Harry Murray - Later Life

Later Life

After his discharge, Murray moved north, buying a grazing property in south-eastern Queensland. On 13 October 1921, he married estate agent Constance Sophia Cameron at Bollon. The marriage was an unhappy one, and the pair separated in 1925 when Murray went to New Zealand. On 11 November 1927, with Constance Murray as petitioner, a decree nisi with costs against Henry Murray was granted on the grounds of desertion. Nine days later, at the Auckland Registrar's Office, Murray married Ellen Perdon "Nell" Cameron; Constance's niece. The couple returned to Queensland, and in April 1928 Murray bought Glenlyon station, Richmond, a 74,000 acre (29,947 ha) grazing property, where he lived for the rest of his life.

The Murrays had two children. Their son Douglas, born in 1930, was named after Lieutenant Colonel Douglas Grey Marks, the commanding officer of the 13th Battalion from 1917 to 1918. In 1934, Nell gave birth to their second child, a girl named Clementine. Between 1929 and 1939, Murray wrote fifteen articles for Reveille, the magazine of the New South Wales branch of the Returned Sailors and Soldiers Imperial League of Australia (RSL), detailing several of his experiences during the First World War, and praising several of his comrades.

On 21 July 1939, with the Second World War looming, Murray volunteered for military service and was appointed as commanding officer of the 26th (Militia) Battalion, 11th Brigade, based in Townsville; he was mobilised for full-time service on 21 October 1941. Murray's second-in-command of the unit during this time was Major Edgar Towner, who had additionally been decorated with the Victoria Cross in 1918. The 26th became an Australian Imperial Force unit in 1942, and in August Murray was removed from his post by General Sir Thomas Blamey, Commander in Chief Australian Military Forces, on the grounds of his advancing age. He was instead appointed to command the 23rd Queensland Regiment, Volunteer Defence Corps, which he led until his retirement from active duty on 8 February 1944.

With the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950, wool prices soared and Murray earned a large income from wool sales, allowing him to regularly travel across Australia. Taking a trip to Brisbane in 1954, he met Queen Elizabeth II during her Royal Tour of Australia. Despite rarely attending Anzac Day services or functions for Victoria Cross recipients, Murray and his wife travelled to London in 1956 to commemorate the centenary of the Victoria Cross. Following the ceremonies, the Murrays spent five weeks on a motor tour of England and Scotland, before visiting Switzerland and France. However, Murray refused to revisit the battlefields.

On 6 January 1966, Nell was driving the family car with Harry as a passenger; they were going to the south coast of Queensland for a holiday. A tyre blew out and the car rolled on the Leichhardt Highway near Condamine. Murray was taken to Miles District Hospital with broken ribs. He had suffered heart trouble for some time, and the shock of the accident is believed to have caused his death the following day. Murray was interred at Mount Thompson Crematorium with full military honours after a funeral service at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Brisbane.

On 24 February 2006 in Evandale, Tasmania, Governor-General Michael Jeffery unveiled a statue of Murray by sculptor Peter Corlett. This tribute was facilitated by a small group of volunteers who raised A$85,000 in two years. The Henry Murray ward at Hollywood Private Hospital has been named in his honour.