Eric Vernon Lawson (1910 – 1 July 1993),"Obituary", ''

Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper i ...

'', 5 July 1993 was an Australian businessman and politician in the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...

. The

Lawson Tama Stadium Lawson Tama Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Honiara, Solomon Islands. It is currently used mostly for football matches. The stadium is unique as the stand is built into the hillside so there is no official capacity but no more than 20,000 ...

in the capital

Honiara Honiara () is the capital and largest city of Solomon Islands, situated on the northwestern coast of Guadalcanal. , it had a population of 92,344 people. The city is served by Honiara International Airport and the seaport of Point Cruz, and lie ...

is named after him.

Biography

Lawson arrived in the

British Solomon Islands The British Solomon Islands Protectorate was first declared over the southern Solomons in 1893, when Captain Gibson, R.N., of , declared the southern islands a British protectorate. Other islands were subsequently declared to form part o ...

in 1947 to manage the governmental Trade Scheme, later the British Solomons Trading Company. He went on to become manager of a

copra Copra (from ) is the dried, white flesh of the coconut from which coconut oil is extracted. Traditionally, the coconuts are sun-dried, especially for export, before the oil, also known as copra oil, is pressed out. The oil extracted from copr ...

plantation in the

Russell Islands :''See also Russell Island (disambiguation).'' The Russell Islands are two small islands (Pavuvu and Mbanika), as well as several islets, of volcanic origin, in the Central Province of Solomon Islands. They are located approximately northwest of ...

for the Fairymead Sugar Company, before starting his own company, E. V. Lawson Pty.Lawson, Eric V.
''Solomon Islands Historical Encyclopaedia, 1893–1978'' In 1948 he became a member of the Honiara Town Advisory Board, and later served as a member of the town council. In 1960 he became a member of the wholly appointed

Legislative Council of the Solomon Islands The Legislative Council (LegCo) was the legislature of the Solomon Islands between 1960 and 1970. History The Legislative Council was created following the proclamation of the British Solomon Islands (Constitution) Order-in-Council, 1960 on 18 Oc ...

, and the following year became Vice-President of the town council. In 1961 Lawson called a meeting at the Rove sports ground to discuss sporting facilities in the territory, which led to the establishment of the British Solomon Islands Amateur Sports Association, with Lawson as president. The government allowed the creation of the Town Sports Ground. Due to Lawson's heavy involvement in its establishment, it was later renamed the

. Constitutional reforms in 1964 led to the creation of eight elected seats on the Legislative Council, but only the

seat was directly elected, with the remainder elected by electoral colleges composed of local councillors.Decolonising the Solomon Islands: British theory and Melanesian practice
. Alfred Deakin Research Institute In the elections in April 1965 Lawson won the Honiara seat, becoming the first directly elected MP in the Solomon Islands.Roland Rich, Luke Hambly & Michael G Morgan (2008) ''Political Parties in the Pacific Islands'', ANU E Press, p106 In June 1965 Lawson and North Malaita MP

Mariano Kelesi Mariano is a masculine name from the Romance languages, corresponding to the feminine Mariana. It is an Italian, Spanish and Portuguese variant of the Roman Marianus which derived from Marius, and Marius derived from the Roman god Mars (see also ...

established the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

in an attempt to gain support for forming a government. Kelesi became party president and Lawson was secretary. However, it ceased to exist when an executive was formed. Lawson did not contest the 1967 elections to the Legislative Council,Solomons' political scheme is 'dismal'
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', April 1967, p7 and left Honiara town council in 1969. He moved to

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

when he retired in 1974, at which point his company was taken over by C Sullivan Export. He was made an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE) for "services to the community".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lawson, Eric 1910 births 1993 deaths Solomon Islands politicians Place of birth missing Members of the Legislative Council of the Solomon Islands Australian expatriates in the Solomon Islands 20th-century Australian businesspeople