Sir Neil Elliott Lewis (27 October 1858 – 22 September 1935),Scott Bennett

, ''

Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...

'', Volume 10, MUP, 1986, pp 94-95. Retrieved 2009-09-13

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n politician, was

Premier of Tasmania The premier of Tasmania is the head of the executive government in the Australian state of Tasmania. By convention, the leader of the party or political grouping which has majority support in the House of Assembly is invited by the governor of Ta ...

on three occasions. He was also a member of the first Australian federal ministry, led by

Edmund Barton Sir Edmund "Toby" Barton, (18 January 18497 January 1920) was an Australian politician and judge who served as the first prime minister of Australia from 1901 to 1903, holding office as the leader of the Protectionist Party. He resigned to ...

Early life

Lewis was born in

Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

, son of Neil Lewis, a merchant, and his wife Anne Maria, ''née'' Cox. N. E. Lewis was the grandson of Richard Lewis (government auctioneer) and nephew of David Lewis, colonial treasurer 1878–79. Educated at the

Hobart High School Hobart High School is a coeducational secondary school with academy status, situated in the village of Loddon, near Norwich in Norfolk, England. It typically has around 850 pupils. The school previously had specialist science college status ...

, Lewis took the diploma of associate of arts with gold medal, and was awarded a Tasmanian scholarship. Lewis then attended

Balliol College Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the f ...

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

graduating

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

, 1882 and

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

& B.C.L. in 1885. He was admitted as a barrister in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in 1883 and returned to Tasmania where he was admitted as a barrister in December 1885 and commenced a private practice.

Political career

Lewis was elected to 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 m ...

at the 1886 election and remained a member of parliament until 1903. During this time he represented conservative interests and policies in opposition to liberals such as

Philip Fysh Sir Philip Oakley Fysh (1 March 1835 – 20 December 1919) was an English-born Australian politician. He arrived in Tasmania in 1859 and became a leading merchant in Hobart. He served two terms as premier of Tasmania (1877–1878, 1887–1892) ...

, Sir

Edward Braddon Sir Edward Nicholas Coventry Braddon (11 June 1829 – 2 February 1904) was an Australian politician who served as Premier of Tasmania from 1894 to 1899, and was a Member of the First Australian Parliament in the House of Representatives. Bradd ...

and

Andrew Inglis Clark Andrew Inglis Clark (24 February 1848 – 14 November 1907) was an Australian founding father and co-author of the Australian Constitution; he was also an engineer, barrister, politician, electoral reformer and jurist. He initially qualified as a ...

. He served in

Henry Dobson Henry Dobson (24 December 1841 – 10 October 1918) was an Australian politician, who served as a member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly and later of the Australian Senate. He was the 17th Premier of Tasmania from 17 August 1892 to 14 A ...

's ministry from 1892 until 1894 as Attorney-General, and was Leader of the Opposition 1894–1899. He was also an ardent federalist, having accompanied his predecessor as Premier, Sir

, as part of the Tasmanian delegation to the 1897–1898 convention.

In early October 1899, following a number of scandals affecting members of his Ministry, Braddon lost a vote of confidence on the floor of Parliament and was obliged to resign, and Lewis became

on 12 October 1899. He served in this role until 1903, encouraging producing interests and endeavouring to find fresh markets. Lewis was appointed as Minister without Portfolio in the first federal ministry under

in January 1901. However, he decided not to stand for election to the Federal Parliament in March. Lewis and Sir

James Dickson James or Jim Dickson may refer to: Politicians *James Dickson (Scottish politician) (c. 1715–1771), MP for Lanark Burghs 1768–1771 *James Dickson (New South Wales politician) (1813–1863), member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly *Ja ...

are the only people to have held ministerial office in an Australian federal government without ever being a member of the Commonwealth Parliament. Lewis was the last surviving member of the inaugural Barton Cabinet. At the 1903 election, Lewis' seat of

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

was abolished, and he failed to win the new seat of Central Hobart; the only time a Tasmanian premier has been defeated in a general election. Lewis failed in a second attempt in 1906, but won one of the Denison seats under the statewide Hare-Clark system at the 1909 election—ironic in light of his ardent opposition to the system. Lewis was to serve in Parliament for another 13 years. Lewis was again Premier of Tasmania in 1909, and again from 1909 to 1912. During these times he also held the post of Attorney-General. After leaving politics in 1922, he became

Lieutenant-Governor of Tasmania The governor of Tasmania is the representative in the Australian state of Tasmania of the Monarch of Australia, currently King Charles III. The incumbent governor is Barbara Baker, who was appointed in June 2021. The official residence of the ...

1933–1935 and was the first president of the Tasmanian Amateur Athletic Association. Lewis was vice-chancellor of the

University of Tasmania The University of Tasmania (UTAS) is a public research university, primarily located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1890, it is Australia's fourth oldest university. Christ College, one of the university's residential colleges, first pro ...

in 1903–1909 and chancellor in 1924–1933. By the time of his death in 1935 he was the last Dominion or self-governing colonial head of government of the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...

alive.

Honours

Lewis was appointed a

Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

(CMG) 15 May 1901, in preparation of the forthcoming royal visit of the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York (later

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Que ...

and Queen Mary). The following year he was knighted as a

Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honour ...

(KCMG).

Family

He married, in 1896, Lina Henrietta Youl, daughter of Charles Youl, JP, and granddaughter of Sir James Arndell Youl, KCMG. They had two sons.

References

* *

External links

List of Premiers of Tasmania
*Who Was Who, A & C Black 1920-2008 {{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Elliott 1858 births 1935 deaths Commonwealth Liberal Party politicians Australian Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Australian politicians awarded knighthoods Members of the Cabinet of Australia Premiers of Tasmania Australian federationists Politicians from Hobart Leaders of the Opposition in Tasmania Treasurers of Tasmania 19th-century Australian politicians 20th-century Australian politicians