Frederick Stewart

Who was Frederick Stewart?

Sir Frederick Harold Stewart was an Australian businessman, politician and government minister. His continuing political commitment was to the establishment of a national insurance scheme and the shortening of working hours to improve social conditions during the Great Depression, despite the opposition of his own party.

Stewart was born in Newcastle and educated in public schools in Newcastle and worked for 20 years as an administrative officer in the New South Wales Government Railways. In 1908 he married Lottie May Glover and they had six children. He was a prominent Methodist Lay Preacher. In 1919 Stewart developed the Sydney suburb of Chullora and owned the Metropolitan Omnibus Company that serviced the area. He also had an early interest in aviation and broadcasting. He established radio station 2CH and with Charles Kingsford-Smith and Charles Ulm established Australian National Airways.