Obituaries Australia

The working man and working woman sustained heavy loss when George Ryce passed over yesterday.

For years George Ryce has been prominent in industrial circles and when he split with the Trades Hall on a matter of principle his union supported him and he continucd to act as secretary for the barmen and barmaids' organisation. Some months ago he was stricken with a serious illness and though he fought gamely his condition did not improve and death claimed him yesterday.

The deceased industrialist was a Scotsman by birth and knew by experience the life in the kind of slums which the Prince is now visiting. Later he served on board ships and in other spheres of labor, and his constant battling for the underdog brought him prominence in union affairs. For a time he figured prominently in Trades Hall discussion but he fell foul of leading Laborites and he and the movement parted.

A wide reader and a keen student the late George Ryce was a man who refused to compromise on a matter of principle. He was a great dog fancier and a great animal lover, and indeed a lover of nature in all its forms. He had definite views on the industrial problems and its solutions and though they sometimes made him unpopular politically, they never changed the personal regard of those who knew the earnestness of the man and the love he bore for the poor and the helpless.

Had he chosen to trim his political sails his ability would have brought him speedy success in politics and a soft seat in Parliament. But he was born to be a fighter, a giver and a taker of hard knocks, and so he continued until the end.

When his big fighting heart ceased to beat yesterday the State lost an earnest if often-times misunderstood citizen, and the humblest and the weakest in the ranks of the workers lost a champion whom no promise of place or preferment could buy from their service.

George Ryce has earned his long sleep.

The funeral at Karrakatta was attended by representatives of many phases of our community life.