Brigadier Geoffrey Drake-Brockman MC (1885–1977) was a

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 ...

n civil engineer, and an Australian Army officer in both World Wars. In 1908 he was involved in mapping the route for the railway-line from

Kalgoorlie, Western Australia Kalgoorlie is a city in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, located east-northeast of Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway. It is sometimes referred to as Kalgoorlie–Boulder, as the surrounding urban area includ ...

Port Augusta, South Australia Port Augusta is a small city in South Australia. Formerly a seaport, it is now a road traffic and railway junction city mainly located on the east coast of the Spencer Gulf immediately south of the gulf's head and about north of the state ca ...

. In 1921 he was appointed commissioner of the Department of the North-West (of Western Australia) based in Broome; as commissioner he recommended a survey of agricultural land at the

Ord River The Ord River is a river in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. The river's catchment covers . The lower Ord River and the conjunction with Cambridge Gulf create the most northern estuarine environment in Western Australia. The Ord ...

, the planting of cotton and the development of the Kimberley region. In 1946 he was appointed assistant-director of public works, and in 1949 chairman of the Western Australian Transport Board, retiring in 1952. As a soldier, in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC i ...

, and commanded the 9th Field Company in 1917–18. In

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he was posted to Army Headquarters, Melbourne; as colonel, then brigadier, he occupied senior engineering staff posts. In retirement, he wrote an autobiography, ''The Turning Wheel'' (1960).Peter Cowan (1996
'Drake-Brockman, Geoffrey (1885–1977)'

Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...

, Volume 14, (MUP)

Family

His parents were

Frederick Slade Drake-Brockman 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. Early life Born at Seabrook near Northam in Western Australia, he was the son ...

and

Grace Bussell Grace Vernon Drake-Brockman (née Bussell; 23 September 1860 – 7 October 1935), commonly referred to as Grace Bussell, was a woman from Western Australia. In 1876, as a 16-year-old, she was involved with Sam Isaacs in the rescue of the SS '' ...

. He had four sisters and two brothers, including Major General

Edmund Drake-Brockman Major General Edmund Alfred Drake-Brockman, (21 February 1884 – 1 June 1949) was an Australian soldier, politician, and judge. He served in both the First and Second World Wars. He was a Senator for Western Australia from 1920 to 1926, repre ...

(1884-1949) and Lady

Deborah Vernon Hackett Deborah Vernon Buller Murphy (née Drake-Brockman, previously Hackett and Moulden; 18 June 1887 – 16 April 1965), best known as Lady Hackett or Lady Moulden, was an Australian community worker, philanthropist, and mining investor.Alexandra Hasl ...

(1887-1965). In 1917 he married Alice Annie Wardlaw Milne in Hertfordshire, England. She died in 1918. In 1921 he married

Henrietta Frances York Jull Henrietta Drake-Brockman (27 July 1901 – 8 March 1968) was an Australian journalist and novelist. Early life Henrietta Frances York Jull was born in Perth, Western Australia in 1901 to public service commissioner Martin Edward Jull (1862–19 ...

(1901-1968) in Guildford, Western Australia. She became a prolific author and also wrote several plays. They had two children, a girl and a boy. A grandson, Geoffrey was named after him.

References

Drake-Brockman family 1885 births 1977 deaths People from Perth, Western Australia Australian civil engineers Australian recipients of the Military Cross {{Australia-mil-bio-stub