James Erskine Murray
James Erskine Murray (1810–1844)[1], lawyer, author, and adventurer in Borneo.[2]
James Murray was a son of seventh Baron Elibank, but by his second wife, [3] and not likely to inherit his title. He inserted Erskine in his name on marrying Isabella Erskine, a granddaughter of Lord Alva, in 1832 [4]. He was a lawyer at the Scottish bar and and author of a book [5] on travel in the Iberian_Peninsula. He took his family, including two sons and two daughters and a younger brother, Robert Dundas Murray, to Port Philip, Australia, in 1841[6]. It appears that he aspired to emulate James Brooke by establishing a settlement in Eastern Borneo, but he left Port Philip, ostensibly to trade, early in 1843, and headed for Hong Kong. There, he sold one ship, Warlock, and bought a 90 ton schooner, Young (or Yonge) Queen, and a 200 ton brig, Anna. The two ships entered the Mahakam River (then called Kutai) early in 1844 and sailed up to Tenggarong where he consulted the local Sultan. The situation turned ugly and the ships sailed under fire, in the course of which Murray was killed, but the ships escaped [7]. Edward Belcher surveying the east coast of Borneo not long after reflected:
"what might have been the result of poor Murray's expedition, had he selected either the Pantai or Bulungan instead of the Kotai?" [8]
and one of his midshipmen, Frank Marryat also recalled Murray's ship being fitted out in Hong Kong, together with subsequently meeting a survivor, Captain Hart[9]. Hart and others provided the details for an account by the younger brother of George Gliddon, William A. Gliddon, describing how the Rajah of Sarawak had rebuffed a proposal by Murray to join his enterprise; how Murray had arrived at Coti with his ships; how the Sultan had agreed to trade, but declined to allow Murray to settle; and how he had been compelled to retreat under fire. The expedition ended chillingly for Murray:
"..Two words he uttered -- “My God!” and then fell dead on the deck. Captain Hart succeeded to the command, and his adroit seamanship managed to save the brig and schooner." [10]
The story was later written up from the account of another survivor by W Cave Thomas[11] and has been studied in the context of the development of the Dutch East Indies [12], provoking the Dutch to oblige the Sultan to sign a treaty acknowledging their overall sovereignty over Kutei in 1845[13], and of the British involvement in Borneo[14].
References
- ↑ "Obituary, in The Gentleman's Magazine, September, 1844, pp.316-317". 1844.
- ↑ Pearn,B.R. "Erskine Murray's Fatal Adventure in Borneo, 1843-44 in Indonesia No. 7, pp.20-32". JSTOR 3350801.
- ↑ "Alexander "7th Lord Elibank" Murray". Retrieved 7 September 2020.
- ↑ "Family History of Philip Wilson". Retrieved 7 September 2020.
- ↑ A Summer in the Pyreees. 1837. Search this book on
- ↑ "A Fatal Adventure".
- ↑ Wm.Sael, Surgeon to the Expedition. "Death of Mr.Erskine Murray in Morning Post, 19 September, 1844".
- ↑ Narrative of the Voyage of H.M.S Samarang, Vol.I, p.234 (1848). Search this book on
- ↑ Borneo and the Indian Archipelago, pp.44-45,229 (1848). Search this book on
- ↑ "Trade and Piracy in the Eastern Archipelago, part II, p.56 in Hunt's merchants' magazine and commercial review, v.25 (1851)".
- ↑ W.C.Cave Thomas (1893). Murray's Expedition to Borneo: An Episode in the Early Life of Edwin Robins Thomas. Search this book on
- ↑ Black,Ian. The "Lastposten": Eastern Kalimantan and the Dutch in the Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries in Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, Vol.16, pp.281-291. Search this book on
- ↑ Iem Brown. The Territories of Indonesia (2004). Search this book on
- ↑ Saunders,Graham. "James Erskine Murray's expeditions to Kutei, 1843-1844 in Brunei Museum Journal, Vol.6, pp.91-115 (1986)".
Category:1810 births
Category:1844 deaths
Category:Younger sons of barons
Category:History of Borneo
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