The name Murphy Bros has been synonymous with the small township of Marrar since 1935. Over the past 50 years, the name has remained, but the proprietors, staff, and the goods and services offered have all changed. This paper will trace the development of the organisation over the past half century.
In 1922, Patrick Murphy opened an agency in Marrar. He acted as agent for a number of organisations including the Government Grain Elevators Silos, Prestcott's Chaff Mill and the Atlas Insurance Co. His office was situated in the main street of Marrar, York Street. The building, now used for storage purposes by Murphy Bros, stands beside the local CWA rooms. The business was probably best described as a "small town commission agency", dealing in any item that could possibly be sold.
On his death in 1935, the business was carried on by two of Patrick's sons, Noel and Kevin Murphy and it was here that Murphy Bros was formed. The business operated at basically the same level as it had in the 1920's, with Noel in charge of most of the agency work, in particular Prestcott's and the silo agency, while Kevin did any farm work or odd jobs to supplement the income of the business. Although records for this period were not kept, it is believed that Murphy Bros recorded a taxable income of approximately 100 pounds in their first year of business. In 1939 Kevin joined the Army, and Noel remained at home to run the business until Kevin's return.
In 1941, the headquarters of Murphy Bros was moved to L.M. Redgrave's "Pioneer Store" situated at the western end of York Street. Mr. Redgrave suggested that if the Murphy Bros office was moved into his store, Noel could then be available for part-time work in the store, but at the same time continue to operate the Murphy Bros Agency. For Murphy Bros. this meant extra income in otherwise hard times, so the offer was accepted.
In 1942 the partnership between Noel and Kevin ended when Kevin was reported missing, presumed killed with the 8th Division in Malaya.
Not long after that time, the proprietor of the "Pioneer Store", Mr. L. M. Redgrave, offered to sell the store to Noel Murphy and one of his younger brothers, Bryan. Bryan, who was in the Army at the time, was granted leave to come home and check the proposition. A suitable arrangement was made and the deal sealed. Both brothers pooled their savings and purchased the business. The agreement was that Noel should open the new business in August 1942 and run it until Bryan was discharged from the Army. At that time, if it was considered that the business could be expanded and made worthwhile, a partnership was to be formed. Bryan was discharged from the Army in early 1946 and on his return, worked for the business until June 30.
On July 1, 1946 the new partnership was formed, trading under the name
of Murphy Bros. At this stage the business comprised:
1. The agency covering Prestcott's Chaff Mill, Vacuum Petroleum & Oil
(now Mobil), Atlas Insurance, South British Insurance (now New Zealand Insurance),
Bonzer Cool Safes, Government Grain Elevators Silo, the resale of oats and
the resale of wheat and chaff bags;
2. The store with groceries, hardware and H.V. McKay Machinery (now Massey
Ferguson).
Attachment 1 shows the tax return for Murphy Bros for the period July 1, 1946 to June 30, 1947.
The work of each partner was outlined in a letter to the Department of
Taxation dated 1/4/48. It read:
"N.P. Murphy: Wheat handling for Government Grain Elevators, main part
of agency business and canvassing, some deliveries and counter work, about
half of office work.
B.T. Murphy: Main part of buying, pricing etc. and general supervision
of store, some agency business, canvassing and delivering, and about half
of office work."
It is worth noting however, that each partner was familiar with the other's area of operation, as both were away from the shop at different times of the year. It was necessary for Noel to be away when the silos were open, and at other times when canvassing for business on machinery or other agency lines. Bryan, on the other hand, made regular trips to Sydney. The reason for the trips was that after World War II many items were in short supply and the only way to get a fair quota of these goods to Marrar was to present yourself at the warehouses and demand the goods needed. These trips to Sydney continued until the early 1950's.
In the late 1940's, Prestcott's sold their chaff mill and the silo agency was relinquished because of its lack of profit. Something new was now needed to boost operations for the business. The "boost" came in the form of subterranean clover seed. The seed was brought across from Western Australia and initially sold on a retail basis through local canvassing and advertising in The Land newspaper. The idea of using clover for pasture improvement was still a new and relatively untried method in New South Wales. The Murphy brothers made up small 10-lb lots of seed in sugar bags and sold them to the local farmers to try. The advertisements in The Land read: “sold in broken quantities to suit the customer's needs".
With widespread canvassing and advertising, the clover section of the business continued to grow to the extent that a separate wholesale section was established to cater for resellers.
In order to overcome loss of sales due to slow rail delivery (up to 3 weeks) in the Dubbo area, a depot was opened at Dubbo. Usually between 20 and 30 ton of seed would be kept at the depot depending on seasonal conditions and demand. The depot still operates today.
