Phineas Ryrie
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Phineas Ryrie JP |
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|---|---|
| Senior Unofficial Member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong | |
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In office 1870–1892 |
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| Preceded by | Hugh Bold Gibb |
| Succeeded by | Emanuel Raphael Belilios |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
16 July 1829 Stornoway, Na h-Eileanan an Iar, Scotland |
| Died | 22 February 1892 (aged 62) Hong Kong |
| Resting place | Hong Kong Cemetery |
| Spouse(s) | Elizabeth Ann Mary |
| Profession | Merchant politician |
Phineas Ryrie, JP (16 July 1829 – 22 February 1892) was a Scottish tea merchant in Hong Kong. He was the Senior Unofficial Member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong and the first Chairman of the Hong Kong Jockey Club.
Ryrie was born in Stornoway, Na h-Eileanan an Iar, Scotland in 1827 or 1829. He was the son of William Ryrie, Lt., a merchant navy captain who commanded the big tea clippers Cairngorm and Flying Spur for the Jardine, Matheson & Co., the then-largest trading firm in the East.
His older brother, John Ryire was also captain of the Cairngorm. His brother, Alexander, drowned in 1855, when his ship, Jardine Matheson's Audax, was lost with all hands during a typhoon en route from Shanghai to Hong Kong. He had also a sister named Ida.
Ryrie arrived in China in 1851 and entered into business by joining the Turner & Co., a general agent firm and opium merchant founded by Robert Turner in Canton, of which he became partner in 1860 and later senior partner.
He was also auditor of the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation and investor and director of Dr. Patrick Manson's Dairy Farm Company. With Alexander Finlay Smith, who had previously worked for Scotland's Highland Railway, they co-founded the High Level Tramway Company in 1885 and began to build the Peak Tram running from Garden Road to Victoria Gap.
Ryrie was also Chairman of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce on three occasions, in 1867–68, 1871–72 and 1886–87.
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