ALMOST FORGOTTEN
A Virtual Memorial Experience
Alexander Lewis
(1859-1899) Meth Sec 9 Grave 3
NAME
Alexander Lewis
DATE OF BIRTH
1859
CATEGORY
Almost Forgotten
DATE OF DEATH
1899
CEMETERY
Colac Cemetery
Life Story
Tragically Alexander Lewis’ childhood was defined by the loss of those closest to him. By eleven, he had lost both his parents and two siblings. Born in 1859 in Wellington, New Zealand, he was a baby when his father John Lewis died, widowing his mother Celia for a second time. A year later, pursuing a new start, Celia took Alexander and his two siblings across the Tasman to Victoria. When Alexander was six, she married John Rowley but by then both her older children had died. Tragically five years later Celia too met an untimely end.
In 1885 Alexander married Martha Williamson and, together with their nine children, they built a happy, productive life of their own. A hard working and popular man, Alexander was employed as a carrier and volunteered with the Colac Fire Brigade becoming a Brigadier. The family’s future looked bright. But in 1899 Alexander, thirty-nine, contracted double pneumonia. With a stoicism engendered by his early losses, he battled on without medical treatment until finally admitted to hospital. In a tragic echo of his own past, his death the following day deprived his own young children of their father.
In a reflection of the esteem in which he was held, Alexander was accorded a dignified fireman’s burial. With his coffin borne upon the brigade’s hose cart and his fellow firemen marching behind, it was, as the Colac Herald noted, “a sad but imposing spectacle.” It was a fitting tribute to a man who had given so much in service to his neighbours and friends. In gratitude, the community then rallied around the bereaved family collecting money with which to support them.
Research by Merrill O’Donnell
Story by Lynne Johnston
Narrated by Brian Short
© 2026 Colac & District Family History Group Inc.
All rights reserved.
Life stories have been researched and compiled by the Colac & District Family History Group Inc. and its independent contributors. This material must not be copied or reproduced without permission. AI tools have been used to assist.
For more information, please contact the Colac & District Family History Group Inc.
© Colac & District Family History Group Inc 2026
This profile is a potted biography prepared from more extensive research undertaken by the Colac & District Family History Group (CDFHG). For additional information, historical records, or further research relating to this individual, please contact the CDFHG team.