His Excellency the Honourable Chris Dawson AC APM,

Governor of Western Australia

The Dawson family have been part of the early colonial settlers over five generations of farming and law enforcement. Chris Dawson’s great-great-grandparents arrived in the then Swan River colony in Western Australia in the early 1800s.

Chris was educated at Perth Modern School before joining the Western Australia Police Force as a cadet in 1976. Chris joined the Western Australia Police Force in February 1976, going on to provide 46 years of service in Australian law enforcement.

He served in country and metropolitan positions criminal investigation, training and senior roles. After 10 years as Deputy Commissioner, Chris left WA Police in 2014 to take up the role of Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, formerly the Australian Crime Commission. He also served as Director of the Australian Institute of Criminology during this time.

Chris was appointed as Commissioner of the Western Australia Police Force in August 2017. During the period of the COVID-19 global pandemic, Chris has coordinated the State of Emergency since March 2020 as the State Emergency Coordinator.

Chris was sworn in as the 34th Governor of Western Australia on 15 July 2022.

Ed Surrey

Growing up just south of London, Ed had the privilege of being taught about the gospel from a very young age by his parents and through their local church, but the turning point for him came while he was at university.

Ed completed a degree in Psychology before marrying Sally and become a Maths Teacher for a couple of years in England. The couple moved to Perth for what they thought would be a one-year adventure to work for a church. Six years later he completed a degree in theology, wrote a couple of books and their children were born during this time.

After graduating, Ed worked at a church back in England for a few years before the opportunity arose to take on the role of Director of CRU West in Perth, which he has been doing since 2020.

Ed Surrey knew within a couple of weeks after becoming a Christian that he was going to tell people about Jesus for the rest of his life.