| William Murphy | |
| Constituency Am1: | Croydon |
| Assembly1: | Queensland Legislative |
| Term Start1: | 21 May 1904 |
| Term End1: | 18 May 1907 |
| Predecessor1: | Billy Browne |
| Successor1: | Vince Creagh |
| Term Start2: | 5 February 1908 |
| Term End2: | 27 April 1912 |
| Predecessor2: | Vince Creagh |
| Successor2: | Seat abolished |
| Constituency Am3: | Burke |
| Assembly3: | Queensland Legislative |
| Term Start3: | 27 April 1912 |
| Term End3: | 16 March 1918 |
| Predecessor3: | Charles Collins |
| Successor3: | Darby Riordan |
| Birth Date: | 1868 |
| Birth Place: | Mudgee, New South Wales, Australia |
| Death Date: | 23 October 1930 (aged 61 or 62) |
| Death Place: | Strathfield, New South Wales, Australia |
| Restingplace: | Rookwood Cemetery |
| Birthname: | William Sidney Murphy |
| Nationality: | Australian |
| Party: | Independent |
| Otherparty: | Kidstonites, Labour Party |
| Occupation: | Editor, Newspaper proprietor |
William Sidney Murphy[1] (1868 – 23 October 1930) was a newspaper proprietor and member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly.[2]
Murphy was born at Mudgee, New South Wales, to Edward Murphy and his wife Eliza (née Drane) and was educated in Mudgee and Sydney. By 1890 he was working as an editor for the Croydon Mining News and from 1892 until 1929 he was the proprietor.
Following the death of Billy Browne in 1904,[3] Murphy was elected to the Queensland Legislative Assembly as the member for Croydon.[4] He lost the seat at the 1907 state election to the Opposition Party's Vince Creagh[5] but at the 1908 state election he defeated Creagh to regain the seat.[6]
Murphy was the member for Croydon until 1912 when the seat was abolished. He subsequently won the seat of Burke[7] and remained its member until he was defeated by Darby Riordan in 1918.[8]
Although he started his political career representing the Labour Party, Murphy joined the Kidstonites in early 1908 for several months and then served the rest of his political career as an independent member of parliament.[2] In 1910 he was a member of the Royal Commission into the health of miners.[2]
Murphy died in Strathfield in 1930.[2] His funeral moved from Cross Street, Strathfield, to the Rookwood Cemetery.[9]