death_date nationality birth_date birthname constituency_am term_end restingplace alma_mater death_place term_start spouse name occupation predecessor birth_place assembly party successor religion article_title
21 june 1984 australian 6 august 1936 denis joseph murphy stafford 21 june 1984 mooloolah cemetery university of queensland , duke university brisbane , queensland , australia 22 october 1983 gwendoline may butcher -lrb- m. 1959 -rrb- dr. denis murphy academic , historian , school teacher terry gygar nambour , queensland , australia queensland legislative australian labor party terry gygar roman catholic denis murphy -lrb- australian politician -rrb-

denis murphy -lrb- australian politician -rrb-

dr. denis joseph murphy -lrb- 6 august 1936 in nambour , queensland -- 21 june 1984 -rrb- , was an australian labor party politician , historian and biographer .
murphy taught as an academic at the university of queensland , writing extensively on the history of labor in that state .
along with peter beattie , he was the leading figure in the push during the late 1970s to have the queensland branch of the party reformed .
after the success of the reform movement , and intervention from the party 's federal headquarters , he became state branch president .
he was elected to the parliament of queensland for the electorate of stafford at the 1983 state election .
murphy completed biographies on a number of queensland alp figures , notably thomas j. ryan and bill hayden .
he was working on a biography of andrew fisher before his death .
murphy was diagnosed with cancer in 1983 and died in 1984 , aged 47 .
he died before having the opportunity to make a speech as a member of parliament .
