Australian Dictionary of Biography entry:
Francis Murphy (1795–1858)
by Osmund Thorpe

This article was published in the Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 2, 1967, online in 2006.

Francis Murphy (1795-1858), Catholic bishop, was born on 20 May 1795 at Navan, County Meath, Ireland, the eldest son of Arthur Murphy, brewer and distiller, and his wife Bridget, née Flood. After education at St Finian's College in Navan he matriculated in June 1818 at the ecclesiastical seminary founded and maintained by the Irish government under George III. At this seminary, called St Patrick's but officially the Royal College of Maynooth, he was ordained deacon in 1824 and priest in 1825. He was among the first to benefit from the Dunboyne establishment for advanced ecclesiastical studies, and completed courses in theology and sacred scripture with such conspicuous success that he won from his contemporaries the title of doctor.

Formal studies ended, he volunteered for missionary work in England and was sent to minister to the Irish Catholic workers in the Bradford woollen mills, and their families. He soon proved a sound administrator and an able controversialist, publishing the closely reasoned Letter to … J. Taylor … in Reply to his … Attack on the Dedicatory Sermon Preached by … Dr Barnes, on the Opening of the New Catholic Chapel (Bradford, 1827). In 1827 he was transferred to St Patrick's Church in Liverpool.

In 1837, influenced by Dr William Ullathorne, he obtained permission to go to Australia for five years. He arrived in Sydney in July 1838 with other priests whom he had induced to follow his example. Almost immediately, because of the impending departure of Bishop John Bede Polding, he was appointed vicar-general with jurisdiction over the whole of Australia. In 1843 he was designated by Pope Gregory XVI to the new see of Adelaide. On 8 September 1844 he was consecrated in St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney, by Archbishop Polding assisted by Bishop Robert Willson and by Archdeacon John McEncroe, thus becoming the first bishop consecrated in Australasia.

The bishop sailed for Adelaide in the Mary White in October with one priest and two schoolteachers, calling at Port Phillip where he officiated at the first Pontifical High Mass celebrated in Melbourne. On 26 December he wrote from Adelaide, 'I found my Mission utterly destitute of church, chapel or school. The only priest in the Colony was obliged to celebrate Mass in a large storehouse'. Relief came unexpectedly with a gift of 500 rural acres (202 ha) and £2000 from William Leigh of Little Aston Hall, Staffordshire. With an annual subsidy of £490 from the Society for the Propagation of the Faith at Lyons and small subscriptions from his own flock who were mostly unskilled labourers, he was able to build a large schoolroom which was also used as a church called St Patrick's, and which was his pro-cathedral during his episcopate. He also built a stone house for himself and his clergy. In February 1846 he went to Europe in search of priests for his diocese and returned in July 1847. While in England he obtained from Charles Hansom, brother of Joseph of hansom cab fame, a model and plans of a cathedral for Adelaide. The foundation stone was laid on 17 March 1856. Many of his flock who joined the gold rush to Victoria sent their gold to him to sell and hold in trust or buy land for them. The return of these diggers brought some prosperity to the diocese.

Bishop Murphy was tall and sandy-haired with a fine sonorous voice that drew crowds, non-Catholic as well as Catholic, to hear him preach. His pulpit utterances about what Catholics did not believe amazed Protestants and led them to conclude 'that he would either become a Protestant or effect a union between the Romanists and the English branch of the Catholic Church'. His insistence on the pledge to avoid alcohol encouraged Protestants to revive their own temperance societies. He was naturally quick-tempered but easily appeased, and because of the warmth of his personality and the integrity of his judgment was highly regarded by his brother priests. It was partly through his exertions that the long-standing dispute between Bishop Willson and Father John Joseph Therry was finally settled in 1857. He returned from a visit to Hobart Town in weakened health and died of pulmonary tuberculosis on 26 April 1858, and was buried in the unfinished St Francis Xavier's Cathedral.

Though always an ardent educationist Bishop Murphy will be better remembered as a church builder. In December 1857 his last report to Rome summed up his work: 'Twelve churches and six chapels have been built in the diocese, and two others are being built as well as a magnificent cathedral'.

