567 THE SEARCH FOR KENNETH BROWN ESQ(1837-76) Aidan Kelly Frontier childhood 1837-1851(aged0-14) Kenneth Brown\ father of RWAHS co-founder Edith Cowan, was born in Cuddesdon, Oxfordshire, England in 1837.2 Aged four, he arrived in WA in 1841 on the Sterling with his parents Thomas Brown (1801-63) and Eliza Bussey (1811-96) and his brother Vernon.3 The family established itself by purchasing a farm at York (the Grassdale property). Kenneth's childhood experiences defined him and his mother described him as: Possesses judgement and self respect, is an expert swimmer, dead shot but not too much engrossed in sport but a good deal practiced in it. God grant that his gifts may be used in the service of the Giver, let him not lean to his own understanding, he is not likely to bow much to human opinion, but mercifully grant him grace to seek the Divine Will and to walk before Thee in the land of the living. 4 Eliza wrote to her father to raise the possibility of Kenneth - then aged eleven - attending an English grammar school. She said that 'he has a judicial turn and the boy seems to keep constant to the idea that he will be a barrister'. 5 Ultimately it was accepted that Kenneth was more practical than literary. He was raised to handle horses, ride long distances, be a bushman and shoot straight. This seems to be what his family wanted. They were proud of Kenneth although there was some concern about his lack of formal schooling: Kenneth will be 12 years old in August. I delight to look upon him, perfect in form and feature, but he is making very slow 568 Earry Days 14.4 Aidan Kelly progress intellectually and in great danger of becoming too much the rustic. 6 Up to age fourteen he experienced a range of character building events including: Riding long distances on horse-back, in one instance over 100 miles to fetch a doctor for his mother during child birth - possibly saving her life and that of his sister Janet.7 Witnessing his brother Vernon drown in a billabong. 8 Being speared by a glancing blow through the midriff in a game of 'spear jumping' Qump the spear after it is thrown directly at you).9 Attaining fluency in some native language(s). Skirmishing with hostile aborigines, many probably fatal skirmishes. Travelling overland with stock from Grassdale to Glengarry with a pioneering group of settlers including his father,J.S. Davis, Major Logue and John Drummond, to establish the Glengarry property on the Greenough River. 10 Building a business and exploring 1851-73 (aged 15-36) Kenneth's father Thomas Brown led a successful and busy life11 and many of his life decisions shaped Kenneth's life. 12 Thomas was a magistrate from 1851 until his death in 186313 and although he owned the legal title to Glengarry he was not closely involved in its operations. That was left to Kenneth. The move to Glengarry coincided with a significant growth period in the Western Australian economy associated with expanding the northern settlements and the introduction of convict labour (1850-68). Initially assisted by paid managers, includingJ.S. Davis,14 Kenneth was joined at Glengarry in the early 1860s by his younger brothers Aubrey (1841-1903) and Maitland (1843-1905). Together, after their father died, the brothers operated under the partnership of K & M or K.A. & M. Brown. They ran The Search for Kenneth Brown Esq (1837-76) 569 Glengarry and associated properties for the horse trade with a great deal of success. 15 At one stage the operation covered more than 1,200 acres of agricultural land, 300,000 acres of pastoral land, ran 20,000 sheep and employed more than 100 ticket-of­ leave men. 16 Horses were Kenneth's passion (owning, breeding, racing and selling), some of the highlights included: Exporting cavalry horses (remounts) for use by the Indian Raj (this involved travel to Galle, Madras and Calcutta) - on one trip Kenneth won a prized silver cup - probably in Calcutta. Importing thoroughbred blood stock, and standing at stud sires such as Sir Hugh (Irish import) and Flemington (Victorian import) which formed the basis of part of their successful horse-breeding enterprise. Turf racing in Perth and regional areas such as Champion Bay and York as an owner and a rider (the Browns' colours were usually white jacket and crimson cap). Some of the more successful horses included the The Clansman, Hinda, Asteroid, West Australian, Victorian, Priestess, Sultana and Fanny. Holding membership of the WATC from 1860 and being appointed as a steward between 1867-1874 along with Anthony O'Grady Lefroy, Augustus Lee-Steere, Carl Von Bibra, Thomas Burges, Walter Padbury and Henry Weld-Blundell.17 Leading the formation of the Victoria Turf Club in 1861 (later known as the Geraldton Turf Club) and winning one of its first races. 