Lew Roberts

Lewis Edgar Roberts (2 April 1918 – 3 March 2001), known as Lew Roberts, was an Australian rules footballer, railwayman and businessman, known as a noted player for the Port Adelaide Football Club in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL).

Early life Roberts was born in the Adelaide suburb of Evandale, Football career Roberts began his football career with Port Adelaide in 1937,

In 1948, Roberts again took the captaincy of the club along with coaching responsibilities in what was his last year playing for the club. His ability to kick the ball accurately to advantageous positions for his team mates was a notable part of his game. In the latter capacity, he oversaw the restructure and dieselisation of the railway operated by the company between Broken Hill and Burns, New South Wales, and in the 1960s the creation of four subsidiaries.

In 1972, in the wake of the closure of the tramway and its replacement by a government-operated standard gauge line two years earlier, Roberts became corporate managing director of the renamed Silverton Limited and its subsidiaries. Under his leadership the company, still headquartered in Melbourne, continued mine shunting in Broken Hill and began working on property development and rail construction projects around Australia.

Personal life Following Roberts's move to Broken Hill to further his career as a railway executive, he continued his sporting interests as chairman of the Broken Hill Football League. He also became chairman of the Barrier District Cricket League, and vice president of the Broken Hill Golf Club. In his retirement he wrote a comprehensive history of the Silverton Tramway Company.