Admiral Sir Frederick George Denham Bedford GCB

1903 – 1909

Admiral Sir Frederick Bedford was a naval officer with a distinguished career. He was born in England on 24 December 1838 and entered the Navy in 1852. He was appointed an Aide de Camp to Queen Victoria in 1888.

He arrived in Perth on 24 March 1903 with his wife Ethel and began his appointment as Governor. He soon became popular. One of the main political events of his term of office was the brief reign of the State’s first Labor Government in 1904 to 1905.

A staunch supporter of the British Empire and of Britain/Australia relationships, Bedford considered it his duty to use the Vice Regal office to further the interests of the Empire he had served all his life.

Governor Bedford was also known for his artistic abilities and he and his wife spent a lot of time at the Governor’s residence on Rottnest Island painting and sketching.

Bedford left Perth and his term of office on 14 April 1909, and after living in retirement in Surrey he died at Walton, United Kingdom, on 30 January 1913.