Murray Hallam
Murray Hallam
So, who is Murray Hallam?
Murray Hallam is probably the best-known face in the world-wide aquaponics movement.
Some Highlights:
- Grew up in Stanthorpe, a farming community in the Granite Belt area of South Queensland
- Still has a deep connection with farming and the land
- Trade background including carpet laying and fibreglass boatbuilding
- Over thirty years as a self-employed businessman
- Nine years working in remote locations in PNG
- Discovered aquaponics in 2006
- Immediately inspired by the idea – especially as drought and a dry dam had made the usual food-growing methods impossible
- Developed his own flourishing aquaponics systems
- Began teaching others about this compact, water-saving, organic way to grow
Murray has now become a world-renowned expert in the field of aquaponics. He says, “Since I discovered aquaponics, I have to admit it has been an obsession. I have been fortunate enough to travel across Australia and around the world, visiting farms and home installations and delivering training. It is inspiring to be involved in a fledgling industry that can deliver food purity and food security to all.”
To help spread the word about aquaponics, Murray was instrumental in establishing, and was a founding member of:
- Aquaponics Institute Australia
- Aquaponics Institute USA
- Aquaponics Association Australia
- Aquaponics Association USA
Murray is also a member of:
- Aquaculture Association of Queensland
He remains in close contact with these groups and frequently travels to America for the Aquaponics Assoc. USA conference.
Murray is an experienced and entertaining teacher, with a nationally recognised Certificate IV in Training & Assessment. He taught for a number of years at Ipswich and Bundamba TAFE colleges, and has gone on to instruct and inspire hundreds of students from around the world with his Aquaponics Courses and DVDs. Tens of thousands of copies of the series of DVDs have been sold around the world.
Guest-speaking engagements have included:
- Keynote speaker at the first inaugural Aquaponics Assoc. Conference (USA)
- Keynote speaker at the World Aquaponics Assoc. Conference, 2011
- Featured speaker Aquaponics Assoc. (USA) Conference
- Queensland University of Technology Science Teachers’ Symposium – STEM
- Queensland Aquaculture Association Annual General Meeting
- Environmental Protection Agency (Qld)
- Numerous permaculture functions
- Featured speaker Aquaponics Assoc. (Taiwan Global Aquaponics Conference)
- Featured speaker Aquaponics Assoc. (USA) Conference
Murray and Practical Aquaponics have been featured on the following television programs:
- SBS Costa’s Garden Odyssey
- Gardening Australia with Colin Campbell
- Totally Wild
- 60 Minutes with Michael Usher (Australia)
- South Africa’s Expresso Show (Current Affairs Program)
- Radio interviews and podcasts
- Several magazine publications, including Good Organic Gardening
Locations where Murray has conducted 1 Day Seminars and the 4-Day MasterClass.
- USA Oceanside California
- USA Orlando Florida – Green Acre Organics Farm
- USA Boulder Colorado
- USA Spring Texas – Green Life Aquaponics
- USA Lone Star College Texas
- USA Pescadero California – Ouroborous Farm
- USA Portland Oregon – 3 times – Ingenuity & Innovation Centre
- Puerto Rico – 3 times – Agropónicos – University of Puerto Rico
- India – Bangalore – Andhra Pradesh – Takulodu Panchayat villages
- Morocco – Permaculture Research Institute of Morocco
- Hungary – University of Pécs
- Portugal – Aberta Nova – Charitable Trust Aquaponics & Training Centre
- South Africa – Stellenbosch University
In Australia
- Brisbane
- Sydney
- Bandusia in St Aldwins
- Melbourne
- Adelaide
- Perth
- Busselton
- Alice Springs
- Lightning Ridge
- Yandina
Currently, Murray will be conducting the next 4Day Aquaponics MasterClass in late October 2019. Murray is running the online Aquaponics Design Course, the next one also starting in October 2019, and has students from 108 countries around the world, and growing.
Currently, Installations in Australia are in progress at an Aboriginal community at Doomadgee in North Queensland, and at Diddillibah on the Sunshine Coast in South East Queensland, Australia.
Murray’s passion for sustainable ecological living drives him to keep researching and refining his understanding of aquaponics, and sharing his vast knowledge with others. He firmly believes that aquaponics can help address the concerns of people worried about food availability in Australia and the world at large.
Food Purity, Food Security, Food Sovereignty