Captain James Murison MLC (1816 - 1885) was an influential member of the Legislative Council of the Parliament of the Cape of Good Hope. Born in 1816 in Scotland, in his youth Murison worked in Greenland and Spitzbergen. He came to the Cape Colony as mate on the brig Sir William Heathcote in 1838, settled in Sea Point, Cape Town, and set up a coastal trading company that predominantly traded with Mauritius. He ultimately developed a wide range of business interests. He became known as a campaigner against larger businesses and monopolies. He and his brother Gordon were among those who attempted in 1850 to establish the "Cape Chamber of Commerce" to provide an alternative to the older Commercial Exchange which was controlled by larger businesses. In the 1850s he was involved in the setting