Ted Best
Edward Wallace Best was an Australian athlete who competed in the third British Empire Games, held in Sydney in February 1938. Best also held the office of Lord Mayor of Melbourne from 1969–71.
At the 1938 Empire Games he won the bronze medal in the men's 100 yards event as well as in the 220 yards competition. He was also a member of the Australian relay team that won the bronze medal in the 4×110 yards contest.
Enlisting in the 2/22nd Battalion, Best was captured in New Britain by the Japanese in 1942. Photos held at the Australian War Memorial show him with other Allied prisoners of war at Zentsuji Camp at Shikoku, Osaka.
Educated at Wesley College, Melbourne, he was the son of Edward Best AFL Fitzroy footballer and a nephew of politician Sir Robert Best.
