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Australia

Cyril was the son of Alexander Borthwick Cowan MURRAY & Marion Whigham CRAWFORD and was born on the 21st of July 1890 on Chandada Station, near Poochera, SA.

His parents were married on the 10th of November 1881 at the residence of Cyril’s uncle, William MURRAY in Glen Osmond, SA.

His father was the son of William MURRAY & Jane WRIGHT and was born on the 15th of May 1858 in Glen Osmond, SA.
His mother was the daughter of William Milroy CRAWFORD & Margaret HARKNESS and was born on the 27th of October 1852 in Newton Stewart, Wigtonshire, Scotland.

Cyril was the sixth child born into this family of 8 children.

Cyril’s grandfather, William MURRAY, was a professional gardener and was born in Dumfriesshire, Scotland and emigrated to South Australia on the City of Adelaide on the 5th of September 1841.
He had lived at Magill for about twelve months, then in 1842 moved to Myrtle Bank, where he planted out that and the Ridge Park garden, where the first olives were grown, and from which he extracted about 40 imperial gallons (180 L) of oil in 1857. He married Cyril’s grandmother in 1846 in Black Forest, SA and around 1847 he purchased part of Glenunga Estate, where he conducted a nursery business.

In 1868 he founded the Murray Jam Factory beside his home on the Glen Osmond Road at Glenunga.
The Murray jam factory was strategically situated to receive Cox Creek fruit as it came down from the Mt Barker Road into suburban Adelaide.

He was appointed first Conservator of Forests in South Australia and established the Bundaleer Forest Nursery in January 1876.
He founded Murray's Jam Factory on Glen Osmond Road, Glen Osmond.

Cyril’s mother had arrived in South Australia, via America, on the 14th of February 1854 with her parents and siblings.
On arrival her father purchased Karcultaby, Paney & Yartoo Stations, near Poochera.

Cyril’s father was a Sheep Station Manager and managed Chandada & Lake Everard Stations for Mr Hamilton.
Just after Cyril was born his parents purchased Penong Station and his father combined storekeeping with pastoral and agricultural pursuits on the 45,000 acre station.

At that time their was only a Managers House and Woolshed on the station and the following year the Murray Family opened the first Penong School in their Woolshed, which Cyril and his siblings attended.

The wool shed became the centre of social life in the Penong area until 1895 when the first Penong town blocks were sold by the government and the social centre then became the town.
Cyril’s’ father purchased a store and 8 blocks in the town.

The Woolshed School ran until 1899 when the government Penong School opened in a stone building which was a combined three roomed teacher’s house and school room.

Cyril and his brothers became excellent horsemen and worked on the family station.

On the 31st of August 1903, Cyril’s eldest brother William was galloping after a horse on the station when he collided with the other horse and fell.
He never regained consciousness and died the following day.
They buried William in the Penong Station Cemetery.

In 1905 the Murray Family replaced their old station store with a store in the town on the site which later had the Penong Hotel built on it.

His father was a leader of the town and a great friend and supporter of the local Wirangu people.
On the 24th of February 1908 Cyril accompanied his father when he conducted an auction at Bookabie.
During the day his father became unwell and when they returned home his father became worse and the doctor was called, but unfortunately he died the following morning.
They buried him in the Penong Station Cemetery.

Cyril’s and his brothers then took over the running of the Station.

Cyril was a very good athlete and often won the Sheffield Shield Handicap that was held in the town.

With the outbreak of WW1 his youngest brother Alexander enlisted into the 3rd Light Horse Regiment (2201) on the 1st of December 1915 and embarked from Adelaide on board HMAT A68 Anchises on the 16th of March 1916.
Alexander later served with the 2nd Field Artillery Brigade, 116 Howitzer Battery and was awarded the Military Medal on the 28th of September 1917 for bravery in the field.

At the age of 26, Cyril enlisted into the AIF on the 17th of June 1917 in Adelaide and was allotted the service number 3670 and posted to B Company.
He listed his mother, of Wigham, Penong, as his next of kin.

Two weeks later he was transferred to C Company and then on the 1st of July he was posted to the 50th Battalion, 10th Reinforcements.

Cyril was granted pre embarkation leave and returned home to Penong for a week.

Cyril embarked from Port Melbourne on board HMAT A32 Themistocles on the 4th of August 1917.
He served in France and suffered a Gun Shot Wound to his right shoulder at Villers-Bretonneux on ANZAC Day 1918.

Whilst he was overseas his mother moved to Henry Street, Kilkenny.

Cyril embarked from England on board HT City of Exeter on the 12th of July 1919 and disembarked in Adelaide on the 21st of August.

