THE TITLE EARL OF DUNMORE was created in 1686 for Lord Charles Murray, second son of John Murray, 1st Marquess of Atholl. He was made Lord Murray of Blair, Moulin and Tillimet (or Tullimet) and Viscount of Fincastle at the same time, also in the Peerage of Scotland. He was succeeded by his son, the second Earl. He was a General in the Army and sat in the House of Lords as a Scottish representative peer from 1713 to 1715 and from 1727 to 1752. His younger brother, William Murray, later to become the third Earl, was involved in the Jacobite rising of 1745 and was tried for high treason in 1746. Murray pleaded guilty but received a pardon from King George II and succeeded to the peerages when his brother died unmarried six years later.

The third Earl was succeeded by his son. The fourth Earl was a Scottish Representative Peer in the House of Lords from 1761 to 1774 and from 1776 to 1790 and served as colonial governor of New York, Virginia and the Bahamas. His tenure as governor of the New York and Virginia colonies was to end with the start of the American Revolution. Lord Dunmore's eldest son, the fifth Earl, briefly represented Liskeard in the House of Commons. In 1831 he was created Baron Dunmore, of Dunmore in the Forest of Athole in the County of Perth, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, which gave him and his descendants a permanent seat in the House of Lords.

George Murray, 5th Earl of Dunmore, bought the Estate of Harris from Alexander Norman Macleod for £60,000 in 1834. In 1839, the people of South Harris were ejected from their homes by armed soldiers and a posse of Glasgow policemen acting on orders from the government, at the behest of the Earl of Dunmore. The 6th Earl of Dunmore, Alexander Edward Murray, had inherited Harris upon the death of his father on 11th November 1836 and would in turn be succeeded by his son, Charles Adolphus, following the 6th Earl's death on 14th July 1845. Thus the 6th Earl was about halfway through his proprietorship of the island when he was providing a pound per person for those electing to leave. The 7th Earl of Dunmore served as a Lord-in-waiting (government whip in the House of Lords) in the second Conservative administration of Benjamin Disraeli and was also Lord Lieutenant of Stirlingshire. The 7th Earl relinquished ownership of the North Harris Estate to his bankers, in particular the Scott family.

He was succeeded by his son, Alexander Murray, 8th Earl of Dunmore, VC, DSO, MVO, DL. He was a soldier and was awarded the Victoria Cross in 1897. Lord Dunmore later held political office as Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (government chief whip in the House of Lords). On the death in 1980 of his grandson, the 9th Earl, the line of the fifth Earl failed and the barony of Dunmore became extinct, but the other titles passed to his distant relative (his fourth cousin once removed). The 10th Earl was the great-great-grandson of the Hon. Alexander Murray, second son of the fourth Earl, and lived in Tasmania, Australia. Since 2017 the titles were held by his nephew, the 12th Earl, who succeeded his father (the 11th Earl) in 1995. He also lives in Tasmania, Australia. As a male-line descendant of the first Marquess of Atholl he is also in remainder to this peerage and its subsidiary titles and by special remainder to the Dukedom, which are now held by his kinsman Bruce Murray, 12th Duke of Atholl. The Dunmore's family seat was Amhuinnsuidhe Castle, on the Isle of Harris and Dunmore Tower, near Airth, Falkirk. The family seat was located at Amhuinnsuidhe Castle on the Isle of Harris and Dunmore Tower near Stirling.

The 12th Earl of Dunmore, Malcolm Kenneth Murray, has made one speech, both his maiden and final speech, in the House of Lords on Wednesday, 25th November 1998, less than one year before his automatic right to sit in the House of Lords was removed by the House of Lords Act 1999.

The House met at half-past two of the clock (Prayers having been read earlier at the Judicial Sitting by the Lord Bishop of Bristol): The LORD CHANCELLOR on the Woolsack.

4.03 p.m.

The Earl of Dunmore: My Lords, I crave the indulgence of this House for my maiden speech. As the twelfth Earl of Dunmore, I stand with pride and humility in this great institution among distinguished and influential Members--proud to be part of what I so admire and humble because I come from so far away, Tasmania, the jewel of Australia, to take my place among you.

Australians at this time are endeavouring to come to terms with the proposed reform of their constitution: whether to stay with the constitution as it was designed, a constitutional Monarchy, with the Crown as its linchpin, or become a republic and try to patch and fill the present constitution, or to write a new constitution designed specifically for the purpose of becoming a republic.

Earlier this year a constitutional convention was held with elected delegates from both sides of the debate. It has become clear that the preparation of a draft republic constitution for presentation to the Australian people in a referendum will not be straightforward. The implications of a republic on the Statute of Westminster, the Australia Act, and the separate constitutions of the Australian states will take much consideration and deliberation. It is my belief that Australia becoming a republic is not inevitable. A referendum might remove the Queen and replace the Governor-General with a President. But I remind the House that Australia is a commonwealth of states, all of them with their own constitutions, and all of them would have to be in agreement.

In the gracious Speech there are proposals to reform your Lordships' House. The first stage in this process will be the removal of people like me. It is not my place, as the holder of an ancient title dating from 1686, to question this. I pray that the new-look second Chamber will not lose the rich tradition and heritage that have made it such a respected place and one which has made a great contribution over the centuries.

I suspect that this may prove to be my first and also my last speech in your Lordships' House. My first visit from my home in Australia to the United Kingdom has been the experience of a lifetime, and it is an honour to have had the opportunity to speak in your Lordships' House.

4.05 p.m.

Lord Campbell of Alloway: My Lords, it is a singular privilege as an expatriate Scot to follow the noble Earl, Lord Dunmore, a fellow expatriate, whose family left Scotland about three generations ago, and to congratulate him on his maiden speech. It was a memorable speech and his interest in constitutional affairs is of particular value coming from the Cross-Benches at this time. I should have looked forward to hearing the noble Earl speaking in the future, but I understood him to say that he might not be doing so. I am sad to hear that. It would have been nice to have had the privilege of hearing him again, particularly on the subsequent stages of the abolition Bill, in which the position of the Cross-Benches is of crucial importance.

Malcolm Kenneth Murray, 12th Earl of Dunmore, is a native-born Australian who lives in Tasmania. Patron of the Scottish Australian Heritage Council.