Reg Murray

Reginald James Murray (25 April 1909 – 25 November 1962) was an Australian politician. He was a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and served as a Senator for Tasmania from 1947 to 1951. Prior to entering politics he worked in the shipping industry and was a World War II veteran.

Early life Murray was born on 27 April 1906 in Wellington, New Zealand. He was the son of Nellie (née Miller) and Walter James Murray. His mother was born in Hobart, Tasmania, and his father in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Murray's father worked as a travelling salesman and the family spent periods in New Zealand and Brisbane before settling in his mother's home town. He attended the Goulburn Street State School in West Hobart and went on to complete his intermediate certificate at Hobart High School. He played for the Lefroy Football Club from 1925 to 1932 and represented Tasmania in interstate matches in 1927 and 1929. After leaving school Murray worked in various roles in the shipping industry, including as a stevedore, seaman and shipping clerk.

Murray enlisted in the Militia in November 1939, having previously been a member of the Royal Australian Naval Volunteer Reserve for seven years. He transferred to the Australian Imperial Force in August 1942 as a lieutenant. He served in the Australian Intelligence Corps and the 16th Australian Small Ships Company, in 1943 completing a certificate in military intelligence in Liverpool, England. Murray was elected to a six-year term commencing on 1 July 1947. He polled the most votes of any Senate candidate in the state, with campaign material drawing on his status as "a young, forceful ex-serviceman".

Murray also became more active in the labour movement, serving a term as state president of the Federated Clerks' Union and acting as minute secretary to the Australian Council of Trade Unions congress in Hobart in 1959. He attended the International Labour Organization's conference in Geneva in 1959 as an Australian delegate and also visited Russia and the United States.