Robert James Brown (2 December 1933 – 30 March 2022) was an

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms t ...

politician.

Early life

Brown was born in Pelaw Main and educated at Pelaw Main Primary School,

Kurri Kurri Kurri Kurri is a small town in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia, in the Cessnock LGA. At the , its population was 6,044. Kurri Kurri is the largest town in a group of towns and hamlets, including Stanford Merthyr, Pelaw Main, ...

Junior Technical High School, Maitland Boys High School, the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

( B.Ec), Sydney Teachers' College ( Dip.Ed), Broken Hill Technical College and the

University of New England University of New England may refer to: * University of New England (Australia), in New South Wales, with about 18,000 students * University of New England (United States), in Biddeford, Maine, with about 3,000 students See also *New England Colle ...

. He married Elizabeth Joy Hirschausen in 1960 and had one daughter ( Kelly Hoare) and one son.

Political career

Brown first contested the then safe Liberal seat of Paterson at the 1961 federal election. He gathered a 6.5% swing to Labor but failed to beat the sitting member and

Menzies Government Menzies is a Scottish surname, with Gaelic forms being Méinnearach and Méinn, and other variant forms being Menigees, Mennes, Mengzes, Menzeys, Mengies, and Minges. Derivation and history The name and its Gaelic form are probably derived f ...

Minister,

Allen Fairhall Sir Allen Fairhall KBE FRSA (24 November 19093 November 2006) was an Australian politician who served in the House of Representatives from 1949 to 1969, representing the Liberal Party. He was a government minister under four prime ministers, mo ...

. Brown later contested and won the seat of Cessnock in the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament Ho ...

and held it from 1978 to 1980. He switched to federal politics, this time successfully contesting the nearby electorate of

Hunter Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...

, holding it from 1980 until 1984. After a redistribution moved a large slice of Hunter to the new seat of Charlton, Brown transferred there and represented it from 1984 to 1998. He served as Minister for Land Transport from 1988 to 1993. He retired in 1998, and was succeeded in Charlton by his daughter, Kelly Hoare.

Honours

On 11 June 2007, Brown was named a Member of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Go ...

for "service to the Australian Parliament, particularly in the area of transport policy, to the community of the Hunter Region through local government, heritage and sporting organisations, and to economics education."

Death

Brown died on 30 March 2022, aged 88. His funeral was held on 6 April 2022, a week after his death.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Bob 1933 births 2022 deaths Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Hunter Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Charlton Members of the Australian House of Representatives Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Members of the Order of Australia Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia 20th-century Australian politicians Government ministers of Australia People from New South Wales