Douglas Walkden-Brown

Douglas Walkden-Brown MBE
Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forests
In office 1 September 1967 – May 1975
Prime Minister	Kamisese Mara
Chief Minister	Kamisese Mara
Preceded by	Kamisese Mara
Succeeded by	Charles Walker
Member of the House of Representatives
In office 29 April 1972 – 19 March 1977
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Charles Walker
Constituency	General–National
Member of the Legislative Council
In office 8 October 1966 – 15 April 1972
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Position abolished
Constituency	General–Central
Parliamentary Secretary for Natural Resources
In office 1966–1967 Serving with Jonati Mavoa
Minister	Kamisese Mara
Preceded by	Position established
Personal details
Born	18 October 1921 Parkes, New South Wales, Australia
Died	26 October 2013(2013-10-26) (aged 92) Armidale, New South Wales, Australia
Political party	Alliance
Spouse	Barbara Curtis ​ (m. 1949)​
Alma mater	Hawkesbury Agricultural College
Occupation	Soldier Missionary Politician
Military service
Allegiance	Australia
Branch/service	Royal Australian Air Force
Years of service	1942–1945
Rank	Sergeant
Battles/wars	World War II Pacific War

Douglas Walkden-Brown MBE (18 October 1921 – 26 October 2013) was an Australian Fijian missionary, farmer, educator, politician and diplomat. He was a member of the House of Representatives from 1966 to 1977 and served as Minister for Natural Resources and Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forests between 1967 and 1975, later becoming Fijian Consul in Sydney.

Biography

Brown was born in Parkes, New South Wales, Australia in 1921 to a Methodist minister. He studied at Hawkesbury Agricultural College, after which he joined the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) during World War II. In 1947 he moved to Fiji to work as a Methodist missionary, and the following year was appointed headteacher of Navuso Agricultural School. In 1960 he retired, and bought his own farm near Nausori where he became a dairy and poulty farmer. He was awarded an MBE in the 1961 Birthday Honours for services to agriculture in Fiji. He also became involved in rugby administration, serving as President of the Rewa Rugby Union and the Fiji School Rugby Union, as well as managing the Fiji national team that toured England, France and Wales in 1964.

In 1963 he contested the elections to the Legislative Council, losing to John Kearsley in the European Southern constituency by 13 votes. Prior to the 1966 elections he joined the Alliance Party and was elected from the Central General cross-voting constituency. Following the elections, he was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Member for Natural Resources, Kamisese Mara. The following year he took over from Mara as Member, and later in the year became Minister for Natural Resources when full ministerial government was introduced. When Fiji became independent in 1970, he took Fijian citizenship. In 1971 his ministerial title changed to Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forests.

In the 1972 elections he was re-elected in the Eastern General national constituency, after which he retained his ministerial post. He retired from politics due to ill-health, losing his seat in the March 1977 elections. However, in 1981 he was appointed the Fijian Consul General in Sydney, a role he held until 1984.

He died in October 2013 aged 92.