In 1918 he left the public service and became an accountant, publishing a book in 1921 on federal income tax and another on the Sydney stock exchange.
He married Alys Noad, a musician, on 3 July 1926 at Ashfield; that year he also served as mayor of Canterbury.
In 1936 he became managing director of Menzies Hotel in Melbourne and also directed Waldas Shoes Ltd.[1] In 1928 he established Rydge's Business Journal.
He began to sell his hotel interests in the mid-1940s to focus on cinema; he was later commissioner of the Rural Bank of New South Wales (1961–75).
He received government appointments from both Robert Askin's Liberal administration and Neville Wran's Labor one.