he was appointed governor of Western Australia, and assumed office in June 1883. He visited England in 1885, when, with the "view of extending knowledge of the resources of what was at that time a little known colony", he read a paper on "Western Australia" before the Colonial Institute, H.R.H. the Prince of Wales taking the chair. That year he donated a small but important collection of Aboriginal artefacts from Western Australia to the British Museum. His term as governor of Western Australia was marked by great extension of railways and telegraphs, and general progress. When the colony was preparing for responsible government, Broome acted as intermediary between the Legislative Council and the British secretary of state. After considerable correspondence, the details of the new constitution were settled, and a bill, approved by Her Majesty's Government, finally passed the local legislature in 1889. Since complementary legislation was needed from Westminster to transfer Crown lands to the colonial legislature, the necessary bill was at once introduced by Lord Knutsford, and passed the House of Lords; but, owing to strong opposition to handing over an immense tract of Crown lands to the colonists, which suddenly showed itself in the home press and in the House of Commons, the bill could not be proceeded with in the House in 1889, and had to be deferred to the following year. Sir Frederick and two leading members of the Western Australian legislature travelled to England in December 1889 to give evidence before a select committee of the House of Commons, to which, early in the session of 1890, the Constitution Bill was referred. Much to the surprise of the London press, the committee reported in favour of the bill and of the transfer of all lands to the colony. Consequently, the British Parliament passed a bill for the whole of the lands of the vast territory—1,060,000 square miles—to be freely handed over to the legislature of Western Australia, which thus obtained its new constitution on the same basis as the other colonies of the continent, there being no opposition to the bill in the House of Lords. Broome finally left Western Australia in December 1889, on a mission to England in connection with the Constitution Bill, and his tenure as governor ended in September 1890. One source states "Disputes with his senior officials tarnished Broome’s reputation in the Colonial Office. Broome was transferred to serve