Phineas Ryrie

Phineas Ryrie
Born	Template:Birth date Stornoway, Na h-Eileanan an Iar, Scotland
Died	February 22, 1892(1892-02-22) (aged 62)
Occupation(s)	Tea merchant, businessman, politician
Known for	Senior Unofficial Member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong; inaugural Chairman of the Hong Kong Jockey Club

Phineas Ryrie, JP (16 July 1829 – 22 February 1892), was a Scottish tea merchant based in Hong Kong. He held the position of Senior Unofficial Member on the Legislative Council of Hong Kong and was the inaugural Chairman of the Hong Kong Jockey Club.

Background

Ryrie originated from Stornoway, Na h-Eileanan an Iar, Scotland. He was the son of William Ryrie, who captained tea clippers Cairngorm and Flying Spur for Jardine, Matheson & Co., then Eastern Asia’s leading trading house. His elder brother John also commanded the Cairngorm, while another sibling, Alexander, perished in 1855 when the Jardine Matheson vessel Audax was lost during a typhoon. Additionally, his nephew Alexander Ryrie Greaves joined Jardine Matheson as a tea taster.

Business career

Arriving in China in 1851, Ryrie became associated with Turner & Co., a general agency and opium trading firm in Canton. He advanced to partner by 1860 and eventually became senior partner.

He acted as auditor for the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation and held investments and directorships in Dr. Patrick Manson's Dairy Farm Company. In 1885, together with Alexander Finlay Smith, he established the High Level Tramway Company to construct the Peak Tram from Garden Road up to Victoria Gap.

Ryrie served three terms as Chairman of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce (1867–68, 1871–72, 1886–87) and was appointed Director of the Hong Kong, Canton & Macao Steamboat Company in 1888.

Legislative unofficial

Following his role as Chamber of Commerce Chairman, Ryrie was appointed an unofficial member of the Legislative Council in 1867. He took leave in 1868, during which time James Banks Taylor occupied his seat. Ryrie resumed his position in 1870 as Senior Unofficial Member. Defying the usual five-year tenure custom, he maintained this role for 25 years until his death in 1892.

He opposed Governor John Pope Hennessy's prison reforms that eliminated public flogging and branding. On 7 October 1878, Ryrie convened a public meeting at Hong Kong City Hall to express dissent and advocated for harsher penalties for disorderly conduct, citing an increase in crime following these reforms.

Public life

Despite his resistance to gambling legalization, Ryrie was the founding Chairman of the Hong Kong Jockey Club, created in 1884. Under his stewardship, the club recovered from a severe flood in 1885 and financial losses caused by a bank failure in 1891, maintaining organizational stability through these challenges.

He also served as the first Chieftain of the St. Andrew's Society of Hong Kong, an exclusive society for Scotsmen, and was passionate about sports. Notably, he imported rabbits from England to Stonecutters Island for hunting purposes; however, they did not reproduce successfully.

Family and death

On 16 December 1863, Ryrie wed Elizabeth Ann Mary Forth at St John's Cathedral (Hong Kong). Elizabeth was the daughter of Frederick Henry Alexander Forth and Caroline Jemina Sherson. Their children included Ethel Perceval Ryrie, who married George William Whillier, and Ida Mackenzie Ryrie, who wed Frederick Thomas Clayton. A daughter named Muriel died at birth in 1866; Elizabeth passed away shortly thereafter.

Ryrie remained unmarried after Elizabeth’s death but was rumored to have had a Chinese mistress named Ah Chun, with whom he fathered two daughters, Maggie and Eva. He constructed a residence on the Peak called "Craig Ryrie."

His health deteriorated swiftly before he died at 1:30 am on 22 February 1892 at age 63. His funeral at Hong Kong Cemetery, Happy Valley, attracted numerous prominent local figures.