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.
[1][2] A member of the Labor Party, he served on South Melbourne City Council from 1904 to 1942, and was mayor from 1910 to 1911.
[3] 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.
[4][1] He was credited with key roles in the establishment of the Fair Rents Court, having repeatedly tried to introduce a private member's bill for many years prior to its adoption by his government, as well as in the development of housing at Fishermans Bend.
Alongside his parliamentary role, he was a member of the Metropolitan Fire Brigades Board from 1940 to his death and its chairman in 1941.