Robert Risson

Who was Robert Risson?

Major General Sir Robert Joseph Henry Risson CB, CBE, DSO, ED was an Australian soldier and public administrator. He was chairman of the Melbourne and 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 as a lieutenant in May 1933 and married Gwendolyn Spurgin in Brisbane in May 1934. He enlisted in the Second Australian Imperial Force in October 1939 and saw active service with the 7th and 9th 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 appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire, and promoted to the rank of brigadier in March 1943.