Richard Minchin Ure was born in Toowoomba, Queensland on 25 August 1913 and educated at the Sydney Technical High School. He then studied architecture at the Sydney Technical College and became a Registered Architect of New South Wales (1938) and an Associate (1944), later a Fellow (1961), of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects.
 
In 1939, Ure joined the Department of the Interior [II] as a temporary Senior Draftsman. During World War II, he served in the Australian Army as a Lieutenant (1942-46), resuming his public service career in 1946 as a temporary Architect Grade 3 in the Department of Works and Housing. He was subsequently Designing Architect (1950-54), Principal Architect, Australian Capital Territory (1954-57), Chief Designing Architect (1957-64) and Senior Assistant Director-General (Consultant) (1964-74) in the Department of Works [III]. At the time of his retirement on 26 August 1977 he was First Assistant Secretary, Architectural Division in the Department of Construction.

Ure's achievements as an architect included designs for a 25 pounder anti-recoil weapon (1942), a self steering torpedo with sonic control (1943), the Australian-American Memorial, Royal Australian Mint and Black Mountain Telecom Tower in Canberra. He was created a Member of the British Empire (MBE) in the 1960s and an Officer in the same Order (OBE) in 1977.


Sources:
Commonwealth Directory 1968-77 (various issues)
Who's who in Australia 1965, p 858; 1991, p 1177