Major General the Honourable Sir Granville Ryrie

Places
Accession Number ART03556
Collection type Art
Measurement Overall: 76.2 x 61.4 cm; framed: 93 cm x 80.9 cm
Object type Painting
Physical description oil on canvas
Maker Wheeler, Charles
Place made Australia
Date made 1921
Conflict South Africa, 1899-1902 (Boer War)
First World War, 1914-1918
Copyright

Item copyright: Copyright expired - public domain

Public Domain Mark This item is in the Public Domain

Description

A portrait, in uniform, of Major General the Honourable Sir Granville de Laune Ryrie (1865-1937) KCMG, CB, VD, 1st AIF, Commanding Officer 2 Australian Light Horse Brigade. Born in New South Wales, Granville was educated at Mittagong, NSW and the King's School, Parramatta. In 1884 he began working as a jackaroo and after three years returned to mange the family farm of 35 000 acres. He enlisted in the NSW militia as a trooper and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 1st Australian Horse in 1898. During the Boer War he joined the Imperial Bushmen as a captain, arriving in South Africa in May 1900. In September 1900 he was wounded near Wonderfontein, before returning to Australia in June 1901. After the Boer War, Ryrie began a new career as a politician, being elected to the NSW Legislative Assembly in April 1906. On 17 September 1914, Ryrie was appointed commander of the AIF's 2nd Light Horse Brigade. At Gallipoli, he was wounded by shrapnel in September 1915. In December 1918, Ryrie took command of the Anzac Mounted Division. In May 1919 he was promoted to Major General. Returning to Australia, Ryrie resumed his political activities, serving as Assistant Minister of Defence in the Hughes cabinet from February 1920 to December 1921. From 1927 to 1932 he was High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, and represented Australia in the League of Nations. Ryrie lived at Michelago and entertained a range of people including the artist George Lambert who he had befriended during the First World War. He died on 2 October 1932.