Sir Norman Bede Rydge

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(18 October 190014 May 1980) was an Australian businessman.

Biography

Rydge was born in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

to blacksmith William Henry Rydge and Margaret, ''née'' McSweeney. He attended Woollahra Superior Public School and Fort Street Boys' High School before becoming a clerk in the Master of Lunacy's Office in February 1916. In 1918 he left the public service and became an accountant, publishing a book in 1921 on federal

income tax An income tax is a tax imposed on individuals or entities (taxpayers) in respect of the income or profits earned by them (commonly called taxable income). Income tax generally is computed as the product of a tax rate times the taxable income. Tax ...

and another on the Sydney stock exchange. He had become associate of the Commonwealth Institute of Accountants by 1924. He married Alys Noad, a musician, on 3 July 1926 at Ashfield; that year he also served as mayor of

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

. He also became involved in the hotel business, running the Carlton Hotel on

Castlereagh Street Castlereagh Street is a major street located in the Sydney central business district in New South Wales, Australia. The street runs in a north-to-south, in a one way direction only. Description Castlereagh Street's northern terminus is at the ...

from 1925 and becoming chairman of Usher's Metropolitan Hotel Ltd, the Pacific Hotel and Mockbell's Ltd. In 1936 he became managing director of Menzies Hotel in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

and also directed Waldas Shoes Ltd. In 1928 he established ''Rydge's Business Journal''. He became a significant stock market figure through his company Carlton Investments Ltd. After 1936 he entered the cinema business, becoming managing director of Greater J. D. Williams Amusement Co. Ltd. and Greater Union Theatres Ltd., returning them to profit and establishing

Greater Union Greater Union Organisation Pty Ltd, trading as Event Cinemas, Greater Union, GU Film House, Moonlight Cinema and Birch Carroll & Coyle (BCC Cinemas), is the largest movie exhibitor in Australia and New Zealand, with over 140 cinema complexes cu ...

as an international brand. He began to sell his hotel interests in the mid-1940s to focus on cinema; he was later commissioner of the Rural Bank of New South Wales (1961–75). He divorced his wife in October 1939 and married Vincent Lillian Colefax, a nurse, on 28 December 1939 at

Paddington Paddington is an area within the City of Westminster, in Central London. First a medieval parish then a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Three important landmarks of the district are Paddi ...

. In September 1949 she and her five-year-old son died, and the following month the coroner found that she had killed her son and committed suicide by

carbon monoxide poisoning Carbon monoxide poisoning typically occurs from breathing in carbon monoxide (CO) at excessive levels. Symptoms are often described as "flu-like" and commonly include headache, dizziness, weakness, vomiting, chest pain, and confusion. Large e ...

. Rydge married Phoebe Caroline McEwing, a secretary, on 13 November 1950 at

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 ...

. A

United Australia Party The United Australia Party (UAP) was an Australian political party that was founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945. The party won four federal elections in that time, usually governing in coalition with the Country Party. It provided two prim ...

member, Rydge ran for the

Australian House of Representatives The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the upper house being the Senate. Its composition and powers are established in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia. The term of members of the ...

seat of

Parramatta Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...

against sitting UAP member Sir Frederick Stewart in 1940, without success. He later joined the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

, but he maintained contacts on the

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the la ...

side of politics. He received government appointments from both

Robert Askin Sir Robert William Askin, GCMG (4 April 1907 – 9 September 1981), was an Australian politician and the 32nd Premier of New South Wales from 1965 to 1975, the first representing the Liberal Party. He was born in 1907 as Robin William Askin, but ...

's Liberal administration and

Neville Wran Neville Kenneth Wran, (11 October 1926 – 20 April 2014) was an Australian politician who was the Premier of New South Wales from 1976 to 1986. He was the national president of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1980 to 1986 and chairman ...

's Labor one. He was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

in 1955 and knighted in 1966.It's an Honour: Knight bachelor
/ref> From 1969 he was president of the

Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences The Powerhouse Museum is the major branch of the Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences (MAAS) in Sydney, the others being the historic Sydney Observatory at Observatory Hill, and the newer Museums Discovery Centre at Castle Hill. Although often de ...

' trustees, and served as a life governor for the Australian Institute of Management, the

Royal Prince Alfred Hospital The Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (abbreviated RPAH or RPA) is a major public teaching hospital in Sydney, Australia, located on Missenden Road in Camperdown. It is a teaching hospital of the Central Clinical School of the Sydney Medical School a ...

, and the

Alfred Alfred may refer to: Arts and entertainment *''Alfred J. Kwak'', Dutch-German-Japanese anime television series * ''Alfred'' (Arne opera), a 1740 masque by Thomas Arne * ''Alfred'' (Dvořák), an 1870 opera by Antonín Dvořák *"Alfred (Interlu ...

and Royal Children's hospitals in

. Sir Norman Rydge died in 1980, aged 79, and was cremated.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rydge, Norman 1900 births 1980 deaths Australian Knights Bachelor Australian Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Australian theatre owners Film exhibitors State Bank of New South Wales