Essington Lewis

Essington Lewis, CH (13 January 1881 – 2 October 1961) was a prominent Australian industrialist. He was the Director-General of the Department of Munitions during World War II.

Essington Lewis CH
Essington Lewis (circa 1900) (State Library of South Australia collection)
Born	13 January 1881 Burra, Colony of South Australia
Died	2 October 1961 (aged 80) Tallarook, Victoria, Australia
Nationality	Australian
Alma mater	South Australian School of Mines
Occupation	Mining engineer
Years active	Employee 1904 – 26 managing director 1926–50 Chairman 1950–61
Employer	Broken Hill Proprietary Company Ltd (BHP)
Spouse(s)	Gladys Rosalind Cowan ( m. 1910)
Children	5[1]
Parent(s)	John Lewis Martha Brook
Relatives	Tom Lewis (nephew) Sandy Lewis (nephew) James Cowan (father-in-law) Darcy Rivers Warren Cowan (brother-in-law)

Biography

Early life

Essington Lewis was born in Burra, South Australia on 13 January 1881. His father was the pastoralist and politician John Lewis (1844–1923), founder of Bagot, Shakes & Lewis. He was named after Port Essington, where his father owned a cattle property.[2] He was educated at St. Peter's College, Adelaide and the South Australian School of Mines.

Career

After joining Broken Hill Proprietary Company Ltd (BHP) (now BHP Billiton) in 1904, he rose through the company ranks to become managing director in 1926 and chairman in 1950, a position he held until his death in 1961. For the whole of his period as M.D., he had a close working relationship and personal friendship with Chairman of Directors Harold Gordon Darling (1885–1950).

During his travels to Germany and Japan in the 1930s, he realised the threat of these countries to Australia. Accordingly, he helped establish the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation and many munitions facilities meaning Australia was better prepared for industrialisation when the war started in 1939. During World War II, he also served as Director-General of the Department of Munitions. He supported the establishment of the motor industry in Australia in 1948, being rewarded by being able to purchase the first commercially produced Holden 48/215.

He was appointed a Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour on 24 September 1943 for his work as Director - Munitions & Aircraft Production in WW2.[3]

Personal life

In 1910, he married Gladys Rosalind Cowan, OBE, the only daughter of James Cowan. Their family consisted of five children – sons James Essington and Robert Brook, and daughters Helen, Mary and Jane. His sons were educated at Geelong Grammar School and the daughters at the Clyde School. The family lived in Malvern, Victoria and owned a country property named "Landscape" near Tallarook in central Victoria. Robert Brook (1918–2009) is notable as being the Master of St Mark's College, University of Adelaide from 1957 to 1968 and the Master of Menzies College, La Trobe University from 1968 to 1970.[1][4][5][6]

Death

He died while riding his horse on his property "Landscape" near Tallarook on 2 October 1961, aged 80. Newspapers of the day claimed he suffered a heart attack.[7] St John's Anglican Church, Toorak, was overflowing for his funeral; he was cremated.

Legacy

Essington Lewis Avenue in Whyalla

His life is the subject of several books, including The Steel-Master: a life of Essington Lewis by historian Geoffrey Blainey, another by Clive Turnbull[8] and the musical play I am Work by John O'Donoghue.[9] The Essington Lewis Memorial Lecture has been presented annually in South Australia since its establishment in 1975. It is funded by BHP and was instituted by the Adelaide Branch of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy.[10] One of Whyalla's main streets, Essington Lewis Avenue, was named in his honour.[11]

Citations and references

Citations

1. SLSA, 2012, page 3.
2. "Out of the Mail Bag". The Mail. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 12 August 1944. p. 4. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
3. "LEWIS, Essington; The Order of the Companion of Honour". The Australian Government. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
4. 'Births, marriages and deaths', The Register, Thursday 21 April 1910, page 6, , retrieved 18 September 2012.
5. 'Death of Mrs Essington Lewis', The Advertiser, Wednesday 7 July 1954, page 2, , retrieved 25 September 2012.
6. SLSA, 2012, page 4.
7. Canberra Times October 3 1961.page 3
8. Turnbull, Clive (1963). Essington Lewis. Oxford University Press.
9. O'Donoghue, John (1989), Essington Lewis: I am work, ABC Radio, retrieved 25 December 2014
10. Hegarty, Owen (30 November 2006). "Essington Lewis Memorial Lecture, November 30 2006" (PDF).
11. "Google Maps". Retrieved 28 October 2018.

References

• Blainey, Geoffrey; Smith, Ann G. "Lewis, Essington (1881–1961)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 15 October 2014..
• Walker, Rosanne (30 June 1997). "Lewis, Essington (1881–1961)". Encyclopedia of Australian Science. Retrieved 15 October 2014..
• "LEWIS FAMILY PRG 247 Series List" (PDF). State Library of South Australia (SLSA). 2012. Retrieved 15 October 2014.

Further reading and external links

• 1971, Geoffrey Blainey, The Steel Master: Life of Essington Lewis, ISBN 9780333119624.
• Essington Lewis' Holden at the National Museum of Australia

Government offices
Preceded by	Director-general of the Department of Munitions 1940–1945	Succeeded by John Jensen as Secretary of the Department of Supply and Development