Max Brown (novelist)
Encyclopedia
Early career
Max Brown was born in Invercargill, New ZealandNew Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
and educated in Melbourne, Australia. He worked as a journalist in Melbourne, Sydney and Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
, as well as in country towns in N.S.W. and W.A. At one stage, he worked on the Melbourne Argus with fellow journalist and famous Australian novelist-to-be George Johnston
George Johnston (novelist)
George Johnston OBE was an Australian journalist, war correspondent and novelist, best known for My Brother Jack. His second wife and literary collaborator was Charmian Clift.-Life:...
, whose tumultuous marriage with writer Charmian Clift
Charmian Clift
Charmian Clift was an Australian writer and essayist during the mid 20th century. She was the second wife and literary collaborator of George Johnston.-Biography:...
would be the subject of Brown’s last book. He also worked as a teacher, fitter and turner, wharf labourer and film publicist. He served in the Royal Australian Air Force
Royal Australian Air Force
The Royal Australian Air Force is the air force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF was formed in March 1921. It continues the traditions of the Australian Flying Corps , which was formed on 22 October 1912. The RAAF has taken part in many of the 20th century's major conflicts...
during the Second World War and used his severance pay to write Australian Son, a highly regarded and sympathetic biography of bushranger
Bushranger
Bushrangers, or bush rangers, originally referred to runaway convicts in the early years of the British settlement of Australia who had the survival skills necessary to use the Australian bush as a refuge to hide from the authorities...
Ned Kelly
Ned Kelly
Edward "Ned" Kelly was an Irish Australian bushranger. He is considered by some to be merely a cold-blooded cop killer — others, however, consider him to be a folk hero and symbol of Irish Australian resistance against the Anglo-Australian ruling class.Kelly was born in Victoria to an Irish...
.
Writing career
After publishing Australian Son in 1948, Brown went on to write a number of other books, several dealing with aboriginal themes. His 1966 novel, The Jimberi Track, tells the tale of harassment by white settlers and miners experienced by various aboriginal tribal peoples, including the Wongais in South Australia and Western Australia after World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He also published The Black Eureka, an account of the 1946 Pilbara strike
1946 Pilbara strike
The 1946 Pilbara strike was a landmark strike by Indigenous Australian pastoral workers in the Pilbara region of Western Australia for human rights recognition and payment of fair wages and working conditions...
by Aboriginal
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
and part-Aboriginal stockmen in the Pilbara, an iconic story in Aboriginal/European race relations which was also retold by Brown’s friend, the author Donald Stuart
Donald Stuart (novelist)
Donald Stuart was an Australian novelist whose works include stories with Aboriginal backgrounds, and a series recounting his experience as a POW in Burma in World War II.-Early career:...
in his award-winning novel Yandy.
Last days
Towards the end of his life, Max Brown revised his first work, Australian Son, and the updated edition was published posthumously after careful research into Brown’s papers and manuscript by his friend Chester Eagle. He died in BallaratBallarat, Victoria
Ballarat is a city in the state of Victoria, Australia, approximately west-north-west of the state capital Melbourne situated on the lower plains of the Great Dividing Range and the Yarrowee River catchment. It is the largest inland centre and third most populous city in the state and the fifth...
in September, 2003.