Phillip Norman Ryan (24 May 1910 – 25 March 1997) was an Australian politician, affiliated with the Labor Party. He was elected as a member of the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament Ho ...

and served as Minister for Public Works from 1959–1965.

Early life

He was born at

Moruya Moruya is a town located on the far south coast of New South Wales, Australia, situated on the Moruya River. The Princes Highway runs through the town that is about south of Sydney and from Canberra. At the , Moruya had a population of 4 ...

, on the south coast of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

to Michael and Elizabeth Ryan. After attending St. Joseph's College, Hunters Hill and the

Sydney Technical College The Sydney Technical College, now known as the TAFE New South Wales Sydney Institute, is a technical school established in 1878, that superseded the Sydney Mechanics' School of Arts. The college is one of Australia's oldest technical education i ...

, he was an apprentice electrical fitter for the Sydney County Council. He later worked as an electrical inspector for the Public Works Department. On 12 April 1941, he married Dorothy O'Brien, with whom he had one son and one daughter.

Political career

Having joined the Labor Party in 1933, Ryan became an alderman to

Marrickville Council Marrickville Council was a local government area located in the inner west region of Sydney, Australia. It was originally created on 1 November 1861 as the "Municipality of Marrickville". On 12 May 2016, Marrickville Council was forcibly merged ...

in 1948 at the age of 38. He was elected Mayor of Marrickville in 1953, but resigned later that year when elected to the Legislative Assembly as member for

Marrickville Marrickville is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Marrickville is located south-west of the Sydney central business district and is the largest suburb in the Inner West Council local gove ...

. As well as representing this electorate in Sydney's

inner west The Inner West of Sydney is an area directly west of the Sydney central business district, New South Wales, Australia. The suburbs that make up the Inner West are predominantly located along the southern shore of Port Jackson (Parramatta River) ...

, he was known as an advocate for providing services to the rural areas of the state. Ryan's most significant achievements were as Minister for Public Works in the Heffron and Renshaw governments from 1959. In this role, he was involved in the first part of the construction of the

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...

. Amidst much criticism concerning the rising costs, he stood firm in support of the project, saying in 1964 "This building will bring great credit upon this country."

Later life and career

The Labor Party lost office in the 1965 election, and so Ryan's term as Minister came to an end. He continued to serve as the member for Marrickville, being elected a total of seven times. He also served as a trustee of the

Art Gallery of New South Wales The Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), founded as the New South Wales Academy of Art in 1872 and known as the National Art Gallery of New South Wales between 1883 and 1958, is located in The Domain, Sydney, Australia. It is the most importa ...

, a position he had taken up in 1959, until 1972. His retirement came, after 20 years in parliament, at the 1973 election, when he offered to stand aside for the younger Tom Cahill, whose neighbouring seat had been abolished. He died 24 years later at

Killarney Vale Killarney Vale is a suburb of the Central Coast region of New South Wales, Australia, located approximately 5 kilometres south of The Entrance. It is part of the local government area. The Entrance – Long Jetty hospital is located in Kill ...

, on the central coast.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, Norm Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly 1910 births 1997 deaths People educated at St Joseph's College, Hunters Hill Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of New South Wales 20th-century Australian politicians Mayors of Marrickville Australian electricians