John Harris Browne (22 April 1817 – 12 January 1904), generally referred to as J. Harris Browne, was an explorer in Australia and a pioneer pastoralist.

Early years

Browne was born in Ilford,

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

, England, son of Benjamin Browne, landowner, and his wife Tara. He was well educated, studying at the Ecole de Médecine,

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

and qualified for the medical profession at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

Career

Browne migrated to

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

in 1840 with his sister Anna, arriving aboard the ''Orleanna''. There he took up land, initially at Lyndoch in the Barossa Valley, and in 1844 was asked by

Charles Sturt Charles Napier Sturt (28 April 1795 – 16 June 1869) was a British officer and explorer of Australia, and part of the European exploration of Australia. He led several expeditions into the interior of the continent, starting from Sydney and la ...

to join his expedition to Central Australia as surgeon. During this journey he was of the greatest assistance to Sturt, and when his leader fell ill with

scurvy Scurvy is a disease resulting from a lack of vitamin C (ascorbic acid). Early symptoms of deficiency include weakness, feeling tired and sore arms and legs. Without treatment, decreased red blood cells, gum disease, changes to hair, and bleeding ...

, took command of the party on the return journey and brought it to safety. Both in the official biography and in Sturt's own account of the journey to central Australia, there are many references to Browne's ability as an explorer and his loyalty to Sturt, who probably owed his life to him. He afterwards became a highly successful pastoralist and held an enormous amount of land in South Australia. In his later years he lived for long periods in England, and died in Bath.

Family life

He married and was survived by a son and daughter. Browne's elder brother, William James Browne (1815 – 4 December 1894), also qualified as a physician and arrived in South Australia in 1839, becoming a very successful pastoralist.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Browne, John Harris 1817 births 1904 deaths Settlers of South Australia Explorers of Australia Explorers of South Australia