The University of Queensland

The Fisher research material collected by Murphy is one of the most interesting components of the Denis Murphy Collection. It includes political correspondence of Fisher, photographs, information about Fisher’s early life in Scotland and the handwritten memoirs of his daughter Margaret (Peggy) Fisher.

Andrew Fisher in Kilmarnock, Scotland, 1911

Denis Murphy’s biography of Queensland Labor Premier Thomas Joseph Ryan won the Foundation for Australian Literary Studies’ Colin Roderick Award in 1976. The Award is presented to the best book published in Australia which deals with any aspect of Australian life.

Ryan had joined the Labor Party in 1904, becoming Premier in 1915 to 1919 and leader of the first Queensland Labor government with a clear majority in the Legislative Assembly.

Ryan is well known for his stance against conscription during the World War I and particularly for the ‘Warwick Egg Incident’ in 1917.

During this incident Prime Minister Billy Hughes who supported conscription and was in the final days of the second conscription referendum campaign had his hat dislodged by eggs thrown from the crowd.

The media at the time exaggerated the incident, implying that the Prime Minister had been assaulted and had received no assistance from the police officer in charge. This in turn was interpreted as evidence of the lawlessness of the Queensland government.

Despite Hughes’ best efforts to tarnish Ryan’s reputation and canvas support for conscription, the second referendum was defeated by a larger majority than the first and Ryan became a hero to the anti-conscription movement.

A Labor politician in Queensland in the late nineteenth century, Turley was elected to Federal parliament as Senator in 1903. He was President of the Senate from 1910 to 1913 where he caused a minor upset by rejecting the official dress of his position in favour of ordinary clothing.

In the Denis Murphy Collection are several beautiful invitations sent to Turley during his membership of the Queensland Legislative Assembly in 1901.

This publication traces the influential strikes of 1889 to 1965 which shaped Queensland’s labour history. It documents the growth of the trade unions, the development of the arbitration system and changes in attitudes of government.

Edited by Murphy with contributions from Margaret Cribb, David Hall and others, The Big Strikes, published in 1983, was Murphy’s final publication.

Published as the successive volume to Prelude to Power: The Rise of the Labour Party in Queensland 1885-1915, Labor in Power covers a period of forty-three years during which the Labor party was almost continuously in office.

The book documents the organisation of the party when it came to power in 1915, outlines the party’s programs while in government and provided a detailed analysis of the Labor split in 1957.

Labor in Power was edited by Denis Murphy, Roger Joyce and Colin Hughes. Many of the illustrations and research material used in the book are included in the Denis Murphy Collection.

Edited by Denis Murphy and Roger Joyce, Queensland Political Portraits analyses the contributions of sixteen of the most significant figures in Queensland politics between 1859 and 1952.

Fourteen were premiers, George Ferguson Bowen was the first Governor and John Murtagh Macrossan was included because of his distinctive personality and to demonstrate the influence of north Queensland.

Apart from editing this book, Murphy contributed chapters on William Kidston, TJ Ryan and Edward Theodore.

In 1990 a new edition was published entitled The Premiers of Queensland. This edition was introduced by Margaret Cribb and included new chapters on Vincent Gair, George Nicklin and Johannes Bjelke-Petersen.