William Oscar Ryan

Following rowdy melees at the 1923 Boxing Day Regatta at Croki, William Oscar (Spike) Ryan was convicted of the manslaughter of Frederick Smith.¹ Narrowly avoiding a jail sentence, Ryan turned his life around and is remembered as a highly skilled boat builder.

Born on Oxley Island in 1886,² he was indentured to Denis Sullivan, a ship builder of Coopernook, following which he undertook a seafaring life and honed his construction skills in Sydney and Newcastle.³

Married to Sarah O’Donoghue in 1916,⁴ he returned to Oxley Island where he undertook his first commissions in the early 1920s,⁵ before relocating to Taree in 1943 and operating from Browns Creek.⁶ Traces of a slipway can still be seen near the entrance to the Bicentennial Gardens off River Street.

Bill and Sarah raised a large family and five of their six sons also became shipwrights.

Ryan is perhaps best remembered as a builder of the numerous cream boats which served the local dairy farms, but during WW2, vessels were constructed for use by the Allied forces⁷ and, in the post war period, shipbuilding was undertaken in New Guinea for the Catholic Missions.⁸

After his death in 1959 the family business remained operational until 1983.⁹

Author: Penny Teerman