Murray Hill (politician)

The Honourable
Murray Hill
AM
Hill on ABC's 'This Day Tonight', 1972.
Minister for Local Government
In office
17 April 1968  1 June 1970
Premier Steele Hall
Preceded by Stanley Bevan
Succeeded by Geoffrey Virgo
In office
18 September 1979  10 November 1982
Premier David Tonkin
Preceded by John Bannon
Succeeded by Terence Hemmings
Member of the South Australian Legislative Council
In office
4 December 1965  4 July 1988
Personal details
Born 2 July 1923
Glenelg, South Australia, Australia
Died 24 March 2003 (aged 79)
, Australia
Political party Liberal and Country League
Liberal Party of Australia
Spouse(s) Eunice Greenslade
Children The Hon. Robert Hill

Charles Murray Hill AM (2 July 1923 – 24 March 2003), generally known as Murray Hill, was a real estate agent and politician in the State of South Australia.

Biography

Hill was born in Glenelg, South Australia, a son of Theodore Charles Hill and his wife Heloise Margery Hill (née Winterbottom); later at Millswood Estate. He enlisted in the Royal Australian Navy in 1941 and served as a seaman during World War II. In 1946 he established Murray Hill & Co., real estate agents, with offices in Grenfell Street.[1]

In 1972 after the brutal murder of University of Adelaide law lecturer Dr George Duncan at a known gay beat at the hands of alleged police officers, and the significant public outrage that followed, Hill proceeded to introduce a private member’s bill, with implicit support from the Labor Party, on 26 July 1972 to amend the Criminal Law Consolidation Act that criminalised homosexuality, thus being the first serious attempt to decriminalise homosexuality in Australia.[2][3] While Hill's amendment was assented to on 9 November 1972, a further amendment weakened it to only allow a legal defense for homosexual acts committed in private. Labor member Peter Duncan went further however when, following an unsuccessful attempt to strengthen Hill's bill in 1973, introduced on 27 August 1975 an unaltered bill to the parliament, which was defeated twice and then reintroduced a third time before passing, making South Australia the first Australian State to fully decriminalise homosexuality.[4]

He served as Minister for Transport, Local Government and Roads from April 1968 to June 1970, then as Minister for Arts, Local Government and Housing from September 1979 to November 1982. He retired in July 1988.[5] In the 1990 Australia Day honours list, Hill was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for "service to the South Australian Parliament and to the community."[6]

Family

He married Eunice Greenslade of Colonel Light Gardens on 21 June 1944.

His son, Robert Hill, was a federal MP and Minister for Defence.[7]

References

  1. "Advertising.". The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1931 - 1954) (Adelaide, SA: National Library of Australia). 12 February 1946. p. 8. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
  2. Altman, Dennis (11 December 2012). "From a drowning to a celebration". Inside Story. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  3. "This Day Tonight: Violent death at gay beat in Adelaide triggers homosexual law reform" (VIDEO). abc/archives/80days. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 19 July 1972. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  4. "The Radical Dream: Social Reform in South Australia > Gay Rights". SA Memory. Government of South Australia. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  5. "Hon Murray Hill AM - Former Member of the Parliament of South Australia". parliament.sa.gov.au. Parliament of South Australia. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  6. "Australia Day 1990 Honours" (PDF). Commonwealth of Australia Gazette (S 17): 4. 26 January 1990.
  7. Wroe, David and Debelle, Penelope (31 July 2004). "Hill defends his record". The Age. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
Political offices
Preceded by
Stanley Bevan
Minister for Local Government
1968  1970
Succeeded by
Geoffrey Virgo
Preceded by
Alfred Kneebone
Minister for Transport
1968  1970
Succeeded by
Geoffrey Virgo
as Minister of Roads and Transport
Preceded by
Stanley Bevan
Minister for Roads
1968  1970
Preceded by
John Bannon
Minister for Local Government
1979  1982
Succeeded by
Terence Hemmings
New title Minister of Arts
1979  1982
Succeeded by
John Bannon
as Minister for the Arts
Preceded by
Ronald Payne
Minister for Housing
1979  1982
Succeeded by
Terence Hemmings
Preceded by
Des Corcoran
as Minister of Ethnic Affairs
Minister Assisting the Premier in Ethnic Affairs
1979  1982
Succeeded by
Christopher Sumner
as Minister of Ethnic Affairs