W. H. Browne

William Henry Browne (13 September 1846 – 12 April 1904), known as W. H. Browne or Billy Browne, was a gold miner and member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly.

Biography
Browne was born in Pimlico, London, to parents William Henry Browne, a stone-sawyer, and his wife Eliza (née Barton). At age eleven he was at sea with the merchant navy, a position he held for the next nine years.

He landed in Australia in 1866 and commenced gold mining at Araluen, New South Wales before working his trade at Gympie, Herberton and Croydon. It was in Croydon that he lost an eye in an accident in the mines.

Unmarried, he died in office of pneumonia and angina in Brisbane in 1904 and his funeral proceeded from St John's Cathedral to the Toowong Cemetery.

Political career
Browne became president and secretary of the Amalgamated Miners' Association in Croydon, and was an alderman in the same town.

In August 1890 Browne contested a by-election for the seat of Burke in the Queensland Legislative Assembly, but lost to John Hoolan by 24 votes. As secretary of the miner's union, he organised financial support for the shearers in the 1891 Australian shearers' strike.

At the 1893 Queensland colonial elections, Browne, representing the Labour Party, won the new seat of Croydon, holding it till his death in 1904. He was Secretary for Mines & Public Instruction in the world's first socialist government in 1899, and Secretary for Mines & Public Works in 1903–1904. From 1900 until 1903 he was Chairman of the parliamentary Labour Party and opposition leader.

Though not a forceful speaker, he was often heard in the house.