Biographical entry Lewis, Essington (1881 - 1961)

Summary

Essington Lewis joined Broken Hill Proprietary Company Limited in 1904 and remained with the company until his death, becoming General Manager in 1921, Managing Director in 1926, Chief General Manager in 1938 and Chairman in 1950.

Details

Events

c. 1901 - c. 1903

Education - Educated South Australian School of Mines

1904

Career position - Foreman at Broken Hill Sulphuric Acid and Zinc Plant

1915 - 1918

Career position - Metallurgist and Assistant Manager at Broken Hill Pty. Co. Smelting Works in Port Pirie, then Manager of Iron Knob Tramway and Ironstone Quarries then Manager of Broken Hill Munitions Co.

1918 - 1920

Career position - Assistant General Manager of BHP Co.

1921 - 1925

Career position - General Manager of BHP

1926 - 1937

Career position - Managing Director of BHP

1938 - 1950

Career position - Chief General Manager at BHP

1940

Award - Bronze Medal received from the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy

1940 - 1945

Career position - Director General of Munitions

1942 - 1945

Career position - Director General of Aircraft Production and Chairman of the Aircraft Advisory Committee

1943

Award - Kernot Medal received from the University of Melbourne

1943

Award - Companion of Honour (CH)

1944

Award - Bessemer Gold Medal received from the Iron and Steel Institute London

1948

Award - Florence M. Taylor Medal received from the Australian Institute of Metallurgists

1950 - 1961

Career position - Chairman of BHP

1954 -

Award - Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science (FAA)

Related entries

Archival resources

The University of Melbourne Archives

• Essington Lewis - Records, 1924, 92/47; The University of Melbourne Archives. Details
• Essington Lewis - Records, 1896 - 1899, 92/87; The University of Melbourne Archives. Details
• Essington Lewis - Records, 1980, 93/130; The University of Melbourne Archives. Details
• Essington Lewis - Records, 1883 - 1956, 72/17; The University of Melbourne Archives. Details
• Essington Lewis - Records, 1932 - 1973, 72/40; The University of Melbourne Archives. Details
• Essington Lewis - Records, 1923 - 1954, 72/38; The University of Melbourne Archives. Details
• Essington Lewis - Records, 1933 - 1949, 78/104; The University of Melbourne Archives. Details

Published resources

Books

• Blainey, Geoffrey, The steel master: a life of Essington Lewis, Macmillan of Australia, South Melbourne, 1971, 217 pp. Details

Book Sections

• Baker, Anne Pimlott, 'Essington Lewis, 1881-1961', in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2004. Details
• Blainey, Geoffrey; G. Smith, Ann, 'Lewis, Essington (1881-1961)', in Bede Nairn and Geoffrey Serle (eds), Australian Dictionary of Biography, vol. 10, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 1986, pp. 87-92. Also available at http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A100084b.htm. Details

Journal Articles

• Rudd, E. A., 'Essington Lewis, Whyalla and the Middleback Ranges [The Essington Lewis Memorial Lecture (14th, 1989, Adelaide)]', AUSIMM Bulletin and Proceedings, vol. 294, no. 7, 1989, pp. 25-30. Details

Online Resources

• 'Primary description of person CP 111; Essington Lewis', in RecordsSearch, National Archives of Australia, 2000, http://naa12.naa.gov.au/scripts/SearchOld.asp?Number=CP+111. Details
• National Library of Australia, 'Lewis, Essington', Trove, National Library of Australia and the Australian National Maritime Museum Darling Harbour, 2009, http://nla.gov.au/nla.party-622903. Details

See also

• Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, Technology in Australia 1788-1988, Online edn, Australian Science and Technology Heritage Centre, Melbourne, 3 May 2000, http://www.austehc.unimelb.edu.au/tia/scripts/tia-dynindex.php3?EID=P002427. Details
• Rees, A. L. G., 'Ian William Wark 1899-1985', Historical Records of Australian Science, vol. 6, no. 4, 1987, pp. 533-548. Also available at http://www.publish.csiro.au/paper/HR9870640533.htm. Details