William Montague Murray
William Montague Murray (1820 – 1880) was not primarily a magician, though magic did form some of his repertoire. From his origins in Glasgow, Scotland, as William Murray he moved to New Zealand as a tailor and aspiring innkeeper, then on to Australia where, in the central districts of New South Wales he made a reputation with the adopted name “Montague Murray” as a “Scottish Comedian and Comic Humorist”, and leading ‘Professor Montague Murray’s Ballet and Dramatic Troupe.’ Ultimately he settled in the district of Hay, NSW, where he was both a gentlemen’s outfitter and a prominent advocate in public affairs.
William Montague Murray
The sometimes erratic and combative life of Murray is well documented by his descendants, at
http://www.johnfamilyhistory.esco.net.au/Murray.htm , so it is only necessary here to document the magic content of his career and to add a story not mentioned in the family record.
Occasionally referred to as ‘The Great Wizard of Caledonia’, Montague Murray was travelling with a general troupe of entertainers including singers, comedians, ballet and clog dancers, also enacting farces and dramatic pieces. Whether he was performing any magic in the late 1850s is not known, but in August 1860 he came up against the Wizard James Eagle with a cheeky and somewhat transparent burglary attempt:
Inglewood Advertiser, August 3, 1860 -
"A rather amusing case was heard at our police court on Tuesday last, concerning an 'inexhaustible bottle' and other magic articles, the property of Professor Eagle, the Wizard of the World. It appears that after the conclusion of a Saturday night's performance by the Professor, at the Dunolly Hotel, he left his magic properties upon the stage, and on returning to them on the following Monday, found that an inexhaustible bottle, a magic pistol and vase, and a canister were missing. Suspicion was soon around against Professor Montague, another wizard who, in company with Mr. Wallack, was performing at Kingower, and a warrant was issued for their apprehension. On receiving the warrant, the constable at one proceeded to the place where the entertainment was just then commencing, and going on to the stage, arrested the Professor and Mr. Wallack on a charge of stealing the articles with which he was then performing.
August 21, 1862 Aug 21 - note the presence also of R.J.Osborne
The result was, the entertainment was brought to an untimely end, the audience being disappointed of their nobbler from the inexhaustible bottle, became clamorous, and the money taken at the doors was returned to them, and the prisoners taken to the lock-up. On their appearance at our police court, the articles were produced, and a great amount of curiosity was evinced by the legal gentlemen at the table to inquire into the magic of the prolific bottle, much to the fear and annoyance of Professor Eagle, who was evidently expecting to see the secret of his magic exposed to the public gaze.
The charge against Montague was proved, and he was committed for trial, but the evidence against Wallack was not so conclusive, and the magistrate dismissed him."
For stealing the apparatus (specially crafted in Birmingham ten years beforehand), Professor Montague received a sentence of twelve months imprisonment with hard labour. (1) It seems that he served this sentence, as his advertising does not reappear until February 1862.
However in 1862 he was back in business, advertising “The Boy that Sleeps in the Air” (the Robert-Houdin suspension trick), probably using his son, Harry (possibly born 1856).
The Maitland Mercury & Hunter River General Advertiser 14 November 1865
… During the interlude a mesmeric performance took place. A child, apparently eight or nine years of age, is shown standing on a chair. Under the left arm is an upright stick or support, having feet to keep it steady; a similar stick without feet is then placed under the right arm, next certain supposed mesmeric passes are made, the child opens and shuts its eyes, and at last the head falls on the right shoulder, as if asleep; the chair is removed, and the child appears without any support, save the two upright sticks; one of those being removed, the child appears supported by one only. The body is then placed in a recumbent position, and remains so without any other support than the one stick.
Advertising in Goulburn, 1862, and an illustration of a pose taken in the “Aerial Suspension” illusion.[Professor De Vere Le Fakir et sa Fille Enchantee Miss Lily Edith. London c. 1865]
The Sleeping Boy illusion continued to be used until at least 1867, and also from 1862 advertisements featured “the Extraordinary Clairvoyant or Double-Sighted Lady”. It may be that the role of the psychic lady was taken, in later years, by Miss Marion Melville, who was always hailed by the press as the star of the show, and continued to be a successful performer in her own right almost to the end of the century.
In April 1872, in Hay NSW, Murray advertised a performance of the “Wonderful Bullet Gun Trick”, though it is not certain that he had made this a regular feature of his shows. He had, in fact, declared insolvency in 1870, and was later charged with falsifying this insolvency although the charge was dismissed.
April 24, 1872
Following Murray’s death in early 1880, the Riverine Grazier wrote:
"Mr Murray's previous business of catering for public amusement, took him every place where men do congregate. His pleasant buoyant and impulsive ways will be missed, for both at public meetings, and in private, he spoke out with an eagerness, fluency and wit, that compelled attention whether his audience believed him right or wrong."
(1) Quoted from
The source materials are not digitally available, but include the Victoria Police Gazette, 2/8/1860, and Maryborough and Dunolly Advertiser newspaper 8/8/1860.