George Matheson Murray

George Matheson Murray, (July 27, 1889 – August 19, 1961), known publicly as George Murray, was a publisher and politician in British Columbia in the first half of the 20th century. He played a role in the founding of the Boy Scouts of Canada. Murray is best known as the husband of Margaret Lally "Ma" Murray.

Originally a reporter for the Ottawa Citizen, Murray was schooled informally in politics by Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier, with whom he rode the streetcar to work every morning. After moving to British Columbia he started a weekly newspaper, The Chinook, from an office in South Vancouver. Murray was active in Liberal Party politics and local society. It was during this period that he hired (and later married) Margaret Lally. Unable to enlist during World War I due to health problems, he folded The Chinook for financial reasons and moved to Anmore (near Port Moody) and worked as a reporter and editor with the Vancouver News-Advertiser (predecessor of the Vancouver Sun). During the Murrays' time in Anmore, they launched Country Life (a magazine for rural women which was popular for many years). The Murray home in Anmore is the village hall, and Ma Murray Days are celebrated each September.

In Anmore, the Murrays arranged the funeral of Vancouver's pioneer bartender and longtime volunteer lifeguard Joe Fortes in 1922 with phone calls to their connections in town (including the bishop who had married them). They also promoted the construction and dedication of the Peace Arch and the international peace park at the Blaine border crossing in 1921.

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