Select Bibliography

F. Byrne, History of the Catholic Church in South Australia (Adel, 1896)
H. N. Birt, Benedictine Pioneers in Australia, vol 2 (Lond, 1911)
F. Murphy journal (Archdiocesan Archives, Adelaide)
Therry papers (Canisius College, Pymble)
Society for the Propagation of the Faith, Archives (Rome, Fribourg)
Benedictine Abbey, Downside, Archives.

Citation details
Osmund Thorpe, 'Murphy, Francis (1795–1858)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/murphy-francis-2493/text3359, published first in hardcopy 1967, accessed online 1 July 2025.

This article was published in hardcopy in Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 2, (Melbourne University Press), 1967.

Reproduced by permission of Australian Dictionary of Biography. Original biography: https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/murphy-francis-2493.

---

St. Mary's Cathedral, Commercial Journal and Advertiser, Sydney, 21 July 1838, p 2, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article226458649:

We understand that the Rev. Francis Murphy, preaches in St. Mary's to-morrow, on which occasion there will be a solemn High Mass; we would recommend the erection of a temporary pulpit in such part of the chapel as would enable the congregation to do justice to the talent of this eloquent preacher.

---

Embarkation of the Right Reverend Bishop, Australasian Chronicle, Sydney, 17 November 1840, pp 2-3, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article31729867:

The event which we have this day to record—destined to be a memorable one in the ecclesiastical history of our adopted country—must on the present occasion take precedence of, and absorb all other topics. Our great and good Bishop [Polding], his highly talented Vicar General [Ullathorne], and his domestic Chaplain, have all left our shores on their voyage to Europe, honoured indeed by every mark of respect that a loving and faithful people could devise, but amid honors not unmixed with sadness deep and heartfelt. [...] It was the intention of his Lordship to embark on Saturday last, but at the urgent request of the Catholic Committee, who were engaged in getting up a memorial and token of that respect in which the Bishop and his Vicar General are universally held, his Lordship consented to defer his embarkation till yesterday; and our prelate, whose zeal knows no relaxation, embraced the opportunity of conferring on Sunday the sacrament of confirmation on a number of children and adults who had not been sufficiently prepared on Sunday, the 1st instant, for that great duty. A pontifical high mass was celebrated in the cathedral, at which the Rev. Dean Brady officiated as assistant priest, the Very Rev. Vicar General Murphy as deacon, and the Rev. Joseph Platt as subdeacon. The Rev. Messrs. Mahony, Lynch, and Grant assisted in surplices and stoles. [...] The Attorney General having vacated the chair, which was taken by the Very Reverend Vicar General Murphy, [...]

---

Death of Bishop Murphy, South Australian Register, Adelaide, 27 April 1858, p 2, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article49771523:

It seldom falls to the lot of the journalist to record the death of a dignitary so universally regretted as that of Bishop Murphy. In a community composed of such various sectarian elements it is no small praise to say that he held his high position for fourteen years without having made an enemy or engaged in a quarrel. To the general public he was known as a liberal, enlightened, and active colonist, and esteemed as an amiable and unobtrusive ecclesiastic. By his own flock, especially the poor and afflicted, he was regarded with the love and veneration of a father, friend, and pastor. His character exhibited a rare combination of talent and virtue. He was sagacious yet simple-minded —he was learned without pedantry— he was eloquent and astute without a particle of that arrogance which too often dims the brilliancy and mars the usefulness of Intellectual gifts. He was charitable without ostentation ; and while pure and self-denying to a marvel, he was considerate to the weak and compassionate to the erring. The great object of his life was to serve with modest earnestness his Divine Master in the onerous position to which he was called; and the memory of his inoffensive and useful career will long live in the hearts of his sorrowing flock, and in the mind of the community of which he was such an estimable member. We had purposed to compile from our own resources a biographical notice of Bishop Murphy, but before we commenced the task the following article was handed to us for publication. It comes from a source most likely to be well informed, and best able to speak with authority on many matters intimately connected with the life and labours of the deceased prelate:—

