Thomas Lancelot Lewis (23 January 1922 – 25 April 2016) was a

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

politician,

Premier of New South Wales The premier of New South Wales is the head of government in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Government of New South Wales follows the Westminster system, Westminster Parliamentary System, with a Parliament of New South Wales actin ...

and minister in the cabinets of Sir Robert Askin and Sir Eric Willis. He became Premier following Askin's retirement from politics and held the position until he was replaced by Willis in a party vote. Lewis was first elected to 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 ...

for the

Electoral district of Wollondilly Wollondilly is an New South Wales Legislative Assembly electoral districts, electoral district of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales. It is currently represented by independ ...

for the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

in 1957, and served until his resignation in 1978.

Early life

He was born in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

, the son of Lancelot Ashley and Gretta Lewis, and was educated at

St Peter's College, Adelaide St Peter's College (officially The Anglican Church of Australia Collegiate School of Saint Peter, but commonly known as Saints) is an Private school, independent Anglican Church of Australia, Anglican Primary school, primary and Secondary school ...

, from 1931 to 1940. Subsequently, he managed the property of his uncle, Essington Lewis, Managing Director of

BHP BHP Group Limited, founded as the Broken Hill Proprietary Company, is an Australian multinational mining and metals corporation. BHP was established in August 1885 and is headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria. As of 2024, BHP was the world� ...

and Director-General of Munitions during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He was a member of the Australian Imperial Force from 1940 to 1946, and served in Sydney,

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and

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as a lieutenant. He was on the staff of the Embassy of Australia, Washington, D.C. from 1946 to 1951.

Early career

Lewis was elected as the member for

Wollondilly Wollondilly Shire is a periurban local government area that is located on the far southwest fringe of the Greater Sydney area in New South Wales, Australia. The local government area is part of the Macarthur and Blue Mountains regions. The Wol ...

representing the

in 1957. When the Askin Government came to power in 1965, Lewis was given relatively junior portfolios of Lands and Mines. As lands minister he was responsible for setting up the

NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) is a directorate of the New South Wales Department of Planning and Environment and responsible for managing more than 890 national parks and reserves, covering over 7.5 million hectares of land ac ...

in 1967. In 1970, he set up the

Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife The Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife is an Australian not-for-profit, non-governmental organisation that was incorporated on 29 June 1970. Its purpose is to foster the protection of Australia's native plants, animals and cultural heritag ...

as an independent not-for-profit organisation, in order to be the fundraising arm of the NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service. In 1972, Tourism was added to his ministerial responsibilities when

Eric Willis Sir Eric Archibald Willis (15 January 1922 – 10 May 1999) was an Australian politician, Cabinet Minister and the 34th Premier of New South Wales, serving from 23 January 1976 to 14 May 1976. Born in Murwillumbah in 1922, Willis was educated ...

moved to Education.

Premier

Askin announced his resignation late in 1974, and Lewis was chosen as leader over Willis and Justice Minister John Maddison. He was sworn in on as Premier on 3 January 1975. He was elected during an uneasy time for the Liberal government, being engaged in almost daily warfare with the

Whitlam Labor Government The Whitlam government was the federal executive government of Australia led by Prime Minister Gough Whitlam of the Australian Labor Party. The government commenced when Labor defeated the McMahon government at the 1972 federal election, endi ...

in Canberra, most notably over the

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health care scheme, to which New South Wales was the last state to sign.Federation Press, ''The Premiers of New South Wales 1856–2005 – Volume 2, 1901–2005'' (Syd, 2005)pg 387–399 The defining moment of the Lewis government was the decision taken by Lewis to break with convention when Whitlam appointed his Attorney-General,

Lionel Murphy Lionel Keith Murphy QC (30 August 1922 – 21 October 1986) was an Australian politician, barrister, and judge. He was a Senator for New South Wales from 1962 to 1975, serving as Attorney-General in the Whitlam government, and then sat on the ...

, a Senator from New South Wales, to the

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. In a break with long-standing convention, Lewis refused to appoint a replacement Senator from the same party, instead appointing the 72-year-old Mayor of Albury, Cleaver Bunton. This triggered immediate outrage, not only from the Labor Party but also the executive of the Liberal party. By the end of 1975, Lewis' image was badly damaged and he soon lost the confidence of his party. Sentiment was growing in favour of replacing him with Sir Eric Willis. At a caucus meeting on 20 January 1976, parliamentary backbencher Neil Pickard called a spill motion, which was carried 22 votes to 11. Lewis opted not to try to regain his post, leaving Willis to take the leadership unopposed. Lewis's term as Premier came to an end on 23 January 1976, his 54th birthday. Lewis was the only non-elected non-Labor premier who did not take the Coalition into an election.

Later life

Lewis served as Willis' Minister for Local Government until May 1976, when the Liberal Government was narrowly defeated by the Labor Party. In opposition Lewis did not hold any position within the Shadow Cabinet and later resigned from Parliament on 7 September 1978, the vacancy becoming one of the justifications for calling the election for 7 October 1978. At the election, his seat fell to the Labor candidate Bill Knott. On his departure from parliament, he was permitted by

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

, on the Governor's recommendation, to continue to use the title "The Honourable". He was made an

Officer of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

on 26 January 2000 ''"For service to the Parliament of New South Wales, to the environment as the founder of the NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service, and to the community"''. On 1 January 2001 he was awarded the

Centenary Medal The Centenary Medal is an award which was created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the centenary of the Federation of Australia and to recognise "people who made a contribution to Australian society or g ...

. Apart from these two honours, Lewis had kept himself out of the public spotlight since his retirement from Parliament. Lewis died on 25 April 2016, aged 94.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Tom 1922 births 2016 deaths People educated at St Peter's College, Adelaide Australian Army officers Australian Army personnel of World War II Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Premiers of New South Wales 1975 Australian constitutional crisis Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of New South Wales Treasurers of New South Wales Officers of the Order of Australia