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Francis (Frank) Paterson Brown (13 November 1887 - 26 November 1928) was an Australian journalist, athlete, playwright, poet and dramatist. Between 1911 and 1926 he travelled extensively around the world for business and leisure, spending time in Europe, England, America, China, India, Japan, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.

Early Years


Francis Paterson Brown was born on 13 November 1887 in the outer eastern Melbourne suburb of Berwick, Victoria to gentleman grazier, George Brown Snr (1836-1896) and Mary Jane Paterson (1855-1932) who were of English and Scottish descent respectively. He was named in memory of his paternal grandfather, Francis (Frank) Brown who died when his father, George was three years old.

Background of Brown and Paterson families Frank’s father, George was the fourth of six children born in 1836 in Crookham, Cornhill-on-Tweed, Northumberland, England to Francis (Frank) Brown, a Saddler and his wife Elizabeth (née Scott). Frank died on 17 October 1839 in Carham, Northumberland, leaving behind his wife and 6 young children. Elizabeth (born 9 June 1801 in Duddoe, Northumberland) did not remarry and died on 26 December 1878 in Branxton Buildings, Northumberland where she lived with her youngest daughter, Elizabeth, son-in-law, William Best and 5 children. Francis and Elizabeth were buried in the same grave at St.Cuthbert’s Churchyard in Norham, Northumberland. George had three older siblings, Thomas, Mary and Jane and two younger siblings, John and Elizabeth. George emigrated to Australia in about 1860 and settled in the township of Berwick, Victoria where he ran the local store for many years and was well respected within the community. (Berwick was named after Berwick-upon-Tweed in Northern England close to where George grew up). George’s youngest sister, Elizabeth eventually followed her brother out to Australia with her husband, William Best and their children and they also settled in Berwick after her mother, Elizabeth died in 1878. George married his first wife, Scotswoman, Margaret (née Stewart) in March 1864, four months after the birth of their only son George Jnr. Interestingly, their marriage certificate stated that they were childless at the time of their nuptials and their surname was spelt ‘Browne’. On their son’s birth certificate from four months earlier, they stated that they had been married earlier that year in February 1863 in Ballan and their surname was correctly spelt as ‘Brown’. Could this have been a clever Victorian-era rouse to cover up the fact that their only child had been born out of wedlock? George and Margaret were happily married for 20 years and hosted many society parties at their Berwick home over the years with some documented in the local newspapers.

Frank’s mother Mary Jane was the sixth of seven children born on 2 January 1855 in Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland to John Ford Paterson Snr and his wife Elizabeth (née Stewart). Mary Jane had five older siblings, Esther, Charles, Elizabeth, John Jnr and James and one younger sibling, Hugh. Following the death of her first husband, merchant seaman, Thomas Clarence Esson at sea in 1879 after two years of marriage, Mary Jane emigrated to Australia on 12 May 1880 with her infant son Thomas (Louis) and her older sister Elizabeth and settled in Melbourne. The remaining Paterson clan including Mary Jane’s elderly parents would all eventually emigrate to Melbourne by the late 1880s, following in Mary Jane’s older brother’s footsteps who was well renowned Scottish-Australian artist, John Ford Paterson (1851-1912). John frequently visited Australia from Scotland for work in the early 1870s before permanently settling in Melbourne in 1884. Through John, Mary met many well respected Australian landscape artists of the Heidelberg School era including Louis Buvelot and Sir Arthur Streeton. Mary Jane met George Brown shortly after the death of his first wife Margaret in 1884 and they were married at the St. Giles Presbyterian Church in Geelong on 13 January 1887.

Frank had two older half-siblings: George Brown Jnr (15 November 1863 - 31 May 1887) from his father's previous marriage to Margaret Stewart (1834-1884) and Australian dramatist and poet, Thomas Louis Buvelot Esson (10 August 1878 - 27 November 1943) from his mother's previous marriage to Thomas Clarence Esson. Louis was named after the well known Swiss-Australian landscape artist, Louis Buvelot.

