacific Science Congress held at Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
in 1926, and president of the meeting of the Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science
Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science
The Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science is an organisation that was founded in 1888 by Archibald Liversidge as the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science to promote science. It was modelled on the British Association for the Advancement of Science...
in 1932. He went steadily on with his work until he died at Samarai, Papua, on 27 February 1940. The story is one of continued progress. Education of the natives had increased, a beginning had been made with native industrial enterprises, the natives had begun to understand European modes of conducting business, and not a few of them had banking accounts. This had been accomplished with as little breaking down as possible of native customs.
Murray was succeeded as administrator by his nephew, Hubert Leonard Murray (1886-1963), who had been Official Secretary since 1916.
Family
The Murray family was among the early settlers of the CanberraCanberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
district of New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, where his father Sir Terence Aubrey Murray once owned Yarralumla
Yarralumla
Yarralumla may refer to:* Government House, Canberra, the residence of the Governor-General of Australia known as Yarralumla* Yarralumla, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra* Yarralumla Primary School...
.
Hubert was the brother of, and was survived by, Sir Gilbert Murray, KCMG
Gilbert Murray
George Gilbert Aimé Murray, OM was an Australian born British classical scholar and public intellectual, with connections in many spheres. He was an outstanding scholar of the language and culture of Ancient Greece, perhaps the leading authority in the first half of the twentieth century...
, professor of Greek at Oxford University.
In 1889 Murray married Miss Sybil Maud Jenkins ( - 1929). They had three children:
- Mary, later married to Capt. Charles Robert Pinney, (1883 - 1945) Administrator of Norfolk Island from 1932 to 1937.
- Mary and Charles had two children, Maura and Peter Pinney (1922 - 1992) noted travel writer.
- Peter married Alice Brown (1933 - 1995) and they had a daughter Sava Pinney (1959 -). Peter married for a second time to Estelle Runcie.
- Major Terence Murray, D.S.O., M.C.
- Terence married Philippa Kitchener, and they had three daughters.
- Patrick Desmond Fitzgerald Murray D.Sc.(1900-1967), professor of Zoology at Sydney University
- Patrick married Margery Holland.
- Murray's brother Gilbert married Mary Howard, and they had a daughter Rosalind who married Arnold Toynbee. They had two sons, Philip and Lawrence.
On 20 February 1930 Hubert Murray married an Irish widow Mrs Mildred Blanche Vernon née Trench (1875 - 1960). They were later separated.
Legacy
- In Port MoresbyPort MoresbyPort Moresby , or Pot Mosbi in Tok Pisin, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea . It is located on the shores of the Gulf of Papua, on the southeastern coast of the island of New Guinea, which made it a prime objective for conquest by the Imperial Japanese forces during 1942–43...
the PNGPapua New GuineaPapua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
Army barracks (called Murray Barracks), the leading "international" primary school (called The Ela Murray International School), the Hubert Murray StadiumHubert Murray StadiumThe Hubert Murray Stadium is a sports venue located in Port Moresby, the capital city of Papua New Guinea. I. It is used for playing football and is not particularly suited to any large events. It is more comparable to a regional sporting facility than one of any national significance...
and the main highway are all named after him. - The Official Papuan Collection, National Museum of Australia, over 3,000 items collected by Sir Hubert Murray for the Australian Territory of Papua, between 1907 and 1933, held in the National Museum of Australia.
Publications
Papua or British New Guinea, T. Fisher Unwin, London 1912Papua Of To-Day or An Australian Colony in the Making, P.S. King and Son, London 1925