Climate activist and World War II Kokoda Trail veteran, Bill Ryan has died at the age of 97.
Although legally blind, partially deaf and of limited mobility, Mr Ryan of Caringbah was actively involved in many human rights and climate issues.
Mr Ryan was admired by many for his belief in non violent but direct action.
He protests against the use of fossil fuels, the plight of refugees, in support of reconciliation with Indigenous peoples.
He was arrested at least seven times for taking part in protests.
In 2016 he was one of three members of Sutherland Climate Action Network who were among 67 people arrested in a protest to stop coal trains from reaching Newcastle.
He was arrested again in 2018, one of 26 people following an anti-coal protest at Newcastle.
"I will be gone by the time climate change is in full swing, but I am taking action for my grandchildren, great grandchildren and all future generations," Mr Ryan said at the time.
Willam James Ryan was born in Sydney on St Patrick's Day, 1922 to Michael and Mary Ryan.
A child of the Great Depression, Mr Ryan had to leave school before completing his School Certificate and get work to provide additional income for his family.
In 1941 he joined the 36th Australian Infantry Battalion and served in New Guinea where he encountered the Japanese Army on the Kokoda Trail and at the Battle of Buna-Gona where he was wounded in action when a machine-gun nest opened fire.
Recovering from his wounds he went on to fight in New Britain.
In 1946 he married Joyce Lillian Ryan (nee Hilaire) and they settled in the shire where they raised their three sons.
Mr Ryan worked at the Postmaster-General's Department and Telecom and attended night school to complete his School Certificate.
He became a passionate human rights activist, supporting the union movement, welfare and justice for First Peoples, refugee recognition and support, world hunger and education through his involvement with Oxfam, Medicines San Frontiers, Amnesty International and the Kokoda Track Foundation.
After Joyce died in 2013, he shifted his focus to climate activism through Greenpeace, the Australian Conservation Foundation, The Wilderness Society, Friends of the Earth and the Knitting Nannas.
Two days before he died, he was supporting the Knitting Nannas at Martin Place in a peaceful protest against inaction on climate change.
Liz Donley of Sydney Knitting Nannas and Friends described Mr Ryan kind and compassionate, intelligent and of inquiring mind.
"What raises the flag here for me is that he was 97 years-old, frail, blind and doggedly involved to improve our future health of the environment," she said.
Mr Ryan is survived by two sons, Colin and Gary, and two grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
