Dr Charles Victor Watson Brown (24 May 1895 – 1 May 1970) was an Australian politician. He was the

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

member for Gregory in the

Legislative Assembly of Queensland The Legislative Assembly of Queensland is the sole chamber of the unicameral Parliament of Queensland established under the Constitution of Queensland. Elections are held every four years and are done by full preferential voting. The Assembl ...

from 1939 to 1941. Brown was born in

Paddington Paddington is an area within the City of Westminster, in Central London. First a medieval parish then a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Three important landmarks of the district are Padd ...

in Sydney and was educated at

Fort Street Public School : ''For the secondary / high school of similar name see Fort Street High School.'' Fort Street Public School (abbreviated as FSPS) is a government co-educational primary school located in Millers Point, New South Wales, Millers Point, a suburb of ...

. He became a teacher before enrolling in a medical degree at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's ...

. He served for two years with the

Royal Australian Army Medical Corps The Royal Australian Army Medical Corps (RAAMC) is the branch of the Australian Army responsible for providing medical care to Army personnel. The AAMC was formed in 1902 through the amalgamation of medical units of the various Australian coloni ...

in World War I before completing his degree in 1920. He worked at the Mater Misericordiae Hospital and

Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children The Children's Hospital at Westmead (formerly Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children) is a children's hospital in Western Sydney. The hospital was founded in 1880 as "The Sydney Hospital for Sick Children". Its name was changed to the "Royal Alex ...

and practised in Balmain in Sydney before moving to Isisford in

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

as medical officer at the Isisford District Hospital. He later spent 17 years as a doctor at

Longreach Longreach is a town and a locality in the Longreach Region, Queensland, Australia. It is the administrative centre of the Longreach Regional Council, which was established in 2008 as a merger of the former Longreach, Ilfracombe, and Isisford ...

, including a stint as government medical officer, in which role he served until his election to parliament. He was known across the district for his early adoption of aeroplanes for use in medical care and his efforts to address children's welfare and

trachoma Trachoma is an infectious disease caused by bacterium '' Chlamydia trachomatis''. The infection causes a roughening of the inner surface of the eyelids. This roughening can lead to pain in the eyes, breakdown of the outer surface or cornea of ...

. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly at a 1939 by-election following the death of Labor MP

George Pollock Field Marshal Sir George Pollock, 1st Baronet (4 June 1786 – 6 October 1872) was a British Indian Army officer. He first saw action at the Battle of Deeg and at the Siege of Bhurtpore during the Second Anglo-Maratha War before taking part i ...

. Upon his election, he insisted that he would remain independent in addressing issues and touted key concerns as being the improvement of health services, housing and perishable food storage in western Queensland and the establishment of a local

Australian Broadcasting Commission The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-owned ...

radio station. In February 1941, while a serving MP, he enlisted in the

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

to serve in World War II. However, two months later, he lost his seat to Labor candidate

George Devries George Henry Devries (4 July 1896 – 13 July 1957) was a member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly. Biography Devries was born at Stretford, England, the son of John Arms Devries and his wife Elizabeth (née Ware). He was apprenticed as ...

at the

1941 Queensland state election Elections were held in the Australian state of Queensland on 29 March 1941 to elect the 62 members of the state's Legislative Assembly. The Labor government of Premier William Forgan Smith was seeking a fourth term in office. Key dates Resul ...

. Brown was the unsuccessful lead Senate candidate for the Country-National Organisation (affiliated with the federal

United Australia Party The United Australia Party (UAP) was an Australian political party that was founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945. The party won four federal elections in that time, usually governing in coalition with the Country Party. It provided two prim ...

) at the

1943 Australian federal election The 1943 Australian federal election was held in Australia on 21 August 1943. All 74 seats in the House of Representatives and 19 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election. The incumbent Labor Party, led by Prime Minister John Curtin, ...

. He later served as the honorary secretary of the

Services Party of Australia The Services Party of Australia was a minor Australian political party that was active in the mid-1940s. It received over 7% of the vote in Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = ...

in the mid-1940s.

References

1895 births 1970 deaths Independent members of the Parliament of Queensland Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly 20th-century Australian politicians {{Australia-Independent-politician-stub