Samuel McConnell Brown (c. 1865 – 24 August 1923) was an Australian politician who was a member of the Legislative Assembly of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

from 1917 to 1921, representing the seat of Subiaco. Brown was born near

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands (Victoria), Central Highlands of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resid ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, to Margaret (née Matheson) and George McConnell Brown. He came to Western Australia in 1896, during the

gold rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New Z ...

, and the following year opened a bakery in Coolgardie. He subsequently moved to Perth, opening another bakery in Subiaco. Brown was elected to the Subiaco Municipal Council in 1898, serving until 1905 and then again from 1906 to 1917.Samuel McConnell Brown
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 29 May 2016. He first stood for parliament at the 1901 state election, as an

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 ...

, but was defeated in Subiaco by

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

Henry Daglish Henry Daglish (18 November 1866 – 16 August 1920) was an Australian politician who was the sixth premier of Western Australia and the first from the Labor Party, serving from 10 August 1904 to 25 August 1905. Daglish was born in Ballarat, V ...

(a future

premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

). He again lost to Daglish at the 1905 election, standing as a Ministerialist. At the 1917 Subiaco by-election, Brown stood for a third time and was elected, replacing Labor's Bartholomew Stubbs (who had been killed in action in Flanders). He served only a single term, losing his seat to Walter Richardson of the

National Labor Party The National Labor Party was formed by Australian Prime Minister Billy Hughes in 1916, following the 1916 Labor split on the issue of World War I conscription in Australia. Hughes had taken over as leader of the Australian Labor Party and Pri ...

at the 1921 state election. In late August 1923, Brown disappeared from his home in Subiaco and did not return. Police and residents mounted a search of the surrounding area, and even employed a black tracker to assist them."MR. S. BROWN MISSING"
''The Daily News'', 27 August 1923. Brown's body was found four days later, in bushland near

Herdsman Lake Herdsman Lake ( nys, Njookenbooro), also known as Herdsmans Lake, is a freshwater lake located on the Swan Coastal Plain, north-west of Perth, Western Australia, in the suburb of Herdsman. The main shared use path around the lake is approxima ...

. His throat was a cut and a razor found next to the body, leading the coroner to return a verdict of suicide."VERDICT OF SUICIDE"
''The Daily News'', 7 September 1923.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Samuel 1865 births 1923 deaths Australian politicians who committed suicide Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly Nationalist Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Western Australia People from Ballarat Suicides by sharp instrument in Australia Suicides in Western Australia Western Australian local councillors