Thomas Ryan was one of the outstanding rugby players in New Zealand during the 1880s. He represented Auckland nine times between 1882 and 1888 and captained the side in 1886. Included in his appearances were five matches against touring New South Wales teams and one against Great Britain. He became the first New Zealand player to score a conversion and drop goal for a New Zealand team. Thomas Ryan was also a keen cricketer and rower belonging to the Auckland Amateur Athletic, Cycle Club and the Auckland Rowing Club.
Ryan had a distinguished career as an artist, working mainly in watercolours. He was well known for his Maori portraits, which were published in the Christmas annual of the New Zealand Observer, and for his landscapes and seascapes. In 1885 he won a silver medal in the landscape painting section of the New Zealand Art Students’ Association exhibition. He studied at the Académie Julian in Paris in 1892–93 and was a friend of Charles Goldie, accompanying him on sketching trips and easing his introduction into Maori society. Three of his works are in the collection of Auckland Art Gallery.
For more on Thomas and his wife Mere Ryan Wharepapa
Thomas Ryan
Died 1927
