- Thomas Brown (New South Wales politician)
Thomas Brown (
6 October 1861 –23 March 1934 ) was anAustralia n farmer and politician, born nearForbes, New South Wales , to Mitchell Brown, a domestic servant, and his wife Isabella, nee Abernethy.Brown studied at St Andrew's College,
University of Sydney , intending to enter thePresbyterian ministry, but was forced to withdraw due to health problems. He remained a preacher and married his cousin Louisa Jane Brown on15 December 1897 at Chalmers Church in Redfern.Representing Forbes at the first Farmers and Settlers' Association conference in 1893, Brown was a skilled advocate, and was elected to the
New South Wales Legislative Assembly as the Labor Member for Condobolin in 1894. He was afree trade r and supported Sir George Reid against Sir William Lyne andWilliam Holman , and also attended the interstate conference for the formation of a federal Labor Party in 1900.Brown resigned from New South Wales Parliament in 1901 and, in a surprising turn of events, defeated
Bernhard Wise for the seat of Canobolas. He became known as the "Bannerman" of the parliament, and by 1906, when Canobolas had been replaced with Calare, he was usually referred to as "Honest Tom" Brown. He was easily elected to Calare, and his standing in parliament was shown when he was sent as part of the Australian delegation to the coronation of King George V in 1911. He also became the first secretary of theEmpire Parliamentary Association in Australia.Defeated in Calare in 1913, Brown returned to New South Wales politics as the member for Lachlan, where he remained well-known as a supporter of rural interests. Defeated by
Ernest Buttenshaw in 1917, he worked for a temperance organisation before becoming secretary to the Prime Minister,Billy Hughes .Brown remained active in the Presbyterian community. In 1909 he was behind the public discussion on social issues which led to the famous clash between Prime Minister
Andrew Fisher and Rev. John Ferguson. He was a councillor ofthe Scots College in Sydney and in 1915 was a member of the Council for Civil and Moral Advancement. He died ofcerebral haemorrhage at his home in Randwick on23 March 1934 , survived by his wife and three children (a daughter and two sons).References
*Australian Dictionary of Biography|last=Atchison |first=John |authorlink=|year=1979|id=A070451b.htm|title= Brown, Thomas (1861-1934) |accessdate=2007-08-26
Persondata
NAME = Brown, Thomas
ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
SHORT DESCRIPTION = Australian politician
DATE OF BIRTH =6 October 1861
PLACE OF BIRTH = Forbes,New South Wales ,Australia
DATE OF DEATH =23 March 1934
PLACE OF DEATH = Randwick, New South Wales, Australia
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