The clover seed section of the business continued to grow, with large orders of seed being sold by tender to France and South America during the late 1960's and 1970's.
In 1949 it was realised that the business had to expand if it was to continue supporting both partners. The two partners considered buying a number of stores, similar to their own, in the neighbouring towns of Coolamon, Illabo and Matong, but were either unable or unwilling to make a deal.
This was probably fortunate, as in 1950 they were able to purchase "Kelly's Busy Store" at Marrar. The "Busy Store" was the only other general store in the town and it spread the range of departments for Murphy Bros to include newsagency, drapery and footwear. This store was situated at the eastern end of York Street. With the acquisition of the new store, some re-organising was carried out in 1951 (see Attachment 2). The business employed 4 people in the Pioneer Store and 2 in the Busy Store, with casual labour used from time to time.
There were no major changes seen in the business operation from the early 1950's until 1972 when all the customer service points were moved into the Busy Store. The other premises (the Pioneer Store) was retained for storage purposes only.
The centralising of all the departments into one building was seen as better utilisation of staff and management. At about the same time, to improve the business' buying power, the partners decided to join the Country Traders group (for grocery lines) and Combined Rural Traders (for farm supplies).
The partnership between Noel and Bryan Murphy ended in November 1974 when Noel was killed in a car accident. Murphy Bros, however, continued to operate on basically the same level as it had for the past few years. It was not until March 1977 when a number of the operations were sold, leaving just the hardware, farm supplies, clover seed, insurance and the Massey Ferguson sub-agency, that a new partnership was established. Bryan Murphy and his wife Moira formed that new partnership and they still trade as the proprietors of Murphy Bros today.
A number of general questions were put to Bryan Murphy, a partner of the firm since 1946.
(i) Why has Murphy Bros operated as a partnership since 1935?
A partnership was considered the most suitable form of business organisation.
At different times, professional advice had been sort as to whether a company
should be formed, and each time the advice was no. There were a number
of reasons for this, the main one dealing with Company Tax provisions.
(ii) Why a business of this kind?
When the business was first formed, times were hard, and young folk took
whatever jobs were available. There was no great calling in life, the
opportunity presented itself and the Murphys grabbed it.
(iii) Does the business operate largely on a cash basis or a credit basis?
Since 1935, the business has continued to operate on approximately 80% credit
and 20% cash of all sales. Most purchases have been on 30 day credit.
Even though the ratio of credit to cash sales has not varied over the past
50 years, the terms of credit have. Up until the mid 1950's, many farmers
would only pay their bills when they received their wool cheque or wheat
cheque. Since then, all have been converted to 30 day terms.
(iv) Over the life of the business, what were the number of employees and what work were they engaged in?
| 1946 to 1950 | 1 located in the Pioneer Store |
| 1950's to 1960's | 4 located in the Pioneer Store 2 located in the Busy Store |
| 1970 to 1972 | 3 located in the Pioneer Store 2 located in the Busy Store |
| 1972 to 1974 | With the move to the Busy Store, all 5 located there |
| 1974 to 1984 | 1 located in the Busy Store |
(v) We have seen the different types of activities the business has been
engaged in over the years. What was the relative importance of each?
Table 1 shows the percentage of total income generated by each activity over
certain periods. It should be remembered though, that these figures
varied from year to year, depending on seasonal conditions.
Table 2 helps give a more meaningful picture to the percentages mentioned
in the chart below.
Table 1. Percentage of total income generated by different business activities
| 1946 | 1947-50 | 1951-59 | 1960-69 | 1970-1977 | 1978-84 | |
| Prescott's Chaff Mill | 30% | |||||
| Silos | 20% | 10% | ||||
| Bonzer Cool Safes | 1% | |||||
| Resale of Oats | 5% | 5% | 2% | |||
| Resale of Bags | 4% | 4% | 3% | 1% | ||
| Vacuum - Mobil/Castrol | 5% | 8% | 8% | 8% | 8% | 2% |
| Insurance | 10% | 5% | 5% | 5% | 5% | 7% |
| Groceries | 10% | 10% | 20% | 20% | 20% | |
| Hardware & Produce | 5% | 30% | 20% | 21% | 25% | 46% |
| H.V.McKay/Massey Ferguson | 5% | 5% | 5% | 8% | 5% | 5% |
| Clover - Retail | 5% | 16% | 15% | 5% | 5% | 10% |
| Clover - Wholesale | 5% | 15% | 15% | 30% | ||
| Newsagency | 5% | 5% | 5% | |||
| Drapery | 5% | 10% | 10% | 10% | ||
| Footwear | 2% | 2% | 2% | 2% |
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For more information on Murphy Bros: Sale of Murphy Bros. was the end of an era in Marrar