Career
He held the seat of North Perth in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly from 14 February 1953, losing it to Liberal Ray O"Connor in 1959. He unsuccessfully contested the seat of Karrinyup in 1962 and 1965. In 1953 he was awarded the Queen"s Coronation Meda
In 1957 Lapham joined with Bill Grayden, Pastor Doug Nicholls and others in an expedition to the Warburton Ranges in central Australia to highlight the poor health of Australian Aborigines.
The party produced a film which showed malnourished people in the region.
