John Harris Browne (22 April 1817 – 12 January 1904), generally referred to as J. Harris Browne, was an explorer in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and a pioneer pastoralist.

Early years

Browne was born in Ilford,

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

, England, son of Benjamin Browne, landowner, and his wife Tara. He was well educated, studying at the Ecole de Médecine,

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and qualified for the medical profession at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

Career

Browne migrated to

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

in 1840 with his sister Anna, arriving aboard the ''Orleanna''. There he took up land, initially at Lyndoch in the Barossa Valley, and in 1844 was asked by

Charles Sturt Charles Napier Sturt (28 April 1795 – 16 June 1869) was a British officer and explorer of Australia, and part of the European land exploration of Australia, European exploration of Australia. He led several expeditions into the interior of the ...

to join his expedition to

Central Australia Central Australia, also sometimes referred to as the Red Centre, is an inexactly defined region associated with the geographic centre of Australia. In its narrowest sense it describes a region that is limited to the town of Alice Springs and ...

as surgeon. During this journey he was of the greatest assistance to Sturt, and when his leader fell ill with

scurvy Scurvy is a deficiency disease (state of malnutrition) resulting from a lack of vitamin C (ascorbic acid). Early symptoms of deficiency include weakness, fatigue, and sore arms and legs. Without treatment, anemia, decreased red blood cells, gum d ...

, took command of the party on the return journey and brought it to safety. Both in the official biography and in Sturt's own account of the journey to central Australia, there are many references to Browne's ability as an explorer and his loyalty to Sturt, who probably owed his life to him. He afterwards became a highly successful pastoralist and held an enormous amount of land in South Australia. In his later years he lived for long periods in England, and died in

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

Family life

He married and was survived by a son and daughter. Browne's elder brother, William James Browne (1815 – 4 December 1894), also qualified as a physician and arrived in South Australia in 1839, becoming a very successful pastoralist.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Browne, John Harris 1817 births 1904 deaths English explorers Explorers of Australia Explorers of South Australia People from Wiltshire Colony of South Australia people