Frederick Slade Drake-Brockman

Who was Frederick Slade Drake-Brockman?

Frederick Slade Drake-Brockman, also known as Frederick Slade Brockman, was a Surveyor General and explorer of Western Australia.

Born at Seabrook near Northam in Western Australia, he was the son of Edmund Ralph Brockman, 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.

On 20 February 1882 he married Grace Bussell, the heroine of the Georgette disaster of 1876. They had three daughters and four sons, including:

Geoffrey, an engineer,

Karl, a Rhodes Scholar, soldier and judge

Edmund, soldier, politician and judge

Deborah, a mining company director and welfare worker, subsequently Lady Hackett and later Lady Moulden.

In 1901, Drake-Brockman with eleven companions, explored previously uncharted areas in the Kimberley region. Drake-Brockman was appointed Surveyor-General in June 1915.