Major General Sir Robert Joseph Henry Risson, CB, CBE, DSO, ED (20 April 1901 – 19 July 1992) was an Australian engineer, soldier, and tramway administrator.

[1][2] He attended Gatton State High School, passing the Senior Public Examination in November 1918, and matriculated to The University of Queensland where he studied Civil Engineering.

[11] In June 1923, Risson was employed by the Brisbane Tramways Trust as a junior civil engineer, at an annual wage of £250.

[2][15] Brisbane's tramways undertook an expansion and modernisation program following World War II, introducing modern vehicles and utilising mass-concrete tram track construction methods.

[19] Risson was sent to the Middle East, where he commanded the 2/3rd Field Company, and then the 7th Division Engineers from 29 May 1941 to 23 January 1942, engaging in the 1941 Siege of Tobruk, where he played a vital role in improving defences, and then in the Syria–Lebanon campaign.

[18][20][21][22] After the 9th Division returned home in 1943, he was promoted to brigadier on 23 March 1943, and became Chief Engineer of II Corps, participating in the New Guinea campaign.

He was temporarily attached to Allied Land Forces Headquarters (LHQ) from 21 May 1944 to 1 July 1944, but returned to command the engineers in the 1945 Borneo campaign.

[2][18][22][23]: 20 While Risson was overseas, Gwen also participated in the war effort, commanding Brisbane's Women's Air Training Corps in 1940.

[2] Following Hector Hercules Bell's decision in 1949 to retire as Melbourne and Metropolitan Tramways Board chairman,[33] the State Government of Victoria, in April 1949, empowered a committee to start vetting applications for his replacement.

Risson's reopening of Bourke St trams, with the justification of economic advantage, is lauded as his greatest achievement.

[2] Risson also made use of migration agreements to bolster low employee numbers, even purchasing dwellings to house new arrivals.

[39] Academic Graeme Turnbull argues that "the retention of the Melbourne tramway system during this period is due almost solely to Sir Robert's strong management",[2] and academic John Legge writes that "Melbourne's tram network in the years after the war found that Risson still knew how to fight.

[41] The first D1-class tram (number 3501), officially launched on 2 August 2002,[43] was fitted with plaques near the front doors stating that it had been "named in honour of Sir Robert J.H.

[48] After a three-and-a-half-year engagement,[49] Risson married Gwendolyn Edith Millicent Spurgin on 12 May 1934 at St John’s Church of England Cathedral, Brisbane.