Sir Kevin William Collin Ellis

KBE KBE may refer to: * Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, post-nominal letters * Knowledge-based engineering Knowledge-based engineering (KBE) is the application of knowledge-based systems technology to the domain o ...

(15 May 1908 – 22 November 1975) was an Australian politician and

solicitor A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...

, elected as a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

member of 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 Ho ...

Early life and education

Ellis was born in Grenfell,

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

to James Ellis, a farmer and migrant from England, and Florence Wyse. He was educated at

Fort Street High School Fort Street High School (FSHS) is a Education in Australia#Government schools, government-funded Mixed-sex school, co-educational Selective school (New South Wales), academically selective secondary school, secondary day school, located in Petersh ...

, graduated in law at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

in 1931, and economics in 1939. He served as president of the

University of Sydney Students' Representative Council The University of Sydney Students' Representative Council (SRC) is the representative body for undergraduate students at the University of Sydney. In addition to a student-elected council and student advocacy portfolios, the SRC coordinates a fre ...

in 1937 and 1938.

Career

Ellis was a Liberal candidate for Coogee at ten elections, winning seven. After an initial defeat by Labor MLA

Lou Cunningham Lucien Lawrence "Lou" Cunningham (4 June 1889 – 23 March 1948) was an Australian farmer and politician. Early life Cunningham was born at Inverell, New South Wales, to a farmer, Eugene Cunningham, and his wife Mary, née Edgeworth, both ...

at the 1947 election, however Cunningham died the following year and Ellis won the by-election in 1948, defeating Cunningham's widow. The following seven elections over 18 years were contested by Ellis and Labor candidate Lou Walsh. Ellis retained the seat at the 1950 election, before losing it to Walsh in

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito i ...

. Ellis regained the seat in

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim ...

, and retained it in

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

, before losing it to Walsh again in

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wors ...

. Ellis defeated Walsh in

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...

to regain the seat, defeating Walsh for a final time in

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...

. Ellis retained the seat in

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...

, before retiring in 1973. With the election of the Askin coalition government, Ellis was appointed

Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Speaker of the Legislative Assembly is a title commonly held by presiding officers of parliamentary bodies styled legislative assemblies. The office is most widely used in state and territorial legislatures in Australia, and in provincial and ter ...

, serving until 1973.

Personal life

Ellis married Bettie Maunsell in July 1941 and they had one daughter and one son. He died in the Sydney suburb of

Point Piper, New South Wales Point Piper is a small, harbourside eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, east of the Sydney CBD, in the local government area known as the Municipality of Woollahra. Point Piper has been historically regar ...

Honours

Ellis was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

in 1969 in recognition of service as the Speaker. Sir Kevin Ellis Prize (for the best performance in the combined Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Laws degree program) until 2008, Faculty of Law/Faculty of Commerce, UNSW.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellis, Kevin William Collin 1908 births 1975 deaths Military personnel from New South Wales Australian people of English descent Sydney Law School alumni Australian solicitors Royal Australian Air Force officers Royal Australian Air Force personnel of World War II Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of New South Wales Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Speakers of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly University of New South Wales faculty Australian Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Australian politicians awarded knighthoods People educated at Fort Street High School 20th-century Australian lawyers 20th-century Australian politicians 20th-century Australian businesspeople