was diagnosed with an unspecified cancer and was ill for eight months before he died on the 21st of June 1984. He did not live to give his maiden speech and the speech was instead given by Mr. Peter Beattie. The Sydney Morning Herald reports that in Mr Beattie's speech he said "As a close personal friend of Denis Murphy I want to pay strongest possible tribute to him on behalf of the Labor Movement and the people of Queensland." After Beattie's speech, over 200 delegates attending the conference stood together and bowed their heads in a minutes silence to pay respects to Murphy. Legacy After Murphy's death, a number of tributes were made to commemorate his life and the work that he did during his time as an historian and Labor Politician. The Journal of the Royal Historical Society of Queensland wrote a tribute paper for him titled Tropical Transformations: Denis Murphy in Queensland History. The dedication was co-authored by a number of Murphy's former colleagues at the University of Queensland such as Kay Saunders, Murray Johnson and Brian Costar. An obituary for Murphy was written by Roger Joyce in 1984 and published by the Australian Society for the Study of Labour History. Roger Joyce was a professor at the University of Queensland and oversaw Murphy's PhD on T.J Ryan when Denis was still a student. Joyce states in the obituary that "Denis was one of the best examples of the "fire in the belly" school of historians." In 2014, 30 years after Murphy's death, Anthony Albanese made a speech on the power of communities and based his discussion on the life of Denis Murphy. Albanese spoke highly of Murphy in his speech and stated that "Denis was one of Queensland Labor's greatest leaders." Written Works Prelude to Power: The Rise of the Labour Party in Queensland 1885-1915 (1970) T.J. Ryan: A Political Biography (1975) Labour In Politics (1975) Queensland Political Portraits 1859-1965 (1978) Ken Laidlaw: A White Collar Union Leader (1979) Labour in Power: The Labour Party and Governments in Queensland (1980) Hayden: A Political Biography (1980) The Big Strikes: Queensland 1889-1965 (1983) Memorial lecture series A lecture series in honour of Murphy was established. Lectures in the series have included the following: 1991: John Kerin MP, Treasurer. 30 August. 1992: Peter Beattie, MLA, Member for Brisbane Central. A reformist party in government: the courage needed for reform.