Frank Stewart

The Honourable Frank Stewart
Stewart in 1973
Vice-President of the Executive Council Minister for Tourism and Recreation
In office 30 November 1973 – 11 November 1975
Prime Minister	Gough Whitlam
Preceded by	Peter Howson
Succeeded by	Reg Withers
Member of the Australian Parliament for Lang
In office 29 August 1953 – 10 December 1977
Preceded by	Dan Mulcahy
Succeeded by	Seat abolished
Member of the Australian Parliament for Grayndler
In office 10 December 1977 – 16 April 1979
Preceded by	Tony Whitlam
Succeeded by	Leo McLeay
Personal details
Born	(1923-02-20)20 February 1923 Belmore, New South Wales
Died	16 April 1979(1979-04-16) (aged 56) Long Jetty, New South Wales
Nationality	Australian
Political party	Australian Labor Party
Spouse	Maureen Neagle Smith
Relations	Kevin Stewart
Occupation	Soldier
Military service
Branch/service	Second AIF
Years of service	1944, 1945
Rank	Sergeant
Unit	39th Transport Platoon

Francis Eugene Stewart (20 February 1923 – 16 April 1979) was an Australian politician. He was a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and served as Minister for Tourism and Recreation in the Whitlam government from 1973 to 1975. He was a member of the House of Representatives representing Lang from 1953 to 1977 and subsequently Grayndler from 1977 until his death in 1979.

Stewart was born in the Sydney suburb of Belmore and educated at St Joseph's School, Belmore and St Mary's Cathedral College, Sydney. Before World War II, he was a public servant in the New South Wales Department of Transport.^[1] In the war, he served in the

Having been a member of the ALP since 1942, Stewart was elected as the federal member for Lang in 1953. Belonging to the right-wing Catholic faction of the party, he was widely considered a grouper, although unlike many other "groupers" he never left the Labor Party.

When Gough Whitlam became prime minister in 1972, Stewart was appointed Minister for Tourism and Recreation. He strongly opposed both the legalising of abortion and the no-fault divorce reform which became law in 1975.

As

After the

As Minister for Tourism and Recreation, in 1974 Stewart appointed a study group to report on the feasibility of establishing an Australian sports institute. Released in 1975, the report recommended the establishment of a sports institute, now known as the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS).^[3] One of the buildings at the AIS is named after Frank Stewart in recognition of the central role he played in the institute's establishment.

Patrick Francis Stewart, the father of both Kevin and Frank Stewart, was the founding president of the Canterbury Bankstown Leagues Club.^{[citation needed]} The Stewart family have been long-term supporters of the Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs and Frank played first-grade rugby league for the Bulldogs from 1948 to 1950. In recognition of this support, the grandstand at Belmore Sports Ground (the former home ground of the club) is named the "Stewart Stand" after Patrick, Frank, and Kevin Stewart.^{[citation needed]}

Following an incident where Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs football club was stripped of all points in the National Rugby League competition for breach of the salary cap, Kevin Stewart was appointed chairman of the board in 2002 in an attempt to restore the club's reputation.^{[citation needed]}