Robert Hart, Assistant News Editor
Shirley Lewis, retiring clerk to the Houses of Parliament. - IAN ALLEN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
MEMBERS OF the House of Representatives on Tuesday paid tribute to Shirley Lewis, clerk to the Houses of Parliament, who will end her 11 years of service to Gordon House this month.
Mrs. Lewis, a trained lawyer and former Resident Magistrate, has given 48 years of service to the public sector, and will go on pre-retirement leave next month. Deputy House Leader Derrick Kellier raised the matter just prior to the adjournment of the House which subsequently went on Christmas break.
"Her service in this country in the field of law and in the judiciary has been well documented," Mr. Kellier said in the absence of House Leader Dr. Peter Phillips. "She came to this House some 11 years ago and I'm sure all of us who have been members, and some of us that have left, would have attested to her attempts at carrying out her duty in a very amicable way and indeed for us to seek advice at times from her as to some of the procedures."
Leader of Opposition Business Derrick Smith also rose to indicate the Opposition's appreciation for her years of dedication as the first female Clerk to the House.
Mr. Smith also noted that she took up the post without any previous training in Parliamentary procedure and without acting as an understudy to the previous Clerk.
"It is a very difficult task to find yourself right in the middle of Parliament dealing with parliamentarians, both at this House and in the other House," he said. "We seem to be a very unique lot, not easy to please, very demanding and, to my sure knowledge, Mrs. Lewis did her job in a most professional way to the satisfaction of the Opposition."
House Speaker Michael Peart noted that Mrs. Lewis had served most of the current crop of parliamentarians through their entire time in the Parliament.
SERVED WITH DISTINCTION
"Mrs. Lewis has served us with distinction, not only in this Honourable House but across the Commonwealth where she has served on many delegations," he said.
The House Speaker also took the opportunity to share, with the members, a letter he received from Mrs. Lewis earlier in the day.
In the letter, Mrs. Lewis said she felt proud to have served in Parliament and expressed her appreciation for the cooperation she received from parliamentarians during her time in the House.
Prior to entering the House, Mrs. Lewis spent more than 36 years in the Resident Magistrate's Courts and the Department of Public Prosecutions.