On 31 May 1887 Frank's older half-brother, George Jnr who was well respected in the Berwick community was killed instantly by a passing train near Beaconsfield Station while walking alongside the tracks. He was twenty-three. A magisterial inquest was held into his death the next day and the death was ruled accidental. It was confirmed in the inquest notes that after George Jnr had left his in-law’s home for dinner, he had missed the 6:40pm train service to town and as a result decided that he would walk back home to Berwick. At some point he sustained a fatal hit to the head by the engine step of a Melbourne-bound steam locomotive whilst attempting to light a tobacco pipe. His body was found 150 yards from Beaconsfield Station shortly after by Way Repairer, Patrick Murphy and Police were summoned. In the inquest ruling, the Magistrates also commented that steps should be taken to deter people from walking on the line which was increasingly becoming the common custom. Mary Jane was four months pregnant with Frank at the time and George Jnr's sudden death devastated the whole family especially his young wife, Emily (née Gissing). Tragically, Emily had delivered a stillborn daughter two years earlier and they never had the opportunity to have another child. His death also sent shock waves through the small close knit town of Berwick where it was reported in the South Bourke and Mornington Journal that George Jnr's funeral procession from the Gippsland Hotel to the Berwick Cemetery was an exceptionally large one, reaching close to a quarter of a mile long. George Jnr was buried at Berwick Cemetery with his infant stillborn daughter’s coffin re-placed on top of his in a symbolic gesture in the grave. For reasons unknown, George Jnr and his stillborn daughter never received a gravestone or marker and to this day are placed in an unmarked grave in front of George Jnr’s parents.

Frank P Brown



In 1891, Australian landscape artist, Sir Arthur Streeton (1867-1943) visited the Brown family's Berwick property, 'Inveresk' and painted a portrait of young Frank.

Click on the below links to view information about the heritage listed 'Inveresk' at 93 High Street Berwick, Victoria.

- [https://i3.au.reastatic.net/800x600-resize,extend,r=33,g=40,b=46/973414f3fbf696c512f0c75894dd565999085be3fca53b0ea675443c4d67a367/image2.jpg 'Inveresk', 93 High Street, Berwick. Property was built in 1891 for George Brown by William J Brown and designed by Little & Beasley.]

- Victorian Heritage Database Report - 'Inveresk'

- Berwick Heritage Walk - City of Casey

Frank's father, George Snr died on 29 December 1896 when Frank was just nine years old and he was buried at Berwick Cemetery with his first wife, Margaret. Frank and Louis' twice widowed mother, Mary Jane married her third husband, Australian politician, Berwick councillor and grazier, James Gibb (1843-1919) in 1908. Following the death of her third husband, Mary Jane moved to Shepparton in 1924 where her grandson, James Paterson Esson (also a Journalist) resided and she died there in July 1932.

Education
Frank attended Berwick State School like his older half-brother, George Jnr and in 1900 he commenced his secondary education at the prestigious Scotch College in Melbourne, excelling in sports including wrestling, boxing and hurdles. He also played Australian Rules football for Scotch College's 1st XVII for two seasons and graduated from Scotch in 1905 with honours.

Career
In 1905, at the age of seventeen, Frank was drafted by the Melbourne Football Club, playing 8 senior games. In 1907 Frank played 1 game for the St Kilda Football Club in Round 10 before hanging up the footy boots to concentrate on other passions of his including boxing, wrestling, hurdles, writing and travelling extensively as is documented in a 1917 newspaper article archived at the State Library of Victoria:

'After finishing a brilliant course at Scotch College, he became a nomad and his wanderings have taken him over a large portion of the world. His occupations have been many and varied, cow-punching in Canada having been one of his best roles. He has wandered through China, India, Japan, Papua and the Solomon Islands. For some time he has been exploring the Northern Territory of Australia where he hunted Buffalo and successfully undertook a government sheep driving contract. His last location was Wild Man's River on the North Coast.'

In 1907, he met the famous American author, journalist and social activist, Jack London (1876-1916) of 'White Fang' and 'The Call of the Wild' fame while he was travelling in Australia.