Our fellow-colonists will hear with deep regret of the death of the Right Rev. Francis Murphy, Roman Catholic Bishop of Adelaide, which took place yesterday at 10 minutes to 12 o'clock noon, after a long and painful illness, which he bore with the most exemplary fortitude. For some time past it had been generally understood that the chances of his recovery were very small, so that his death could scarcely be said to have excited much surprise ; but we are sure that we express the feelings of all those who were acquainted with him when we say that deep and most sincere sorrow will be everywhere felt for his loss. As one who, while he was in life, laboured most earnestly for the social advancement of the colony, his decease must be generally felt; but the poor, the sick, and the needy, and the suffering patients at the Hospital, have lost in him a benevolent father, who knew so well how to temper his kind words of consolation with a cheerfulness that made them realize how sweet is the yoke of the Master he served. Dr. Murphy had been fourteen years among us, and only those who know what Adelaide was fourteen years ago can fully understand the trials and hardships he must have gone through in taking charge of such a mission. It was not then as now, when there are Catholic churches and schools on every side, and many priests to look after large and attentive congregations. At that time there were not, perhaps, more than 1,500 Catholics in the whole colony, and these so poor and struggling, that whether they could support a Bishop and one priest, was a matter of great doubt. His position was a painful one. Totally unprovided with means, except a small sum (£150) subscribed for him by a few friends when he was leaving Sydney, he might, had he been less zealous or disinterested, have given up the attempt as hopeless; but he had taken up the mission, knowing its poverty beforehand, and with courage he tried to prosecute the work. He first hired a store in Pirie-street, which was, at most, able to accommodate about 100 persons. Here his labours began. The Very Rev. M. Ryan used to start on Sundays to Mount Barker (not at that time to be reached by a plain good road), while the Bishop performed all the town duty, often having to interrupt his ministrations to attend to some dying person, perhaps many miles away. In the course of time, however, things began to improve. Part of the small capital was spent in commencing the church at West-terrace, and in a short time the assistance of some charitable individuals brought the building happily to its completion. From thence, for some years the means at the disposal of his late Lordship gradually extended, and he had the satisfaction of seeing the mission so far flourishing as to give hope of its eventually being established on a firm footing. But the discovery of gold in Victoria, which brought universal depression in Adelaide, was a sad trial while it lasted. Everything which seemed going on well up to that time was brought to a standstill, and it became evident in a short time that there were not even means for the support of one clergyman in this city unless some extraordinary effort were made. Fortunately the Very Rev. M. Ryan hit upon the happy expedient of going to the Catholics of Adelaide on the diggings, and there obtained sufficient means for subsistence until better times dawned. From that time the affairs of the diocese have progressed under the able supervision of the Bishop, whose loss we deplore, until it has reached the flourishing state in which it is seen at present. About two years ago, as most of our readers are aware, Dr. Murphy was attacked by a pulmonary complaint, which seemed likely to terminate fatally. Contrary to the expectations of every one he recovered his health. About twelve months ago he went to Sydney on business for the diocese, and after remaining six months, during which he was able to arrange many affairs connected with other Australian dioceses, which were referred to his arbitration, he returned here. Only three days after his arrival he became conscious of the disease which terminated his life, and from the first he seemed aware that he would never recover. One wish, however, he seemed to have with regard to his life, and that was to see the cathedral (now building in Victoria- square) opened. "God's will be done," he used to say, "if that is not to be." The latter part of his illness was most painful, but all his pain seemed not for one moment to change the wonted placidity of his countenance. He preserved his faculties to the last with singular clearness, scarcely wandering in his mind even when in the height of fever. On the morning of his death he saw the most of his clergy, and in the most affectionate manner shook hands with them and bade them good-bye. After a short repose he slightly raised himself, and whispered out, "O my God, I am heartily sorry for all the sins by which I ever offended thy Divine Majesty," and then calmly, without a struggle, went to his rest. So peaceful was his death that not one of the clergy who were in the room, reading the recommendation of a departing soul, knew the precise moment at which he passed away. It is needless to add any comment on his many virtues, which are so universally known; but there is one point to be mentioned which shows how much he had the interest of his South Australian diocese at heart. Though he had been so many years in this colony, during which he had as many opportunities of enriching himself as any one, at the close of his life he was as poor as when he entered Adelaide, having employed all his property for improving the mission, consequently for the benefit of South Australia.

