Dick Charles Brown (1905 – 6 May 1969) was a

Cook Islands ) , image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , capital = Avarua , coordinates = , largest_city = Avarua , official_languages = , lan ...

businessman and politician. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly between 1958 and 1965, and became the territory's first Leader of Government Business in 1963.

Biography

Brown was born in

Mangaia Mangaia (traditionally known as A'ua'u Enua, which means ''terraced'') is the most southerly of the Cook Islands and the second largest, after Rarotonga. It is a roughly circular island, with an area of , from Rarotonga. Originally heavily popul ...

in 1905, one of the 18 children of George and Rakiki Brown.Tropicalities
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', January 1964, p15 He moved to Rarotonga at the age of 18 to work for A.B. Donald, before taking up planting and setting up his own store in Tupapa. He subsequently opened several other stores and enlarged his plantations. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

he sold Cook Islands handicrafts to American Service personnel based across the Pacific, before diversifying into copra and pearl shell. After the war, Brown owned a series of ships. Having become one of the wealthiest people in the Cook Islands, he donated money to Rarotonga Island Council to seal the main road, and provided a loan to the Co-operative Society to help them buy Manuae island. When Tereora College was established in 1955, he became chair of its committee.Mr. D. C. Brown
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', June 1969, p157 He married Mata Goringo; the couple had six children. In 1956 he entered politics and was elected to Rarotonga Island Council. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly in

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...

as one of the indirectly-elected representatives of Rarotonga Island Council. He was re-elected in the 1961 elections, this time as one of the directly elected members. In 1962 an Executive Committee was established, with Brown as one of the members.Talks Soon On Political Future Of The Cooks
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', January 1964, p35 In November 1963 the Executive Committee was replaced by a new cabinet, with Brown elected the first Leader of Government business, defeating

Ngatupuna Matepi Ngatupuna Matepi (1909–1977) was a Cook Islands politician. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly from 1958 until his death, had two spells in the cabinet between 1962 and 1965, and became the first official Leader of the Oppositio ...

by a vote of 11–10. By virtue of his position, Brown was expected to become the Cook Islands' first Premier when self-government was achieved in 1965. He led the

United Political Party The United Political Party was a political party in the Cook Islands. It was founded shortly before the 1965 election and was led by the then-Leader of Government Business, D. C. Brown. It ran 16 candidates, 4 of which were elected; Brown himsel ...

into the 1965 elections, but lost his seat. Although the elections had been won by the

Cook Islands Party The Cook Islands Party is a nationalist political party in the Cook Islands. It was the first political party founded in the Cook Islands, and one of the two major parties of the islands' politics since 1965. From 1999 until 2005 it sometimes ...

(CIP), the CIP leader Albert Henry had been ineligible for election due to the residency requirements in place at the time of the vote. On 12 May 1965 the legislature voted to reduce the residency requirement to three months (providing the candidate had previously lived in the Cook Islands for at least a year). Henry's sister

Marguerite Story Marguerite Nora Eikura Kitimira Story, (née Henry, 11 May 1922 – 25 September 2009), was the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of the Cook Islands from 1965 to 1979. She was the first female cabinet member in the Cook Islands and the first w ...

subsequently resigned from the Assembly to allow Henry to contest the by-election for Te-au-o-Tonga on 9 July. Brown stood against him, but lost by 1,353 votes to 523. Henry went on to become the islands' first Premier. Brown declared his intention to contest the 1968 elections as an independent, but later withdrew his candidacy.Albert Henry back in the Cooks with a bang
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', June 1968, p24 He died in Rarotonga Hospital in May 1969 at the age of 63.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Dick Charles 1905 births People from Mangaia 20th-century Cook Island businesspeople Members of the Parliament of the Cook Islands Government ministers of the Cook Islands 1969 deaths