Essington Lewis CH (1881 - 1961)

Born 13 Jan 1881 in Kooringa, South Australia, Australia

Ancestors

Husband of Gladys Rosalind (Cowan) Lewis OBE — married 12 Apr 1910 (to 6 Jul 1954) in Burnside, South Australia, Australia

Descendants

Died 2 Oct 1961 at age 80 in Tallarook, Victoria, Australia

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Biography

Essington was born in Kooringa, South Australia during 1881. He is the son of John Lewis and Martha Brook. He passed away in Tallarook, Victoria, Australia during 1961.

Essington was born in Kooringa, South Australia (now called Burra) on 13 January 1881 to John Lewis and Martha Brook.^[1][2]

Essington attended St. Peter's College in Adelaide and the Adelaide University but did not graduate with a degree. Instead he gained a diploma from the South Australian School of Mines in 1903. With the same intense determination as he did in his working life he represented both South Adelaide, Norwood and the South Australia State team in Australian Rules Football.

Essington made a name for himself in industry with the Broken Hill Proprietary Co. Ltd at Broken Hill, New South Wales, known to everyone as B.H.P.; where he started working in 1904. Later promoted to Supervisor of their Smelting works at Port Pirie in South Australia on his way to eventually becoming B.H.P's General Manager and driving force. He stayed on the Board of Directors until his death in 1961.

Essington married Gladys Rosalind Cowan in Burnside, South Australia on 12 April 1910.^[3] The following marriage notice was published in the South Australian newspaper, The Register, on 21 April 1910:^[4]

LEWIS-COWAN.-On the 12th April, at St.David's Church, Burnside, by the Rev. J. Warren, Essington, third son of the Hon. John Lewis, of Benacre, Glen Osmond, to Gladys Rosalind, only daughter of the late James Cowan, Erindale, Burnside.

Essington put together a conglomerate of Australian Industrialists during World War II to boost the war effort. And served the Commonwealth Government as Director General of Munitions and Aircraft Production under both Prime Ministers Menzies and Curtin.

He turned down a Knighthood but was appointed a Member of the Companions of Honor, the first non Prime Minister to do so.

At the end of the war Essington retired from public life which he had never been comfortable with, but still maintain the reins at B.H.P. Along with Mr Harold Darling he had made the company one of the worlds leading Industrial power houses and with hard work and determination put Australia at the forefront in the Industrial world.^[5]

In October 1961 he passed away after a horse riding accident at his Victorian property "Landscape" in the area of Tallarook at the age of 80. His accident is believed to have been the result of a heart attack. His funeral was held at St. John's Church, Toorak, Melbourne and he was cremated and his ashes were laid to rest in the Springvale Botanical Cemetery in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.] with his beloved Gladys.^[6][7][8]

On his death he left 3 daughters: Helen, Mary and Jane and 2 sons: James Essington and Robert Brook. His wife Gladys Rosalind Lewis had predeceased him in 1954. She had made her own life in social work and had been appointed O.B.E. in 1950.

Sources

1. ↑ Genealogy SA, Online Database Search for Birth Registration, accessed 6 June 2021 (Subscription required to view full details of the above registration), Search result follows - Surname: LEWIS, Given Names: Essington, Date of Birth: 13-Jan-1881, Gender: M, Father: John LEWIS, Mother: Martha Ann BROOK, Birth Residence: Kooringa, District: Burra, Book/Page: 254/480
2. ↑ Geoffrey Blainey and Ann G. Smith, 'Lewis, Essington (1881–1961)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/lewis-essington-7185/text12419, published first in hardcopy 1986, accessed online 15 November 2018.
3. ↑ Genealogy SA, Online Database Search for Birth Registration, accessed 6 June 2021 (Subscription required to view full details of the above registration), Search result follows - Groom Surname: LEWIS, Groom Given Names: Essington, Bride Surname: COWAN, Bride Given Names: Gladys Rosalind, Marriage Date: 12-Apr-1910, Marriage Place: St David Church Burnside, Groom Age: 29, Groom Marital Status: S, Groom Father: John LEWIS, Bride Age: 20, Bride Marital Status: S, Bride Father: James COWAN, District: Norwood, Book/Page: 243/129
4. ↑ 1910 'Family Notices', The Register (Adelaide, SA : 1901 - 1929), 21 April, p. 6. , viewed 06 Sep 2021, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article57374099
5. ↑ [https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/darling-harold-gordon-5884|
6. ↑ https://billiongraves.com/grave/Essington-Lewis/29470701 Springvale Botanical Cemetery in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
7. ↑ * Victorian Births, Deaths & Marriages: Death registration: LEWIS, Essington - event: Death - mothers name: Martha - mothers family name at birth: BROOK - fathers name: LEWIS, John - place of birth: BURRA SOUTH AUSTRALIA - place of death: TALLAROOK - age at death: 80 - registered year: 1961 - registration no.: 21521/1961. Victorian Births, Deaths & Marriages: Family History Search
8. ↑ Grave record for Essington Lewis (Died: 2 Oct 1961), Billion Graves Record 29470701 Melbourne, Greater Dandenong City, Victoria, Australia. first accessed online on the 29th of May, 2021 at: https://billiongraves.com/grave/Essington-Lewis/29470701

Further reading

• Hetherington, Mollie (1983). Famous Australians.: Essington, Lewis, pages 429-446 , Hutchinson Group (Australia) Pty. Ltd., Richmond, Vic. Australia.
• Arnold, John, & Morris, Deirdre, (1994). Monash biographical dictionary of 20th century Australia. page: 316, Reed Reference Publishing, Port Melbourne, Vic. Australia.

External links

• Wikipedia article for Essington Lewis
• Personal webpage on the Redlegs Museum (History of the Norwood Football Club)

• Bob Lewis, ‘Essington Lewis, CH’, SA History Hub, History Trust of South Australia, https://sahistoryhub.history.sa.gov.au/people/essington-lewis-ch, accessed 29 May 2021.

• WALKER, ROSANNE (Created: 30 June 1997, Last modified: 4 February 2010), BIOGRAPHICAL ENTRY: Lewis, Essington (1881 - 1961). from the Encyclopedia of Australian Science © 2015. first accessed online on the 29th of May, 2021 at: https://www.eoas.info/biogs/P002427b.htm

• Essington Lewis 1881-1961 © 2021. from the Australian Academy of Science. first accessed online on the 29th of May, 2021 at: https://www.science.org.au/files/userfiles/fellowship/memoirs/documents/essington-lewis.pdf

• History Trust of South Australia, '‘J150 Plaque, Essington Lewis'’, SA History Hub, History Trust of South Australia, https://sahistoryhub.history.sa.gov.au/things/j150-plaque-essington-lewis, accessed 29 May 2021.

• Essington Lewis from the YOUR DICTIONARY website. first accessed online on the 29th of May, 2021 at: https://biography.yourdictionary.com/essington-lewis

• ESSINGTON LEWIS CH 1881 – 1961 painted by William Dargie in 1952. from the NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY website. first accessed online on the 29th of May, 2021 at: https://www.portrait.gov.au/people/essington-lewis-1881
  

  Essington Lewis CH is Notable.

Essington Lewis CH was born in the Colony of South Australia (1836-1900)