About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline

93 S. African L.J. 324 (1976)
The Late Sir John Murray

handle is hein.journals/soaf93 and id is 332 raw text is: NOTES AND COMMENTS
THE LATE SIR JOHN MURRAY
On Monday 10 May Sir John Murray Murray died at his home in
Plettenberg Bay. Many are the judges of South Africa who are remem-
bered not only with deep respect for their legal learning but also with
fond and abiding affection for their qualities as men. High in their
ranks stands Sir John Murray. Throughout the course of his long life
no one mentioned his name without remarking on his charm, his
helpfulness, his courtesy, his friendliness and his innate humanity.
But never did he allow his sympathy with the human lot to descend to
sentimentality. When need drove he obeyed the sternest of dictates
of duty. On the Bench, with his strikingly fine appearance and quiet
demeanour, he was the embodiment of the ideal qualities of a judge
expressed in Francis Bacon's essay 'Of Judicature'.
John Murray was born in Stellenbosch on 9 March 1888. He came
from a prominent South African family. His father was Charles
Murray, Superintendent of Education in the Cape Colony. His great-
grandfather was the famous Rev Andrew Murray. John Murray's
early education was at the Normal College School, Cape Town, and
the Victoria College (which later became the University of Stellen-
bosch). His achievements in examinations in classics for the degree of
Bachelor of Arts with Honours of the University of the Cape of
Good Hope led to his being awarded its Queen Victoria Scholarship.
That brought him to Worcester College, Oxford, where Robert
Warden Lee was a fellow and taught Roman-Dutch law. Murray
read successfully for the degrees of Bachelor of Arts with Honours in
Jurisprudence and Bachelor of Civil Law. After coming down from
Oxford he joined the Public Service in 1910. During the short period
he remained there he obtained the degree of Bachelor of Laws of the
University of the Cape of Good Hope. On his resignation from the
service Murray became registrar to Mr Justice De Villiers, Judge
President of the Transvaal Provincial Division. A year later he joined
the Pretoria Bar. In 1932 he took silk and on 15 February 1937 he
was elevated to the Transvaal Bench.
In 1955 Mr Justice Murray, then 67 years of age, was offered and
accepted the position of Chief Justice of Southern Rhodesia. He
assumed office on 1 August. On 14 August 1958 he was knighted.
Already his occupancy of a seat on the Southern Rhodesian Bench

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

profiles profiles most