Thomas Joseph Ryan (Politiker, 1876)

A statue of T J Ryan stands in Queens Gardens, Brisbane

Statue of Thomas Ryan in Queens Gardens, Brisbane

Thomas Joseph Ryan was Premier of Queensland, Australia from May 1915 until October 1919 when he resigned to enter federal politics.

He was born at Port Fairy, Victoria on 1 July 1876, and worked first as a school teacher in Maryborough and Rockhampton in Queensland, then as a lawyer in Rockhampton and Brisbane. He entered State parliament as Labor member for Barcoo in 1909 and became party leader in 1912.

Thomas Ryan, as the only Labor party leader in Government anywhere in Australia, was instrumental in leading the fight against conscription in the referendum launched by Billy Hughes. He was widely touted as a likely Labor leader before his premature death.

The wording on the metal plaque on the pedestal on which Thomas Ryan's statue stands, describes Thomas Ryan as: Scholar - Jurist - Statesman.

The Federal electoral division of Ryan is named after him.

Reference

• Australian Dictionary of Biography, Angus and Robertson, 1949