[1] When Murray was a child his parents settled on a farm, Glenample station, at Port Campbell in the Western District of Victoria.

After 1907, however, Murray emerged as the leader of a country faction of Bent's Liberal Party which opposed his free-spending policies.

In January 1909 he successfully moved a motion of no-confidence in Bent's government and succeeded him as Premier, also becoming Chief Secretary and Minister for Labour.

[1] Murray was physically a big man, good-natured and well-read, an excellent speaker who used humour and irony.

An able administrator with a tendency to indolence, he was a good leader in the house, often turning the laugh against his opponents, and managing difficult measures with much tact and success.