Frederick Slade Drake-Brockman, also known as Frederick Slade Brockman, (9 July 1857 – 11 September 1917) was a
Surveyor General and explorer of
Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
.
Early life
Born at Seabrook near
Northam in
Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
, he was the son of
Edmund Ralph Brockman
Edmund Ralph Brockman (22 October 1828 – 17 September 1908) was an Australian farmer and politician who was a member of the Legislative Council of Western Australia on three occasions – from 1878 to 1880, from 1887 to 1889, and from 1890 to ...
, gentleman-farmer, and Elizabeth Deborah ''née'' Slade.
He was educated at Bishop
Mathew Hale's school and articled in 1878 to surveyor J. S. Brooking.
Career
In 1886, Drake-Brockman joined the Department of Public Works and Railways, and worked as surveyor-in-charge of road and telegraph routes, before transferring to Lands and Surveys in 1891. He became chief inspecting surveyor in 1894, in which role he oversaw estate drainage and installation of rabbit-proof fencing. In 1901, Drake-Brockman and eleven companions explored previously uncharted areas in the
Kimberley region. On the decentralisation of the department in 1910, Drake-Brockman was district surveyor for
Nelson
Nelson may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey
* ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers
* ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...
, before being appointed Surveyor-General in June 1915.
[
]
Personal life
On 20 February 1882 he married Grace Bussell, the heroine of the SS ''Georgette'' disaster of 1876. They had three daughters and four sons, including:
* Geoffrey (1885–1977), a civil engineer, public works official and brigadier who served in both World Wars,
*Karl (1891-1969), a Rhodes Scholar, Captain in the 5th Royal Fusiliers, and judge
* Edmund (1884-1949), soldier, politician and judge
*Deborah
According to the Book of Judges, Deborah ( he, דְּבוֹרָה, ''Dəḇōrā'', "bee") was a prophetess of the God of the Israelites, the fourth Judge of pre-monarchic Israel and the only female judge mentioned in the Bible. Many scholars ...
(1887–1965), a mining company director and welfare worker, subsequently Lady Hackett and later Lady Moulden.[Alexandra Hasluck]
'Hackett, Deborah Vernon (1887 - 1965)'
Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 9, Melbourne University Press, 1983, pp 149-150.
References
Further reading
* Birman, Wendy (1981
Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 8, Melbourne University Press, 1981, pp 340–341.
* D. H. Drake-Brockman,(1936) Record of the Brockman and Drake-Brockman Family (priv print, Sussex, 1936)
* G. Drake-Brockman,(1960) ''The Turning Wheel'' Perth
{{DEFAULTSORT:Drake-Brockman, Frederick Slade
1857 births
1917 deaths
People from the Wheatbelt (Western Australia)
Explorers of Western Australia
Surveyors General of Western Australia
Drake-Brockman family