Essington Lewis

Essington Lewis
Essington Lewis (circa 1900) (State Library of South Australia collection)
Born	13 January 1881 Burra, South Australia
Died	2 October 1961 (aged 80) Tallarook, Victoria
Nationality	Australian
Alma mater	South Australian School of Mines
Occupation	Mining engineer
Years active	Employee 1904 – 26 managing director 1926–50 Chairman 1950–61
Employer	Broken Hill Proprietary Company Ltd (BHP)
Spouse(s)	Gladys Rosalind Cowan (m. 1910)
Children	Five
Parent(s)	John Lewis Martha Brook
Relatives	Tom Lewis (nephew) Sandy Lewis (nephew) James Cowan (father-in-law)

Essington Lewis, CH (13 January 1881 – 2 October 1961) was an Australian industrialist.

Essington Lewis was born in Burra, South Australia on 13 January 1881. His father was the pastoralist and politician John Lewis (1844–1923), founder of Bagot, Shakes & Lewis. He was named after Port Essington, where his father owned a cattle property. He was educated at St. Peter's College, Adelaide and the South Australian School of Mines.

After joining Broken Hill Proprietary Company Ltd (BHP) (now BHP Billiton) in 1904, he rose through the company ranks to become managing director in 1926 and chairman in 1950, a position he held until his death in 1961. For the whole of his period as M.D., he had a close working relationship and personal friendship with Chairman of Directors Harold Gordon Darling (1885–1950).

During his travels to Germany and Japan in the 1930s, he realised the threat of these countries to Australia. Accordingly, he helped establish the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation and many munitions facilities meaning Australia was better prepared for industrialisation when the war started in 1939. During World War II, he also served as Director-General of the Department of Munitions. He supported the establishment of the motor industry in Australia in 1948, being rewarded by being able to purchase the first commercially produced Holden 48/215.

He was appointed a Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour on 24 September 1943.

In 1910, he married Gladys Rosalind Cowan, OBE, the only daughter of James Cowan. Their family consisted of five children – sons James Essington and Robert Brook, and daughters Helen, Mary and Jane. His sons were educated at Geelong Grammar School and the daughters at the Clyde School. The family lived in Malvern, Victoria and owned a country property named "Landscape" near Tallarook in central Victoria. Robert Brook (1918–2009) is notable as being the Master of St Mark's College, University of Adelaide from 1957 to 1968 and the Master of Menzies College, La Trobe University from 1968 to 1970.