Edgar Henry Mead Lewis (12 February 1902 – 26 April 1992) was an Australian politician who was a Country Party member of the Legislative Assembly of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

from 1958 to 1974, representing the seat of Moore. Lewis was born in

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...

, and attended

Fremantle Boys' School Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...

. He left school at an early age to work as a farmhand, and in 1924 he and his brother purchased their own property at Miling. They eventually acquired another three farms, and Lewis became a member of various farming industry groups (including a director of what is now

Wesfarmers Wesfarmers Limited is an Australian conglomerate, headquartered in Perth, Western Australia. It has interests predominantly in Australia and New Zealand, operating in retail, chemical, fertiliser, industrial and safety products. With revenue o ...

). He was elected to the Moora Road Board in 1936, serving until 1939.Edgar Henry Mead Lewis
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 24 May 2016. Lewis entered parliament at the 1958 Moore by-election, which had been caused by the death of the sitting member, John Ackland. In February 1962, following the retirement of the Country Party leader, Arthur Watts, he was elected to replace

Crawford Nalder Sir Crawford David Nalder (14 February 1910 – 8 December 1994) was an Australian politician who served as Deputy Premier of Western Australia from 1962 to 1971. He was leader of the Country Party in Western Australia from 1962 to 1973. Nalde ...

(the new leader) as deputy leader of the party. Lewis was consequently elevated to the ministry, becoming Minister for Education and Minister for Electricity. A few months later, he was also appointed

Minister for Native Welfare The Minister for Aboriginal Affairs is a position in the Cabinet of Western Australia, first created in 1947 during the McLarty–Watts Ministry. The current Minister for Aboriginal Affairs is Tony Buti of the Labor Party. The minister is respo ...

(following

George Cornell George Cornell (13 November 1927 – 10 March 1966) was an English criminal and member of The Richardsons, who were scrap metal dealers and criminals from South London. Cornell was shot and killed by Ronnie Kray at The Blind Beggar public hou ...

's resignation), although

took over his electricity portfolio. As native welfare minister, Lewis began the removal of prohibitions on

Indigenous Australians Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

drinking alcohol, at a time "when the climate was almost universally anti-Aboriginal" and the changes were opposed by white rural constituents. Drinking rights were initially granted in the

South West The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

and then expanded to all regions except the Kimberley and the

Eastern Goldfields The Eastern Goldfields is part of the Western Australian Goldfields in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia, covering the present and former gold-mining area east of Perth. Extent and name origin The region encompasses the town ...

; the remaining restrictions were abolished by the ALP following a change of government in 1971. He subsequently announced that he regretted his decision, stating "I have no doubt in my mind that none of them have benefited physically or morally - and certainly not financially". Lewis remained in the ministry until the government's defeat at the 1971 state election, and afterward was replaced as deputy leader by

Ray McPharlin Walter Raymond McPharlin (21 February 1916 – 13 July 1991) was the Country Party member for Mount Marshall in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly from 1967 to 1983. He played football for East Fremantle from 1938 to 1939 and in 1 ...

. He left parliament at the 1974 election, and retired to

Perth 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 is ...

, where he died in 1992, aged 90.

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Edgar 1902 births 1992 deaths Australian farmers Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Western Australia Politicians from Perth, Western Australia Western Australian local councillors 20th-century Australian politicians Wesfarmers people Energy Ministers of Western Australia