Ruby Lindsay

Born Creswick, Victoria 1885
Died Chelsea, England 1919

After the Great World War ended Ruby Lindsay and her younger brother Daryl Lindsay visited Ireland to catch up with cousins in Belfast and Dublin. While on the trip, Ruby caught what she thought was a chill. But it wasn’t, it was the Spanish influenza, a virus that was easily spread and was infecting people throughout the world. Because it was a new virus, very few people, if any, had immunity to it. Ruby became one of an estimated 500 million people to be infected between 1918 to 1919, with estimates of deaths ranging from 17 million to 50 million. Soon after returning to London, two hours before midnight on 12 March 1919 Ruby died at home in Chelsea.

Ruby was born in Creswick Victoria in 1885 the third daughter of the 10 Lindsay siblings. According to Daryl Lindsay in his book The Leafy Tree, "she was a reserved, rather shutin child with only one interest in life - to learn to draw." She would often sketch members of the family as they sat around the fire at home.

At 17 she moved to Melbourne sharing with her brother Percy an old stone house in Bank Street, Alphington and then in St Bernard’s Road while attending the National Gallery at night to study art. In 1907 after Percy had married Jessie Hammon, Ruby moved into rooms in Oxford Chambers in Burk Street with her sister Mary.

Occasionally Ruby contributed to The Hawklet, The Bulletin and regularly for the Adelaide journal, The Gadfly. It was a satirical journal, printed on art paper and published from 1906 to 1909. She also illustrated books including Steel Rudd’s Back at Our Selection (1906) and William Moore’s Studio Sketches (1906), as well as designing posters. Often sending money back home for her parents.

There was much excitement when Ruby was offered two stories to illustrate for The Lone Hand. It was a monthly magazine started by The Bulletin in 1907. While it was never admitted, it was always suspected her brothers Lionel and Norman, had influenced the editor the magazine Frank Fox, to make the offer.

On September 30, 1909 Ruby married Will Dyson in Creswick and soon after travelled with him and her brother Norman to London. Norman, who was one of the best-known cartoonists in Australia struggled in London. He had some minor success in get some cartoons published in Punch, but fell ill and retuned to Australia after two years. Ruby quickly established herself as a much-sought-after magazine and book illustrator. Her work was pen-drawn realistic in style which worked well for illustrations. Ruby also sent regular cartoons back to The Bulletin in Sydney under the name of Ruby Lind. Dyson who had struggled to establish himself as a cartoonist in Australia was soon getting cartoons published in The Daily Herald and soon became one of the best-known cartoonists working in Europe. It was not unusual for him to pencil in a drawing and have Ruby do the ink work.

On 11 September 1911 Ruby gave birth to her only child, Elizabeth best known as Betty. She became an accomplished painter in her own right, and died in 1957.

Ruby and Will became well known in London and it was also not unusual for Dyson and Lindsay to entertain visiting Australian cartoonists. Both Cecil Hartt and George Finey remembered visiting them in London.

The following year after Ruby’s death, Dyson published a book The Drawings of Ruby Lind along with a book of poetry dedicated to her.

In 1931 The Bulletin moved from 214 George Street, Sydney up the road to 252 George Street. In the move an unpublished Ruby Lind cartoon was discovered, and it was published soon after the move had been completed.

Ruby Lindsay was inducted into the ACA Hall of Fame in 2022.

Further Reading