On the 12th of September a welcome home social was tendered to Cyril and Alexander in the Penong Hall.

Cyril was discharged from the AIF on the 17th of December 1919.

Cyril married Fanny Alexandrina Bews ELLIS on the 3rd of February 1921 at the residence of Fanny’s parents in Rosewater, SA.
Fanny was the daughter of Arthur ELLIS & Margaret Jane BEWS and was born on the 27th of June 1890 in Middleton, SA.

They made their home on Penong Station and welcomed their first child; Colin Arthur, on the 26th of December 1922.
Garth Ellis was then born on the 16th of February 1924, followed by Leith Cowan, on the 28th of May 1925.

They finally welcomed a daughter; Bettie Valmai, on the 9th of August 1928.

On the evening of the 24th of September 1928, Cyril and the Hammond brothers were attending to a well about 7 miles from Penong.
One of the Hammond brothers was down the well and the other was letting Cyril down the well when the windlass broke, allowing Cyril to fall about 15 feet.
The well was about 35 feet deep and the barrel of the windlass fell down the well on top of Cyril.
Mr. G. H. Hammond drove into Penong and returned with the doctor and policeman and several others.
After he had been down the well about an hour, Cyril was hauled up and it was found that he was conscious, though weak.
He was badly bruised about the legs and some bones were broken in his left foot and 4 stitches were inserted in the back of his head.
Cyril was removed to the new Penong Hospital whilst the second Hammond brother escaped injury.

In early 1930 Cyril joined Lewis John Rogers’s survey party in the Roma District. He spent 12 months here carrying out detailed forest assessments and Working Plan surveys in the large State Forests within the headwaters of the Brisbane River.

Cyril then returned to Penong and became a Justice of the Peace.

In 1932 the Western Australia mail plane began to land in their paddocks at Penong when they rain into severe weather.

Cyril was President of the Penong Athletic and Aquatic Club and he made his tank, Anjutabie tank available to the swimmers.

With the outbreak of WW2 Fanny became the President of the Fighting Forces Comfort Fund at Penong.

With the history of military service in the family their eldest son Colin enlisted on the 28th of January 1942 (SX16854).

At the age of 51, Cyril enlisted into the VDC on the 27th of April 1942 and was posted to the 5th Battalion (Pt Lincoln).

Garth then enlisted into the RAAF on the 9th of December 1942 (121841) and Leith enlisted into the RAN on the 19th of January 1943 (R35106).

Cyril was discharged from the VDC on the 15th of November 1945 due to the disbandment of his Corps.

By 1947 Colin and Garth had returned from the war and were running Penong Station so Cyril & Fanny decided to move to Adelaide.
In February 1950 a farewell social was held in the Penong Hall for Cyril & Fanny as they were leaving the district for their new residence at 5 Moore Avenue, Hazelwood Park.

Cyril joined the Burnside RSL Sub-Branch and by 1965 they had moved to 19 Keyes Street, Lindon Park.
Fanny died on the 6th of December 1971 and was cremated in the Centennial Park Cemetery and interred in the Murray Family Cemetery, Penong Station.

Cyril died on the 12th of June 1979 in Myrtle Bank and was cremated in the Centennial Park Cemetery and interred in the Murray Family Cemetery, Penong Station.

Cyril is remembered in the South Australian Garden of Remembrance; Wall 10, Row A.

Military

WW1

At the age of 26, Cyril enlisted into the AIF on the 17th of June 1917 in Adelaide and was allotted the service number 3670 and posted to B Company.
He listed his mother, of Wigham, Penong, as his next of kin.

Two weeks later he was transferred to C Company and then on the 1st of July he was posted to the 50th Battalion, 10th Reinforcements.

Cyril embarked from Port Melbourne on board HMAT A32 Themistocles on the 4th of August 1917.

After sailing down through Port Philip Bay, by 3.45pm they were passing the Heads and there the seasickness began. His company was parading on the Boat deck and it was hard trying to keep their feet when they refused to keep in time with the rest of their body. There was also a peculiar internal feeling created through the see-sawing motion.
The first few hours of open sea were the worst – absolutely. Cyril wasn’t a bit sick but at times his legs refused to support him and he hit the deck several times, but time gave Cyril his sea legs.
They lost sight of Victoria at dusk and, with the exception of “Lights Out” an hour earlier than usual, nothing of importance happened to finish a day once in a lifetime.

The following day was mostly taken up in settling down on the Boat. The only interesting occurrence was a boat alarm where they had to get into life belts on the alarm and run to their allotted stations.

