George Bedbrook

Sir George Montario Bedbrook, OBE was an Australian medical doctor and surgeon, who was the driving force in creating the Australian Paralympic movement and the Commonwealth Paraplegic Games, and helped to found the FESPIC Games.

Personal Bedbrook was born on 8 November 1921 in Melbourne, Victoria. His father was Arthur Bedbrook, a retired serviceman. His mother was Ethel Nora née Prince. He attended Coburg State School and the University High School, Melbourne. He received his bachelor's degree in medicine from the University of Melbourne in 1944. In 1946, he married Jessie Violet née Page, with whom he had two sons and three daughters. He died on 6 October 1991 in Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital. In 1988, he was the Director of the Spinal Injuries Programme and Clinical Sub-dean of the University of Western Australia. He retired from medicine in 1981.

In 1970, he earned a Diploma in Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine from the University of Sydney. Bedbrook earned several honorary degrees, including an honorary MD from the University of Western Australia in 1973, an honorary FRCS from the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in 1981, an honorary Doctorate of Technology from Western Australian Institute of Technology in 1984, and an honorary FCRM from Western Australian Institute of Technology in 1987. Other accolades include the Betts' Medal, bestowed by the Australian Orthopaedic Association in 1972, and a Medal of Honour bestowed by the International Medical Society of Paraplegia in 1978. The first team consisted of seven athletes six of whom were from Bedbrook's ward at the hospital, and the seventh from Sydney. Bedbrook did extensive fundraising to help cover the travel expenses of the athletes from Royal Perth Hospital.

In 1962, Bedbrook was the primary organiser of the first Commonwealth Paraplegic Games in Perth, Western Australia, the counterpart of the regular British Empire and Commonwealth Games. He served as the Game's General Secretary. Guttmann presented Bedbrook with a Stoke Mandeville Games pennant during the games's opening ceremony. This pennant was prized because of the level of commitment it entailed to the disabled athletic ideal. Bedbrook, Hugh Leslie and John Grant were credited with making the games a huge success, with athletes such as Sally Haynes praising the friendliness and helpfulness of everyone working at the event.

In 1964, the International Stoke Mandeville Games Committee (ISMGC) held a meeting of managers and trainers in Tokyo, Japan. This meeting resulted in the enlargement of the number of nations represented by the organisation. Bedbrook nominated Australia for inclusion and the organisation's constitution was modified to include Australia alongside Argentina, Germany, Japan, and Rhodesia. This also resulted in Bedbrook becoming a member of the ISMGC that year. In 1967m the ISMGC set up a Medical Sub-Committee. Bedbrook was the first chair of this committee. In 1964, Bedbrook served as the Australian team leader at the Paralympics. At the 1968 Tel Aviv Paralympics, Bedbrook served as the Australian SMGF Delegate.

In 1974, the fourth Commonwealth Paraplegic Games were held in Dunedin, New Zealand. Bedbrook served on the Medical Grading Committee for the Games. He also served on the Jury of Appeal for the Games. These games were the last Commonwealth Paraplegic Games, the decision having been made by the Commonwealth Games Committee, of which Bedbrook was the chairman. Bedbrook recommended that the games be replaced by a zone based competition, similar to the Pan-American Games. Consequently, he helped to found the FESPIC Games for Pacific Rim countries.

Bedbrook was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1965. In 2011, he was one of the first people to be inducted into the Australian Paralympic Hall of Fame, along with Frank Ponta and Louise Sauvage.