Sir Thomas Malcolm Ritchie (11 June 1894 – 22 February 1971) was an Australian businessman and political activist. He served as the inaugural federal president of the

Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia (LP) is the prominent centre-right political party in Australia. It is considered one of the two major parties in Australian politics, the other being the Australian Labor Party (ALP). The Liberal Party was fo ...

, in office from 1945 to 1947 and from 1949 to 1951. He was an electrical engineer by trade.

Early life

Ritchie was born on 11 June 1894 in

Carlton, Victoria Carlton is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, three kilometres north of the Melbourne central business district within the city of Melbourne local government area. Carlton recorded a population of 16,055 at the 2021 census. ...

. He was the son of Margaret (née Henry) and Thomas Ritchie. His mother was a tailor and his father, born in Scotland, was a tinsmith. Ritchie attended the Lee Street State School and then won a scholarship to the

Working Men's College, Melbourne The Working Men's College was an Australian college of further education located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Victoria. It was founded in 1887 by a prominent Victorian Member of Parliament, parliamentarian and philanthropist, Francis Ormond ...

, where he studied mechanical and electrical engineering.

Business career

Ritchie established his own company at the age of 21, "the first in Australia to manufacture heavy-duty electrical

switchgear In an electric power system, a switchgear is composed of electrical disconnect switches, fuses or circuit breakers used to control, protect and isolate electrical equipment. Switchgear is used both to de-energize equipment to allow work to ...

". He later formed partnerships with British and American companies, allowing him to "employ thousands of workers in four states". In 1934, he became general manager of Noyes Bros Pty Ltd, a

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

-based manufacturer of radio sets and accessories. He eventually became the company's chairman and managing director, and also chaired the Australian subsidiary of

Crompton Parkinson Crompton Parkinson was a British electrical manufacturing company. It was formed in 1927 by the merger of Crompton & Co. with F. & A. Parkinson Ltd. The brand is now part of Brook Crompton. History Crompton & Co. was a lamp manufacturer foun ...

. Ritchie served on the New South Wales Electricity Advisory Committee from 1935 to 1946. During World War II, he was state business administrator of the

Department of Munitions The Department of Munitions was an Australian government department that existed between 11 June 1940 and April 1948. Reporting to it was the Factory Board, which was in charge of the six Small Arms Ammunition Factories, along with a ...

, for which he was knighted in 1951.

Politics

Ritchie chaired the provisional executive of the

in 1945 and was subsequently chosen as the inaugural federal president. He was replaced by Richard Casey in 1947, but when Casey returned to parliament in 1949 he was elected to a second term. He resigned in 1951 due to ill health. In the early days of the party Ritchie helped raise funds to finance the federal secretariat and helped convince the

Queensland People's Party The Queensland Liberal Party, officially known as the Liberal Party of Australia (Queensland Division), was the Queensland division of the Liberal Party of Australia until 2008. It was initially formed in October 1943 as the Queensland People ...

to affiliate to the new party. He came into conflict with the party's inaugural leader

Robert Menzies The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, praise, reno ...

over the influence of business within the party and the role of the organisational wing in making policy. In 1976, the Labor Party publicised a

statutory declaration A statutory declaration is a legal document defined under the law of certain Commonwealth nations and in the United States. It is similar to a statement made under oath, but it is not sworn. Statutory declarations are commonly used to allow a per ...

made by a former Liberal activist, John Keegan, regarding fundraising during the 1951 federal election. Keegan alleged that Ritchie had sent a letter to "prominent British companies and industrialists" appealing for funds to be donated to the Liberal Party, and succeeded in raising almost £100,000. Robert Menzies, who was also implicated in the declaration, released a statement that he had never met Keegan and that the Liberal Party had never accepted funds from overseas.

Personal life

Ritchie married Phyllis Elizabeth Brown in 1924. In retirement he established a Polled Hereford stud on his property at Bong Bong, where he also built a

bowling green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep ...

. He died at his home on 22 February 1971, aged 76.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ritchie, Malcolm 1894 births 1971 deaths Liberal Party of Australia Australian people of Scottish descent Australian electrical engineers Australian company founders Australian manufacturing businesspeople Australian Knights Bachelor People from Carlton, Victoria Businesspeople from Melbourne Businesspeople awarded knighthoods