On Friday the 10th of August Cyril had guard duty for 24 hours and the next morning he woke up to another Friday 10th August.
Two Fridays in the one date in the one week was past their comprehension until they had it explained to them.
They were actually a day ahead of London time and perforce they have to string on another day and then pull back 9 hours during the trip to land at the correct time in London.

The burning question from the troops was, “Will they pay them a day extra or only for one Friday 10th?”

Nothing much happened until Tuesday the 14th when Sapper William James McPeak (7427), one of the tunnelers died at 5:50pm from Acute Transverse Myalitis.
Sapper McPeak was buried at sea the following morning, near the island of Rapa Nui, while 3 volleys were fired by some of his Company and the bugle sounded the Last Post – one of the most impressive scenes that Cyril had ever witnessed.

Two days later Cyril became ill with Influenza and was admitted into the ships hospital for 7 days.
On Saturday the 25th, Private Henry Bayley (7450) of the 6th Battalion found that he had had enough and disappeared over the side of the ship.
He had previously been in the ships hospital with Pleurisy for several days.
It caused some flutter right through the ship. Another soldier started talking to himself soon after and he was honoured with a continual guard of M.P. s who followed him every where.

They then travelled through the Panama Canal and arrived at Halifax on the 16th of September where they anchored for 5 days before sailing for Glasgow, Scotland.
Cyril disembarked in Glasgow on the 1st of October, entrained to Salisbury Plains and marched into the 13th Training Battalion in Codford, England the following day.

Upon arrival they underwent a medical examination and were placed into quarantine.
Training continued here and they spent Christmas 1917 here before Cyril proceeded to France on the 16th of January 1918.
Ten days later he was taken on strength with the 50th Battalion in the front line, near Manor Farm, south east of Ypres.
Three days later they were relieved and moved to Image Avenue where they were engaged in improving and wiring the support line until the 8th of February when they entrained to Ridgewood Camp.

Here they improved and drained the camp and supplied working parties on the defences in the forward area until the 28th when they moved to Kemmel Shelters Camp near Kemmel.

They then spent the early part of March here before moving to the Lillers area.

By this time the German Army had launched a major offensive on the Western Front and the 4th Division was deployed to defend positions south of the River Ancre in France.
On the 5th of April Cyril and his Battalion where at Dernancourt and they assisted in the repulse of the largest German attack mounted against Australian troops during the war.
The German threat persisted through April, and on ANZAC Day 1918 Cyril and his Battalion participated in the now- legendary attack to dislodge the enemy from Villers-Bretonneux.

It was on this day that Cyril suffered a Gun Shot Wound to his right shoulder and was admitted into the 2/3 Home Counties Field Ambulance and transferred to the 5th Casualty Clearing Station at Saleux.
He was then transferred to the 1st Australian General Hospital in Rouen 2 days later and the following day he was invalided to England on board HS Panama and admitted into the 5th Southern General Hospital in Portsmouth.

Cyril spent the next 4 weeks here before he was transferred to the 3rd Australian Auxiliary Hospital in Dartford on the 24th of May.
Four days later he was discharged to 2 weeks furlough and reported to No.4 Command Depot in Hurdcott on the 11th of June.

On the 7th of July he was posted to the Overseas Training Brigade and 3 weeks later he was transferred to the 3rd Training Brigade in Longbridge Deverill.
He was then transferred to the 12th Training Battalion in Codford on Command at the Signal School.
Cyril and the 12th Training Battalion then moved to Hurdcott on the 14th of September and was still here when the Armistice was signed on the 11th of November 1918.

The following day Cyril went AWOL for 10 days and upon his apprehension he was awarded 14 days Field Punishment No.2 and forfeited 28 days pay.
Then on the 12th of December he was attached to 1st Australian Dermatological Hospital in Bulford for duty.

Cyril spent the next 6 months here until the 10th of June 1919 when he was transferred to No.4 Group in Hurdcott, awaiting for his return to Australia.

Cyril embarked from England on board HT City of Exeter on the 12th of July 1919 and on the 26th of July he was admitted into the ships hospital suffering from a sprained knee.
He disembarked in Adelaide on the 21st of August and was discharged from the AIF on the 17th of December 1919.

Cyril was awarded the British War & Victory Medals.

WW2

At the age of 51, Cyril enlisted into the VDC on the 27th of April 1942 in Ceduna and was allotted the service number S70711 and posted to the 5th Battalion.
He listed his wife, of Penong, as his next of kin.

Cyril was discharged from the VDC on the 15th of November 1945 due to the disbandment of his Corps.