T. J. Ryan

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For the Irish hurling selector and player, see T. J. Ryan (hurler). For the other Queensland Labor politician also representing Barcoo, see Tommy Ryan (politician).

Queensland Legislative Assembly for Barcoo
In office
2 October 1909 – 14 October 1919
Preceded byGeorge Kerr
Succeeded byFrank Bulcock
Personal details
Born
Thomas Joseph Ryan

(1876-07-01)1 July 1876
Colony of Victoria
Died1 August 1921(1921-08-01) (aged 45)
Barcaldine, Queensland, Australia
Cause of deathPneumonia
Resting placeToowong Cemetery
Political partyLabor
Spouse
Lily Virginia Cook
​
(m. 1910)​
Children2
Education
Xavier College, Melbourne
Alma materUniversity of Melbourne (BA, LLB)
Occupation

Thomas Joseph Ryan

state Labor Party. He resigned to enter federal politics, sitting in the House of Representatives for the federal Labor Party
from 1919 until his premature death less than two years later.

Ryan was born in

Queensland Legislative Assembly in 1909, and became leader of the Labor Party in 1912. He led the party to victory at the 1915 state election, the first time it had secured majority government
in Queensland.

As premier, Ryan led a reforming government that implemented many of the planks in the Labor platform, including the expansion of

state-owned enterprises. After the Labor Party split of 1916, Queensland had the only remaining Labor government in Australia, giving Ryan a national profile. His government was re-elected at the 1918 state election but, in the following year, Ryan resigned to enter federal politics, winning the Division of West Sydney in New South Wales at the 1919 federal election. He was widely seen as the heir apparent to the Labor Party's federal leader, Frank Tudor
, who was in poor health. Ryan's sudden death from pneumonia, at the age of 45, was seen as a major blow for the labour movement.

Early life

Ryan was born on 1 July 1876 in

Port Fairy, Victoria. He was the fifth of six children born to Timothy Joseph Ryan, an illiterate Irish labourer who had migrated to Victoria in 1860 and become a small farmer, and his Irish wife Jane (née Cullen). His mother died in 1883.[1]

Ryan began his education at the Pretty Hill State School before winning a scholarship to attend

Maryborough Grammar School until 1900 and then at Rockhampton Grammar School from 1901 to 1903.[1]

In 1901, Ryan was admitted to practise as a barrister in Queensland and established his own legal practice. He was active in workers' compensation cases which "[built] his reputation among the trade unions and awakened him politically". In 1903 he was elected president of the Rockhampton branch of the Australian Natives' Association.[1]

Queensland politician

Ryan in 1920

At the

David Bowman
.

After the party's success in the 1915 election, the Ryan government became the first majority Labor government in Queensland. Some of the eight members of his Cabinet had connections with the early ALP of the 1880s and the Shearers' Strike. His government provided the example which would see Labor in power in Queensland almost continuously until 1957.

Major reform of labour laws and agricultural policy was part of the Ryan legacy. His government came to power with a large majority, with Ryan as premier, chief secretary, and attorney-general. An era of progressive industrial legislation and the expansion of state enterprise began. Among the measures passed were the Industrial Arbitration Act, Labour Exchanges Act, Workers' Compensation Act, Inspection of Machinery and Scaffolding Act, and Factories and Shops Amendment Act.

However, where the Ryan government particularly broke fresh ground was the entry of the state into trading activities. Pastoral stations were purchased and run as going concerns, and many retail butchers' shops were opened in Brisbane and other parts of Queensland, which sold meat cheaper than elsewhere and proved to be very popular. Railway refreshment rooms were taken over, state hotels were built or purchased, a producing agency was established, coal mines were acquired, iron and steel works were opened, and a state insurance department was established. In addition, sugarcane price boards were set up, providing fair returns for growers and fair wages for sugar workers. Women were given the right to stand for parliament, industrial reforms were carried out which gave workers a "new deal".[2]

Ryan showed good generalship at the

1917
.

Friction between Hughes and Ryan almost led to violence in November 1917, when the Australian federal government conducted a

Queensland Parliament during which anti-conscription sentiments had been aired. On 29 November 1917, Billy Hughes travelled to Warwick, southern Queensland, to campaign in support of the 1917 Australian conscription referendum. An egg was thrown at Hughes, resulting in his decision to form the Australian Federal Police
.

The State Library of Queensland holds several collections providing insight into the complexity and divisiveness of the conscription debate at the time, but the Stable Collection 1917-1991 containing a surviving copy of Hansard No. 37 is considered a treasure among them.[3]

Statue of Thomas J. Ryan in Queens Gardens, Brisbane

Federal politician

Ryan was asked by a resolution of a special federal Labor conference to enter federal politics, the only occasion that such a motion has been passed. He was campaign director for the Labor Party during the 1919 Federal election, and was elected to the House of Representatives in the Federal Parliament as the member for West Sydney. In 1920, he was appointed King's Counsel. He had been widely touted as a likely Labor leader before his premature death.[4]

In 1920, Ryan was elected Assistant Leader of the Labor Party. This position was effectively the Deputy Leader of the party in the House of Representatives, as the Deputy Leadership was held by senator Albert Gardiner.[5] Ryan held this position until his death.

Although a big man physically, Ryan was not strong in health. Weakened by influenza while he was in England at the time of the

St Stephen's Cathedral and his burial in Toowong Cemetery
.

Personal life

Ryan married Lily Virginia Cook in 1910. She survived him with a son and a daughter and, in 1944, was appointed the Queensland government representative in

Catholic and good friends of Archbishop of Brisbane James Duhig.[6]

Legacy

T. J. Ryan's headstone[7] at Brisbane's Toowong Cemetery

The early death of such a capable leader was a great blow to the Labor movement. Ryan was described as urbane, amiable and approachable, and his personality had allowed him to win the confidence and trust of people in all ranks, from the governor of the

Old Executive Building
. The wording on the metal plaque on the pedestal of the statue describes him as: "Scholar - Jurist - Statesman".

The Federal electoral division of Ryan is named after him, and a Ryan medal was struck for candidates obtaining the highest pass in the annual state scholarship examination.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Johnston, W. Ross; Murphy, Denis (1988). "Ryan, Thomas Joseph (Tom) (1876–1921)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Archived from the original on 21 August 2023. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
  2. ^ Ross McMullin, The Light on the Hill: The Australian Labor Party 1891-1991
  3. CC BY licence
    , accessed on 31 May 2022.
  4. ^ Featured Chambers Issue 32 Archived 26 February 2011 at the Wayback Machine — Hearsay – The Journal of the Bar Association of Queensland
  5. ^ "Mr Ryan: Assistant Leader, Federal Labour Party". The Sydney Morning Herald. 10 September 1920. Archived from the original on 4 March 2024. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
  6. ^ Murphy, DJ (1975). T.J. Ryan: A Political Biography (PDF). University of Queensland Press. p. xvi.
  7. ^ Ryan, Thomas Joseph Archived 13 June 2012 at the Wayback Machine — Brisbane City Council Grave Location Search
  8. ^ Johnston, W. Ross; D. J. Murphy. "Ryan, Thomas Joseph (1876 - 1921)"

Bibliography

External links

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Political offices
Preceded by Premier of Queensland
1915–1919 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
David Bowman
 Leader of the Opposition of Queensland
1912–1915 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
David Bowman
Leader of the Labor Party in Queensland

1912–1919 		Succeeded by
Parliament of Queensland
Preceded by Member for Barcoo
1909–1919 		Succeeded by
Parliament of Australia
Preceded by Member for West Sydney
1919–1921 		Succeeded by
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