Dr. Murphy was born at Navan, County of Meath, Ireland, on the 20th May, 1795. He studied at Maynooth, and was so successful in his theological classes that he obtained a scholarship at the Dunboyne establishment. He was raised to the deaconate in 1824, and in 1825 was ordained a priest by Archbishop Murray of Dublin. His first mission was at Bradford, in Yorkshire, and after four years he was removed to St. Ann's, Toxteth Park, Liverpool. He arrived in Sydney in 1838, and after a short time succeeded Dr. Ullathorne (now Bishop of Birmingham) as Vicar-General, where he endeared himself much to the Government and inhabitants by his zeal and kind affability. He was consecrated a Bishop on the 8th September, 1844, by Archbishop Polding, assisted by Bishop Wilson, of Hobart Town ; and what has been his life since that time, the heartfelt sorrow with which the announcement of his death will be received will, we are sure, sufficiently show. In a colony like this which is advancing so rapidly, we cannot but mourn that the generation of those who struggled to help it forward in the commencement are rapidly passing away; and as we see them falling around us we cannot refrain from casting a retrospective glance at the time when things, were far different from what they are now. Dr. Murphy's first church is now a brewery and even the chapel on West-terrace, which took its place, is falling away; but in its stead there towers a cathedral in Victoria-square which will be an ornament and even a boast for this city to possess, and which poor Bishop Murphy saw almost completed. More than this : after many years patient labour, he had the happiness of knowing that there were 21 Catholic churches in the colony, and of seeing 13 priests around him in his latter days. Fourteen years was a short time, but in that brief space it is seen that he accomplished much; and when we remember how he laboured, how kindly he assisted the poor, and how assiduously he attended the sick, our grief at his loss is stopped by remembering that he is gone to One who will not allow even a glass of water given in his name to go unrewarded.

---

Funeral of Bishop Murphy, South Australian Register, Adelaide, 29 April 1858, p 2, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article49774329:

The mortal remains of this venerable prelate were interred, on Wednesday, in the ecclesiastical vault, constructed beneath the floor of the Cathedral of St. Francis Xavier. It is situated in the centre of the nave, near the intended site of the great altar. At 11 o'clock in the forenoon a solemn dirge was chanted in the West-terrace Chapel, and the Rev. Mr. Smith delivered an eloquent and impressive funeral sermon. At 4 o'clock, the hour appointed for the departure of the mournful procession from the Church, West-terrace, an immense concourse had assembled in the vicinity to follow it to the Cathedral. A great number of carriages were drawn up in Grote-street in order to follow the hearse. A strong detachment of military arrived just before the body (which had lain in state in the Chapel until that morning) was removed to the hearse. As tbe carriages defiled into West-terrace, the observer could notice that among their occupants were a large proportion of the wealth and respectability of South Australia. The procession slowly wended its way along West-terrace to Weymouth- street, gathering immense accessions as it proceeded. It turned up King William-street, and so on by Victoria- square to the new Cathedral of St. Francis Xavier. There were then many thousand persons following tbe cortege, and it was found impossible to admit the crowd indiscriminately into the Cathedral. The police posted at the entrance acted with admirable firmness and forbearance, and to their prudent conduct the fact that no accident occurred may be mainly attributed. A desire to enter the sacred edifice was exhibited, notwithstanding the pressure of the crowd, by numbers of females, and many with children in their arms testified by their presence their respect for the deceased prelate. The hearse was driven within the Cathedral enclosure, and the coffin, covered with plain black cloth, was carried to the vault. There was a brass plate on the coffin, deeply engraved with the following inscription:—
FRANCISCUS MURPHY,
Primus Adelaidensis Episcopus,
Natus die XX Maii anno reparatae salutis,
MDCCXCV.
Obdormivit in Domino die xxvi, Aprilis,
MDCCCLVIII.
Requiescat in Pace.
A cross surmounted the plate, bearing the letters IHS. When the coffin was brought to the vault, the burial service of the Roman Catholic Church proper to the occasion was read by the Rev. Mr. Smith, assisted by a great number of priests and acolytes. The weather, which was gloomy and threatening during the day, broke while the procession was on its way to the Cathedral, but the heavy downfall of rain occasioned no perceptible diminution in the numbers who followed the remains of the good Bishop Murphy to his last earthly resting place, and during the solemnities many exhibited unmistakable evidence of the sincerity of their sorrow for his loss.