Wellington Lee Explained

Wellington Lee
Party:Labor (1974)
Unity (1998-2001)
Office1:Councillor of the City of Melbourne
Termend1:1990
Termstart1:1977
Termend2:2001
Termstart2:1996
Office3:Deputy Lord Mayor of the City of Melbourne
Termend3:2000
Termstart3:1999
Birth Date:17 September 1925
Death Date:25 December 2022

Wellington Lee, (17 September 1925 – 25 December 2022) was an Australian politician and pharmacist who served as the Deputy Lord Mayor of Melbourne from 1999 to 2000.[1]

Life and career

Lee was born on 17 September 1925, in Darwin in Australia's Northern Territory.[2] Lee's Chinese ancestors first arrived in Australia during the early 1850s Victorian gold rush.[3] Growing up in Darwin, he attended Darwin Public School, then moved with his family to Queensland, where he continued his schooling at Longreach State School, Ingham Rural School and Toowoomba Grammar School. Later, he moved to Melbourne and completed a degree at the Victorian College of Pharmacy.[1]

After the outbreak of the Second World War, Lee enlisted on 8 October 1943, and achieved a rank of leading aircraftman in the Royal Australian Air Force. For many years after the war, Lee remained on the Active Reserve of Officers, and served as the state executive of the Victorian RSL.[1]

He worked as a pharmacist from 1950 and ran a pharmacy shop in Melbourne's Chinatown, on the corner of Little Bourke and Russell streets.

From 1978 to 1980 he was commissioner of the Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works, and was a Melbourne City Councillor from 1977 to 1990 and from 1996 to 2001. During his last two years as councillor, he also served as Deputy Lord Mayor of Melbourne.[4]

Lee contested three federal elections: in 1974, contesting Kooyong for the Labor Party; in 1998, as third on the Unity Party's Senate ticket; and in 2001 at the top of the Unity ticket. He was unsuccessful on all of these occasions.

Lee died on 25 December 2022, at the age of 97.[5] [6]

Awards

Notes and References

  1. http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/7923085?q=+wellington+lee&c=music&versionId=9136808 Trove - interview summary
  2. Book: Austral-Asian Who's Who . 1991 . Oriental Publications . 627 . 9780646031903 . 2 January 2023.
  3. Reece, Nicholas (5 January 2023). "Wellington Lee a trailblazer for multicultural Melbourne", The Age. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  4. Web site: Lee, Wellington. Who's Who in Australia. 30 September 2011. (password required)
  5. Web site: Wellington Lee . Deaths & Funerals . 2 January 2023.
  6. Web site: Wellington Lee has passed away aged 97. Lee was a long serving city councillor, deputy Lord Mayor, pharmacist, RAAF Officer and RSL Exec member. . Nicholas Reece on Twitter . 2 January 2023.
  7. https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/1108712 It's an Honour - OBE
  8. https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/1027860 It's an Honour - medal
  9. https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/871456 It's an Honour - OAM
  10. https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/1042218 It's an Honour - AM