James McMillan Brown (5 April 1927 – 28 May 2020) was an Australian politician who served in both houses of the

Parliament of Western Australia The Parliament of Western Australia is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of Western Australia, forming the legislative branch of the Government of Western Australia. The parliament consists of a lower house, the Legislative ...

, representing the Labor Party. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly from 1971 to 1974, and later served in the Legislative Council from 1980 to 1992.

Early life

Brown was born in Merredin, in the Wheatbelt, to Susan Marion (née Godridge) and William McMillan Brown. His family moved to

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

when he was a child, where he attended John Curtin Senior High School. In April 1945, after turning 18, he enlisted in the

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

(RAAF), although the imminent end of the war meant his time in the military was short-lived.James McMillan Brown
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 17 July 2016. Brown played high-level Australian rules football as a youth, appearing in three senior games for during the 1949 WANFL season.Footballers in the House
Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 12 September 2016. He moved to the country in 1950, initially running a store in Muntadgin with his brother, and later running a service station and

Massey Ferguson Massey Ferguson Limited is an American agricultural machinery manufacturer. The company was established in 1953 through the merger of farm equipment makers Massey-Harris of Canada and the Ferguson Company of the United Kingdom. It was based in ...

dealership in Merredin.

Politics

Brown first ran for parliament at the 1968 state election. He was preselected to replace Lionel Kelly (a former Labor minister) in the seat of Merredin-Yilgarn, but lost to the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

's Jack Stewart. Brown successfully recontested the seat at the 1971 election, winning 52.7 percent of the

two-party-preferred vote In Australian politics, the two-party-preferred vote (TPP or 2PP) is the result of an election or opinion poll after preferences have been distributed to the highest two candidates, who in some cases can be independents. For the purposes of TPP ...

. However, he held it only until the next election in 1974, when he was defeated by the National Alliance's

Hendy Cowan Hendy John Cowan (born 25 April 1943) is a former deputy premier of Western Australia. He had served in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly as the Member for Merredin-Yilgarn from 30 March 1974 and the Member for Merredin from 19 Feb ...

. Brown re-entered parliament at the 1980 state election, winning election to the Legislative Council's

South-East Province The South-East Province was an electoral region of the Western Australian Legislative Council, introduced after the introduction of responsible government in the 1890s. It initially comprised Williams, Plantagenet The House of Plantagenet ( ...

. He was re-elected in 1986, and at the

1989 election The following elections occurred in the year 1989. Africa * 1989 Beninese parliamentary election * 1989 Botswana general election * 1989 Equatorial Guinean presidential election * 1989 People's Republic of the Congo parliamentary election * 19 ...

(following electoral reform) transferred to the new five-member Agricultural Region. Brown was elected chairman of committees in the Legislative Council in August 1989, and held the position until his retirement from parliament in March 1992.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Jim 1927 births 2020 deaths Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Western Australia Australian rules footballers from Western Australia Chairmen of Committees of the Western Australian Legislative Council Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly Members of the Western Australian Legislative Council People educated at John Curtin College of the Arts People from Merredin, Western Australia Royal Australian Air Force personnel of World War II South Fremantle Football Club players

Early life

Politics

See also

References