John Harrison Murphy (1869 - 1912)

Born 26 May 1869 in Hotham (now North Melbourne), Victoria, Australia

Ancestors

Husband of Sarah (Cook) Murphy — married 25 Dec 1894 in Walhalla, Victoria, Australia

Descendants

Died 17 Jan 1912 at age 42 in Traralgon, Victoria, Australia

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Biography

John Harrison MURPHY was born in 1869^[1] and he lived most of his childhood at the gold-mining town of Woods Point, Victoria, where his father (William James MURPHY) was a miner. John was 14 when his mother died (18 May 1884) and was still living at Woods Point. He later moved to Walhalla but exactly when that occurred is not certain.

John (aged 22) married Sarah COOK (aged 19) in the Wesleyan Church at Walhalla in 1894^[2]. They had 5 children - the first 4 were born at Walhalla and the fifth was born at Traralgon, Victoria.

At the time of their marriage, Walhalla had recovered from the great fire of 1888 that destroyed about 30 buildings along the eastern side of the main street. The town had been rebuilt in grand style, indicating optimism for good times ahead. The young family were in Walhalla during the enthusiastic celebrations for Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897. By the first half of the first decade of the 20th century, Walhalla was again enjoying a boom. The Long Tunnel Mine returned a modest dividend to shareholders in 1906, the first for seven years.

It is reasonable to assume that at least a couple of their children born in Walhalla would have attended school in the town. They would have heard the constant sound of the ore-crushing batteries that only ceased on Sundays.

John Harrison MURPHY was a miner at Walhalla. Family history says that he escaped unhurt from a mine accident only to return to the mine to help in the rescue of his best friend. As a consequence, he suffered some injury and after the accident he was incapacitated. Although the date of this accident is not known, it left him unable to work and he and Sarah moved the family to Traralgon in Gippsland where their last child was born in 1908.

John Harrison MURPHY died at Traralgon on 17 January 1912^[3] aged 42. The registration of his death shows that he died of chronic pulmonary tuberculosis and exhaustion. His burial at the Traralgon Cemetery on 19 January 1912 was conducted by Rev Steele, a Presbyterian minister. This register confirms what we already know regarding his marriage and children.

[Source of information about the life of John Harrison MURPHY: John Michael MURPHY, his great grandson, in his email of 30 August 2005.]

1903 Electoral Roll for Walhalla, Gippsland, shows that John Harrison MURPHY (labourer) and Sarah COOK (home duties) were living at Little Joe, Walhalla, Victoria.

Sources

1. ↑ Birth: Registry of BDM Victoria reg no 16948/1869 at https://my.rio.bdm.vic.gov.au
2. ↑ Marriage: Registry of BDM Victoria reg no 05666/1894 at at https://my.rio.bdm.vic.gov.au
3. ↑ Death: Victorian Registry of BDM Victoria no 03744/1912 at https://my.rio.bdm.vic.gov.au