Richard Dodgshun Bedford (born 3 January 1945), also known as Dick Bedford, is emeritus professor in human geography at

Auckland University of Technology Auckland University of Technology ( AUT; ) is a university in New Zealand, formed on 1 January 2000 when a former technical college (originally established in 1895) was granted university status. AUT is New Zealand's third largest university i ...

(AUT). He was the president of the

Royal Society Te Apārangi The Royal Society Te Apārangi (in full, Royal Society of New Zealand) is a not-for-profit body in New Zealand providing funding and policy advice in the fields of sciences and the humanities. These fundings (i.e., Marsden grants and research fe ...

from 2015 to 2018.

Early life

Bedford was born in 1945 in

Takapuna Takapuna is a suburb located on the North Shore, New Zealand, North Shore of Auckland, New Zealand. The suburb is an isthmus between Shoal Bay, New Zealand, Shoal Bay, arm of the Waitematā Harbour, and the Hauraki Gulf. Lake Pupuke, a volca ...

. His parents were Beryl ( Sanders) and John Dodgshun Bedford. His grandfather was the academic and member of parliament Harry Bedford. He received his primary school education in

East Taieri East Taieri is a small township, located between Mosgiel and Allanton, New Zealand, Allanton in New Zealand's Otago region. It lies on State Highway 1 (New Zealand), State Highway 1 en route between the city of Dunedin and its Dunedin Internatio ...

Te Puke Te Puke ( ) is a town located southeast of Tauranga in the Western Bay of Plenty of New Zealand. It is particularly well known for the cultivation of kiwifruit. Te Puke is close to Tauranga and Maketu, which are both coastal towns/cities, a ...

Te Kauwhata Te Kauwhata is a small town in the north of the Waikato region of New Zealand, situated close to the western shore of Lake Waikare, some 40 km north of Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton and approximately 58 km south of Manukau City. Th ...

, and Campbells Bay. He then attended

Rangitoto College Rangitoto College is a state coeducational secondary school, located on the North Shore City, North Shore of Auckland, New Zealand. Serving years 9 to 13, Rangitoto has a school roll of as of making it the largest "brick-and-mortar" school in ...

before completing a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in 1965 and a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in 1967 at the

University of Auckland The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...

. The title of his master's thesis was ''Resettlement: solution to economic and social problems in the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony''. He gained his

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

from the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

in 1972, with the title of his doctoral thesis as ''Mobility in transition: an analysis of population movement in the New Hebrides''. In 1969, he married Janet Sholto Douglas, the daughter of

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

senior commander Sholto Douglas. They were to have one son and one daughter.

Career

From 1972 to 1989, Bedford was a geography lecturer at the

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury (UC; ; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was founded in 1873 as Canterbur ...

. From 1989, he was professor of geography at the

University of Waikato The University of Waikato (), established in 1964, is a Public university, public research university located in Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton, New Zealand. An additional campus is located in Tauranga. The university performs research in nume ...

. He retired from the university and in 2014, Waikato awarded him the title emeritus professor. In 2010, Bedford moved to

(AUT) as pro vice-chancellor research. In 2016, AUT also awarded Bedford the title emeritus professor. Notable students include Lynda Johnston,

Robin Peace Robin Peace is a social scientist from New Zealand. In 2018 she was appointed a Companion of the Royal Society Te Apārangi for her contribution to the promotion and advancement of the social sciences in New Zealand. Life Peace completed a P ...

and Robyn Longhurst. Bedford was president of the

from July 2015 to July 2018.

Honours and awards

Bedford was awarded the

New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal The New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal was a commemorative medal awarded in New Zealand in 1990 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, and was awarded to 3,632 people. Background The New Zealand 1990 Com ...

. He was elected

Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned or professional societies, the term refers ...

in 2000. He was awarded Distinguished New Zealand Geographer in 2007. In the

2008 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2008 for the Commonwealth realms were announced on 29 December 2007, to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginning of 2008. The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour, and ...

, he was appointed Companion of the

Queen's Service Order The King's Service Order () established by royal warrant of Queen Elizabeth II on 13 March 1975, is used to recognise "valuable voluntary service to the community or meritorious and faithful services to the Crown or similar services within the ...

(QSO) for services to geography. In the

2020 New Year Honours The 2020 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebratio ...

, he was appointed Companion of the

New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit () is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant (document), royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Monarchy of New Zealand, Queen of New Zealand, "for th ...

(CNZM) for services to governance.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bedford, Richard 1945 births Living people People educated at Rangitoto College University of Auckland alumni Australian National University alumni Academic staff of the University of Canterbury Academic staff of the University of Waikato Academic staff of the Auckland University of Technology New Zealand geographers People from Takapuna Companions of the Queen's Service Order Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit Presidents of the Royal Society of New Zealand Human geographers