Vale - Lewis Adrian Smit OAM 1943 - 2021 Sadly, on the 23rd of April, the Western Australian cattle community lost one of its finest, with the passing of Lew Smit OAM. At the age of 44, Lew was awarded honorary life membership of the Murray Grey Beef Society, having been involved in the breed development and a board member from 1973 – 78, Vice President from 1979 – 1980, President from 1980 – 1984 and as Treasurer from 1984 – 1988. Lew joined the WA Angus Committee in the mid-1980s, as Koojan Hills had also begun breeding Angus cattle. In 1987, he became a delegate from WA to the Federal Council of Angus Australia. He was Vice President from 1989 – 1991 and President from 1991 – 1994. He was heavily involved in the technical development of the Angus breed, which has laid the foundation for traditional cattle practical analysis to merge with data collection and scientific measuring. Another mark of the respect given to Lew from the cattle industry at large, came in 2006 when Lew was successful in receiving the RW Vincent award, following a nomination from the Shorthorn Society. In 2008, Lew was awarded honorary life membership of Angus Australia and in 2013, the Order of Australia Medal for service to the cattle industry and to the community of Kojonup. As a new member of the WA Angus Committee, I was rather intimidated by Lew. He certainly commanded respect at a meeting and had an unquestionable amount of knowledge. I spoke to him in March, to seek his advice in my role as Chairperson, and despite the fact that his health was deteriorating, I was comforted by his down-to-earth wisdom. He said things as they were. The conversation was one that I will always remember with fondness and some sadness. No matter how great we are, it is inevitable that we will all grow old and eventually depart this life. And of course, that is if we’re lucky enough to grow old. I felt the same sense of sadness at Lew’s funeral (and I’ve been to many funerals of respected people from my own local community) – that those in attendance were saying farewell and acknowledging the passing of a truly outstanding, awe-inspiring man, in the true sense of the phrase, who had dedicated his life to a deep passion of breeding cattle. It was very poignant. I would like to extend my sympathy to Lew’s family and closest friends, who will no doubt be grappling without Lew’s knowledge, wisdom, common sense and dry sense of humour. - Liz Sudlow EDITORS NOTE: Thanks again to Liz for providing this piece about Lew. The photos on page 7 have been used before in previous issues of the WA Angus News and/or are sourced from the Angus Australia website with credit to both The Countryman and Farm Weekly. The quotes are from Pam McGregor’s Eulogy and are intended to be a small reflection of what Lew meant to his family, friends and the cattle industry.
WA ANGUS NEWS June 2021
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