Norman Kirkwood Ewing (26 December 1870 – 19 July 1928), Australian

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

, was a member of three parliaments: the

Western Australian Legislative Assembly The Western Australian Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Western Australia, an Australian state. The Parliament sits in Parliament House in the Western Australian capital, Perth. The Legislat ...

, the Australian Senate, and the

Tasmanian House of Assembly The House of Assembly, or Lower House, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Tasmania in Australia. The other is the Legislative Council or Upper House. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Hobart. The Assembly has 25 ...

. He became a Judge of the

Supreme Court of Tasmania The Supreme Court of Tasmania is the highest State court in the Australian State of Tasmania. In the Australian court hierarchy, the Supreme Court of Tasmania is in the middle level, with both an appellate jurisdiction over lower courts, and d ...

, and was Administrator of

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

from November 1923 to June 1924.

Early life

Norman Ewing was born in

Wollongong Wollongong ( ), colloquially referred to as The Gong, is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near w ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

on 26 December 1870. The son of Anglican clergyman Thomas Campbell Ewing and Elizabeth née Thomson, one of his uncles was John Thomson, who himself became a Member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly. His brothers were John Ewing and Sir

Thomas Ewing Thomas Ewing Sr. (December 28, 1789October 26, 1871) was a National Republican and Whig politician from Ohio. He served in the U.S. Senate as well as serving as the secretary of the treasury and the first secretary of the interior. He is al ...

, who were also members of parliament (though in different jurisdictions). Ewing was educated at Illawarra College in

, then Oakwoods at

Mittagong Mittagong () is a town located in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, in Wingecarribee Shire. The town acts as the gateway to the Southern Highlands when coming from Sydney. Mittagong is situated at an elevation of . The town ...

, and finally night school in Sydney. Articled to Fitzhardinge, he became a solicitor in 1894, practising initially at

Murwillumbah Murwillumbah ( ) is a town in far north-eastern New South Wales, Australia, in the Tweed Shire, on the Tweed River. Sitting on the south eastern foothills of the McPherson Range in the Tweed Volcano valley, Murwillumbah is 848 km north-e ...

Politics

In 1895, he contested the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House ...

seat of Tweed as an , but was unsuccessful. Later that year, Ewing moved to

Perth, Western Australia Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

. He was admitted to the bar the following year, and in 1897 established the firm of Ewing and Downing. That year he published ''The Practice of the Local Courts of Western Australia''. On 4 May 1897, Ewing was elected to the

seat of Swan as an independent. A few months later he married Maude Louisa Stone, daughter of Sir Edward Stone. They had one son and two daughters. Ewing held the seat of Swan until March 1901, when he resigned it to take up a short-term seat in the first Australian Senate, which he had won on a

Free Trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. It can also be understood as the free market idea applied to international trade. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold ...

ticket. His term was due to continue until 31 December 1903. In 1902, while still a Senator, Ewing stood unsuccessfully for the position of

Mayor of Perth __TOC__ The history of the City of Perth, a local government area of Western Australia is defined over three distinct periods: *From 1829 to 1838 — controlled by the Governor of Western Australia *From 1838 to 1858 — controlled by the ''Pe ...

. He resigned as Senator eight months early on 17 April 1903, becoming the first member of either house of the Australian Parliament to resign his seat. In June 1904 he was an independent candidate for the Western Australian Legislative Assembly seat of Canning, but was unsuccessful. In 1905, Ewing moved to Hobart,

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

, where he established the firm of Ewing and Seager. In the federal election of 12 December 1906, he contested a Tasmanian seat in the Senate as an Anti-Socialist, but was defeated by a small margin. He then turned to Tasmanian state politics, winning the

seat of Franklin in April 1909. He held the seat for over six years, for the last year of which he was

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

Supreme Court of Tasmania

Ewing was made a

King's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or ...

in 1914, and in September the following year resigned his seat in

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. ...

to accept an appointment as a Judge of the

. As Judge of the Supreme Court, he was involved in the 1915 Tasmanian Royal Commission into the

public debt A country's gross government debt (also called public debt, or sovereign debt) is the financial liabilities of the government sector. Changes in government debt over time reflect primarily borrowing due to past government deficits. A deficit o ...

sinking fund; charges brought against

Victor Ratten Victor Richard Ratten (12 December 1878 – 30 December 1962) was an Australian surgeon and hospital administrator. He was known for his long involvement with Royal Hobart Hospital, serving as superintendent from 1917 to 1936 and as a surgeon unt ...

in 1918. He was appointed a Deputy Judge of the

Supreme Court of the Northern Territory The Supreme Court of the Northern Territory is the superior court for the Australian Territory of the Northern Territory. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the territory in civil matters, and hears the most serious criminal matters. It is ar ...

and chair of the 1919–20 Royal Commission into the administration of the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Au ...

, known as the Darwin Rebellion. He also conducted the 1920 Royal Commission in New South Wales into the imprisonment of twelve Industrial Workers of the World members. From November 1923 to June 1924, Ewing was appointed Administrator of Tasmania, while awaiting the arrival of the new

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Captain Sir

James O'Grady Sir James O'Grady, (6 May 1866 – 10 December 1934) was a trade unionist and Labour Party politician in the United Kingdom. He was the first colonial governor appointed by the Labour Party from within its own ranks. Early life O'Grady was b ...

. In 1924 he had a stroke, and thereafter worked only intermittently. He died at Launceston on 19 July 1928, and was buried at Carr Villa cemetery.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ewing, Norman Kirkwood 1870 births 1928 deaths Judges of the Supreme Court of Tasmania Judges of the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory 20th-century Australian judges Australian King's Counsel Free Trade Party members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian Senate Members of the Australian Senate for Western Australia Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly Members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly Protectionist Party politicians Industrial Workers of the World in Australia People from Wollongong Leaders of the Opposition in Tasmania 20th-century Australian politicians Burials in Tasmania