At age 14 he was engaged as an acrobatic performer in Andrew Ducrow's circus[2] at Astley's Royal Amphitheatre, followed by six years with Pablo Fanque's equestrian troupe,[1] then in 1846 with Hengler's Circus, where he became a leading performer, touring Europe and earning at one event[1] £100 a night[a] for his 15-minute act, and soon became quite wealthy.
According to an often-repeated account, Lewis had a personal wealth of £30,000, which he invested in building the huge (110 by 80 by 40 feet (34 m × 24 m × 12 m) high) covered enclosure on Spring Street, naming it Astley's Amphitheatre.
[8] In September he was granted a licence for the Mazeppa Hotel corner Spring and Little Bourke streets,[9] adjacent the amphitheatre, which he advertised to let.
Lewis slowly rebuilt his fortune by playing at the Cremorne Gardens, Melbourne and touring his equestrian act through country Victoria.
In 1863 he engaged a troupe which included Lizzy Naylor, Tilly Earl, and other members of the Edouin family (see below), which toured for several years.
When the foundation stone of the Victorian Academy of Music was laid on 23 May 1876, Lewis had already signed up with the owner, Joseph Aarons, as its first lessee,[13] and on its opening night 6 November 1876 he had Ilma de Murska as guest vocalist, John Hill and Alberto Zelman were guest conductors and Lewis read a poem written by Dr Neild for the occasion.
[22] In January 1880 a topical burlesque, The Happy Land, was effectively banned from production by the Government, on threat of cancellation of the Bijou's licence.
Lewis built "Shanghai Villa" on St Kilda Road, opposite Fawkner Park.
He sold its entire "very superior, well kept" furniture, also horses, carriages, dogs etc., by auction in 1867 preparatory to leaving for Europe.