Murphy Brothers, Company

W. T. Murphy Bros. was established in 1888 by two enterprising brothers named William and John Edward Murphy. After working as sharefarmers in Quambatook, a prosperous wheat growing district, the two brothers brought the capital they had accumulated to Melbourne. Two shops were purchased in Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn, on the corner of the lane between Linda and Chrystobel Crescents. Here they started a grain and fodder business in the name of Murphy Bros. As most transport of the day was horse drawn, chaff, the basic constituent of horse feed, was an important commodity. The Murphy business drew readily on its country connection for this and other supplies. Soon it was supplying chaff to all the dairy cart-horses in the area like Balloch's bakery and, beyond to 'country' areas like Mont Albert and Box Hill where Black's dairy was one of Murphy's best customers. It took a whole day to take a load of chaff (about 40 bags) to Box Hill and to come back. Murphy's also kept oats and barley (to bring a horse into condition), lucerne chaff and grass hay, 'horse carrots' (big coarse or misshapen carrots) and, of course, everyone bought straw for their stables. For gardeners there were fertilizers; manure and Borthwick's Dried Blood. Murphys prospered in Glenferrie Rd, weathering the 1890's depression. As time went on the firm rented a shed on the corner of Auburn and Burwood Roads and later, in 1906, when the bank on the opposite corner shifted, they bought the premises and completely rebuilt it, opening as 'Murphy Bros. Grain Store' where Murphys has remained ever since.