In 1911, Frank represented Australia in the London Empire Games (today's Commonwealth Games) in track and field events which coincided with the celebrations in connection to the Coronation of His Majesty King George V. Whilst abroad, Frank also proved his versatility by taking on all sorts of jobs from rough rider to circus promoter and became close friends with the famous American western film actor, Tom Mix (1880-1940). It claimed in several archived newspaper articles that the pair originated the Calgary Stampede which is still in existence and recognised as the 'greatest rodeo in the world'.

At the age of twenty-nine, Frank enlisted with the Australian Imperial Forces in Parkville and on 26 October 1917, he embarked on the SS Indarra from Melbourne, serving as a Gunner for the 8th Field Artillery Brigade Unit in Egypt and France. After almost eighteen months abroad serving his country, he returned home to Melbourne in May 1919.

From 1920 till his death, Frank collaborated with older half-brother, Louis Esson, co-writing and contributing to the one-act plays, Mates, The Drovers, and Andeganora. All three plays went on to be staged for Louis and Hilda Esson's theatre company, Pioneer Players in Melbourne and Sydney respectively.

In 1922, Frank joined The Sporting Globe newspaper in Melbourne as their Boxing and Wrestling Editor. 'The Count', as he was playfully known was noted in journalistic circles for his 'breezy writings in his own imitable style made which him immensely popular with the reading public.' In June 1925, his extensive knowledge of boxing and wrestling won him the position of Recruiter for Stadiums Ltd and in August of that year he was sent abroad to America, London and Europe by the organisation to obtain the best wrestlers and boxers for Australia.

During his time in the United States, Frank received the opportunity to write several articles on the rising popularity of wrestling in Australia for the San Francisco Examiner and The New York American newspapers. On 24 July 1926, Frank returned home to Melbourne with the world famous American professional wrestler, Ted Thye and heavily promoted the bout in Melbourne between Polish strongman, professional wrestler and 2-time world heavyweight champion, Stanislaus Zbyszko and American Mike 'Foxy' Yokel on 28 July 1926.

Personal Life
Frank married Melbourne based actress, Edith (Ede) Matilda Calder (13 August 1887 - 8 July 1965) on 4 March 1915 at St Andrew's Church in Carlton with the newly married couple settling in the inner Melbourne suburb of Parkville. Eighteen months year later, Edith gave birth to their only child, Stuart Paterson Brown (16 September 1916 - 3 June 1995) in Melbourne.

Death
On 26 November 1928, after returning to his Park St, St.Kilda residence from a short walk, Frank suffered a fatal heart attack at the age of forty-one, leaving behind his wife, Ede and twelve year old son, Stuart. Although Frank had been unwell for several weeks prior to his death, family and friends believed he was on the mend. At the time of his death, Frank was still actively writing articles for both The Sporting Globe and The Herald newspapers. His funeral was held on 27 November 1928 and was attended by many journalists, noted sportsmen of the Commonwealth and leading men in many walks of life. He was buried at Fawkner Cemetery.

Following Frank's sudden death, Ede's mother, Clara Calder (nee McLean) moved in with the family to help raise young Stuart. Ede never remarried and lived with her son Stuart and his family in Heidelberg at the time of her death on 8 July 1965. Stuart eventually followed in his father's footsteps, attending Scotch College, serving his country in the second world war as an Intelligence Officer and becoming a successful journalist. He was also a talented athlete like his father, excelling in water sports including long distance swimming and water polo for the Melbourne Swimming Club. Stuart married Alice Jean Glover (10 March 1914 - 8 July 1991) on 5 July 1941 at St Clement's Church in Elsternwick. They settled in Heidelberg once Stuart had returned from serving in the second world war and they raised two sons, Francis and Ian. Stuart held a number of roles in print media before rising through the ranks to Editor of Melbourne's The Herald newspaper in 1966. He held the post for nearly six years before retiring and moving to Williamstown with his wife in 1971 to become a ‘boatie’. After several years, Stuart found that print was still very much in the blood and was coaxed out of retirement by colleagues to assist in establishing several successful local newspapers in the inner western suburbs including The Williamstown Times, The Dogtown Dialogue (for the Williamstown Football Club) and The Western Times. Stuart died on 3 June 1995 at the age of seventy-eight and Jean, his wife of fifty years died on 8 July 1991 at the age of seventy-seven.