Robert Risson

Major General Sir Robert Joseph Henry Risson CB, CBE, DSO, ED (20 April 1901 – 19 July 1992) was a soldier and public administrator. He was chairman of the Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board from 1949 to 1970.

Sir Robert was born in 1901 at Ma Ma Creek near Grantham in South East Queensland. Educated at nearby Gatton High School and subsequently at the University of Queensland, he graduated in Civil Engineering before joining the newly formed Brisbane Tramways Trust in 1923.

He joined the Australian Army Engineers (Militia) as a Lieutenant in May 1933 and married Gwendolyn Spurgin in Brisbane in May 1934. He enlisted in the Second Australian Imperial Force (AIF) in October 1939 and saw active service with the Seventh and Ninth Divisions in the Middle East including Tobruk and El Alamein, and with the 1st Australian Corps in New Guinea. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order and the Commander of the Order of the British Empire, and was promoted to the rank of Brigadier in March 1943.

As chairman of the Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board, it was his vision and perseverance that caused Melbourne to retain and expand its electric tramways in spite of public opinion, the car-lobby and the political wishes of his masters in an era when most other cities were destroying tram networks in favour of buses and cars. Melbourne now has the largest operating tram network in the world, and a tram (D1.3501) was named in his honour upon its entry to service in 2002.

It is not well known that Risson served as Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of Victoria (Masonic Lodge) between 1974–1976. It was a Masonic practice that Lodge membership or rank was not listed in Who's Who and similar publications. Risson never publicised his Masonic memberhip. Other offices held by Risson were chief commissioner of the Boy Scouts Association from 1958–1963 and president of the Good Neighbour Council from 1963–1968.