18 At age 17 Kenneth was included in Robert Austin's 1854 expedition to the Murchison as a sponsored volunteer. 19 His tasks were to handle the horses, carry the instruments20 and shoot fauna specimens. Kenneth was praised many times for his character, ability and all-round bush skills: Of Mr Kenneth Brown, the youngest of my party, I can hardly speak too favourably in acknowledgement of his zealous, 570 Early Days 14.4 Aidan Kelly cheerful and faithful discharge of the many important duties his high courage, good principles and great energy induced me to intrust to him. He has charge of all my instruments and papers, and collected most of my specimens of natural history; and it is mainly attributable to his great care and presence of mind that I have brought them in uninjured. He was an indefatigable and successful sportsman, and brought two horses back that carried his loads. 21 Other notable points included: Being the youngest member of the expedition. Having Mount Kenneth named after him.22 Magnanimously sharing his boots with another member of the party, James Fraser, when traversing rough terrain after Fraser's own boots had failed, each using a single boot to cross the rocky breakaways .. Shooting many fauna specimens, including what became the type specimen of the Night Parrot which today is one of Australia's most rare and mysterious birds.23 Carving his initials 'KB 1854' on the wall of Carved Cave Springs.24 Showing little or no emotion at the death of Charles Farmer.25 Being the only person on the expedition to return with both his horses (many died from eating poison weed). Being the 'last-man-standing' when the exhausted expedition reached the Geraldine mine on 20 November 1854.26 In 1859 Kenneth married Mary Wittenoom (1839-68), daughter of the Rev.John Wittenoom. They had seven children of whom the four eldest survived: Blanche born 1860, Edith 1861, Forrest 1862 and Clarence 1864. Mary died in September 1868 'in' or 'soon after' childbirth. In February 1869 Kenneth took the children to Perth for parenting and schooling. After that it appears Kenneth played little if any role in caring for them. Initially they lived with their grandmother Eliza in King William St, Fremantle (then aged 9, 8, 7 and 4) and later boarding school. The Search for Kenneth Brown Esq (1837-76) 571 In 1863 Kenneth led an expedition27 from Champion Bay to the Kimberley to investigate the suitability of the area around Camden Sound and the Glenelg River for pasture and/ or settlement.28 The expedition went for two months and on return Kenneth gave a mixed but generally negative assessment of the area's potential.29 Notably on that expedition: There were a number of confrontations and fatal skirmishes with aborigines. The area was later promoted by others as a viable area for settlement but by 1865, as predicted by Kenneth, it proved to be a miserable failure. 30 Kenneth's father Thomas died at Champion Bay when the expedition was away. Kenneth subsequently brought an action in the Supreme Court for breach of contract against Lockier and Thomas Burges to recover £200 from them for the cost of the expedition. 31 Arguably Kenneth was at the peak of his powers between 1854 and 1874 (between the ages of 17-3 7). As a land owner he was a leading figure in Champion Bay and espoused political views on a range of matters including responsible government,32 land regulations and reducing public spending on infrastructure in favour of private investment. He attended public meetings on political matters of the day and appears to have been an assertive and confident speaker though barely literate. After his wife died his priorities were altered. Glengarry was definitely up for sale (although first advertised for sale in May 1868).33 In 1871 Kenneth's frustrations with the local scene may have increased because some race meetings were prohibiting acceptances from horses sired by Sir Hugh and limiting some of the main events such as the 01ieen's Plate to horses that had not previously won the event. This ruled him out of some of the premium races and can only have encouraged him to think about taking his mounts elsewhere. In July 1872 the Brown brothers' partnership was dissolved and Maitland paid out Kenneth's share by increasing the 572 Early Days 14.4 Aidan Kelly mortgage. The property was then leased to Colonial Secretary Frederick Barlee (in partnership with a Mr Major). The lessees ultimately purchased the property in 1877 for £25,000 - a record at the time for that kind of property.