Individual Details

It is thought James may have been born in Dublin but we have found no documentation to support this. James moved to New Zealand as a retired army man. He had served with the British Army at various locations in the Empire and, having served his time, he qualified for a pension. However, the income from his pension would have been very low in post-famine Ireland so he took up a British government offer of a job in Auckland, New Zealand, assisting the local constabulary on a part-time basis to prepare against a potential Maori rebellion. He is also known to have worked as a gardener in Auckland.

When James's future wife, Johanna Cronin, arrived in New Zealand, her brother Timothy was to have met her off the ship. However, Timothy had apparently gone off to Thames, prospecting for gold, so he sent his friend James Murphy, above, to meet her. James was not known to Johanna at this time and the story goes that she refused to step off the ship until James returned to his lodgings and came back with a letter from Timothy confirming that James was indeed to collect her. Johanna and James were married three months later.

Birth	Abt 1826	Ireland
Marriage	23 Nov 1859	New Zealand - Johanna CRONIN
Death	28 Aug 1911	New Zealand
Burial		Waikaraka Cemetery, Auckland

Spouse	Johanna CRONIN (1842 - 1931)
Child	Ann (Annie) Maria MURPHY (1860 - 1934)
Child	Thomas William (Billy) MURPHY (1862 - 1939)
Child	John Joseph MURPHY (1864 - )
Child	Sarah Bridget MURPHY (1866 - 1914)
Child	James (Jimmy) Hugh MURPHY (1871 - 1897)
Child	Daniel Timothy (Tim) MURPHY (1873 - 1946)
Child	Ada MURPHY (1875 - 1957)
Child	Francis Joseph MURPHY (1879 - 1881)
Child	Elizabeth Helena (Lena, Ena) MURPHY (1880 - 1964)
Child	George Bernard (Bert) MURPHY (1883 - 1963)