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.

A member of the Labor Party, he served on South Melbourne City Council from 1904 to 1942, and was mayor from 1910 to 1911.

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.

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