Douglas Walkden-Brown (19 October 1921 – 26 October 2013) was an Australia-born Fijian educator, politician and diplomat. He was a member of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

from 1966 to 1977 and served as Minister for Natural Resources and Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forests between 1967 and 1977, later becoming Fijian consul in Sydney.

Biography

Brown was born in Australia, the son of a Methodist minister.Doug Brown – a tribute
Grubsheet Feejee He studied at

Hawkesbury Agricultural College Hawkesbury Agricultural College was the first agricultural college in New South Wales, Australia, based in Richmond. It operated from 1891 to 1989. It was established on 10 March 1891, and formally opened by Minister for Mines and Agriculture ...

, after which he joined the

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

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 ...

. In 1947 he moved to Fiji to work as a Methodist missionary, and the following year was appointed headteacher of Navuso Agricultural School. In 1960 he retired, and bought his own farm near

Nausori Nausori () is a town in Fiji. It had a population of 57,866 at the 2017 census. This makes it the fourth most populous municipality in the country. Situated 19 kilometers outside of Suva, it forms one pole of the burgeoning Suva-Nausori corrid ...

where he became a dairy and poulty farmer. He was awarded an MBE in the

1961 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours 1961 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The appointments were made to celebrate ...

for services to agriculture in Fiji. He also became involved in rugby administration, serving as President of the Rewa Rugby Union and the Fiji School Rugby Union, as well as managing the Fiji rugby team that toured England, France and Wales in 1964. In 1963 he contested the

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative ...

to the Legislative Council, losing to John Kearsley in the European Southern constituency by 13 votes. Prior to the 1966 elections he joined the Alliance Party and was elected from the Central

General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

cross-voting constituency. Following the elections, he was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Member for Natural Resources, Kamisese Mara. The following year he took over from Mara as Member, and later in the year became Minister for Natural Resources when full ministerial government was introduced. When Fiji became independent in 1970, he took Fijian citizenship. In 1971 his ministerial title changed to Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forests.Nutshell
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', June 1971, p127 In the 1972 elections he was re-elected in the Eastern General national constituency, after which he retained his ministerial post. He retired from politics due to ill-health, losing his seat in the March 1977 elections. However, in 1981 he was appointed the Fijian Consul General in Sydney, a role he held until 1984. He died in October 2013 aged 92.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walkden-Brown, Douglas Royal Australian Air Force personnel of World War II Australian emigrants to Fiji Australian Methodist missionaries Fijian educators Fijian farmers Members of the Order of the British Empire Fiji national rugby union team coaches Alliance Party (Fiji) politicians Members of the Legislative Council of Fiji Agriculture ministers of Fiji Fisheries ministers of Fiji Government ministers of Fiji Members of the House of Representatives (Fiji) Fijian diplomats 2013 deaths 1921 births Methodist missionaries in Fiji Fijian Methodists 20th-century farmers