Alexander Borthwick Murray

Alexander Borthwick Murray (14 February 1816 – 17 March 1903) was an Australian sheep breeder and parliamentarian in the early days of South Australia. He married his business partner Margaret Tinline after they had established a successful sheep business.

Murray was born at Langshall Burn, in the parish of Eskdalemuir, Dumfriesshire, Scotland. After spending six years acclimatizing Cheviot sheep to the highlands of Inverness and Ross-shire he emigrated as a full fare-paying passenger in the Lady Lillford to South Australia, arriving at Holdfast Bay on 27 September 1839.

He was contracted by Sir James Malcolm, a distant relative, to assist his eldest son William Oliver Malcolm (died 19 August 1865) in the care of sheep on his Barossa property, where he worked for fifteen months with considerable success, got them into such fine order that they took a prize at the first pastoral show in South Australia. This exhibition was held at the Horseshoe (Noarlunga), under the auspices of the South Australian Company. In 1842 he married Charlotte Murthwaite Scott in Sydney, and on his return with his new wife and her sister (who later married brother P. M. Murray), began wheat farming on the property "Murray Vale" he had purchased by special survey at Mount Crawford. His efforts were met with problems of smut, cost of transport to the mill at Kent Town, and low prices brought about by the then recession, and he decided wheat farming was not for him. The sheep, cattle and horses he bred at Murray Vale were successfully exhibited at country shows.

In partnership with his sister-in-law (afterwards Mrs. P. M. Murray), Murray purchased merino ewes and a ram from Duncan McFarlane, of Mount Barker which had been bred in New South Wales by James and Duncan McFarlane. These sheep formed the nucleus of the celebrated Murray flocks. His brother, John Murray, who arrived in South Australia on 5 September 1841, purchased part of his brother's land in the Barossa and half of his brother's share of the livestock.

A special survey taken out by Robert Cock was stocked with sheep by Murray, Cock and John Warren, and met with considerable success.

Murray subsequently founded a cattle station near Warrina, west of Lake Eyre, and another at Bookpurnong, on the River Murray, which he purchased from Richard Holland of Turretfield. This station was only profitable for a few years before it was overrun with rabbits and he never renewed the lease.

Murray ran sheep on Myrtle Springs and, in partnership with Leonard G. Browne (who for many years owned Buckland Park Estate), one at Leigh's Creek, but lost money prospecting for water, relinquished his interest in these properties. He decided against further investment in the north of the state, a finding later codified as the Goyder Line.

He and John Howard Angas formed a partnership A. B. Goyder and Co. which invested in land including the Reedy Creek survey and developed the Tungkillo area of Mount Crawford. On 1 November 1859 they dissolved the partnership and sold off their entire stock and properties (freehold, leasehold, special survey and rights of pasturage) at Tungkillo as well as Pernong (Purnong) and other squatting properties on the River Murray. This may be seen as a consolidation on Murray's part, as he soon purchased a number of newly released blocks in the Tungkillo region.