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From helping the poor of Cambodia and Afghanistan to leading Rutherglen's council and RSL sub-branch - Brian Murtagh was as global as he was local. A career soldier who
later provided aid across Asia and the South Pacific, he died at Browns Plains early on
Saturday 25th May at the age of 79.
Mr Murtagh served for 12 years on Rutherglen Shire with six of those years as president, the equivalent of mayor. In 20 11-12 he was president of the Rutherglen RSL Sub Branch, but
he believed his greatest achievement was helping in the 1990s to resettle 300,000
Cambodian refugees in their homeland after war displaced them in Thailand.
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In all Mr Murtagh was involved in more than 40 overseas aid assignments after his
retirement from the Army. He was a great man, a great humanitarian, Rutherglen RSL
Sub Branch Secretary David Martin said He was a bit of an adventurer and enjoyed going
around the world helping pople
Peter Graham, who served alongside Mr Murtagh on Rutherglen Shire, said his former
colleague was the last shire president before Rutherglen Shire was folded into Indigo Shire.
He will be sadly missed around the place, Mr Graham said. He's got a great reputation,
he was known far and wide and he was an interesting person to know and widely involved
in things.
Brian Neil Murtagh was born in Melbourne on 31s t May 1933, the eldest of two
children. After leaving school, he spent four years completing officer training at the
Royal Military College, Duntroon and joined the Australian Army's artillery division
upon graduating.
Mr Murtagh was involved in the Malayan Emergency in 1957, a time when he also met his
wife Betty, who grew up at Browns Plains. They wed in Malaya in 1959 and raised four
children, Christine, Timothy, Julianne and Michael. Various postings took him around.Australia, including a stint in Hobart which involved him coordinating
the efforts of 1400
soldiers who helped fight bushfires in 1967.
Mr Murtagh then served in the Vietnam War from 1968-69 as a major, participating in the Battle of Coral-Balmoral as part of the 12th Field Regiment. He has received mentions
in dispatches for his distinguished service in the Vietnam conflict.
Mr Murtagh retired from the Army in 1981 as a lieutenant colonel and focused on
international aid. In addition to his Cambodian work, Mr Murtagh worked in Afghanistan
as· a logi s t i c co-coordinator for Oxfam and as s i s t ed in the response to the 2004
Boxing Day tsunami in the Maldives and Aceh.
Mr Murtagh's funeral was held on Friday 31st May at
Rutherglen, with his military medals displayed and a guard of honour formed by comrades.
It would have been his 80th birthday.
Mr Murtagh is survived by his wife, children and eight grandchildren. He will be sadly
missed ... He's got a great reputation, he was known far and wide and he was an interesting
person to know and widely involved in things. |