Peter Grahame Browne (15 July 1924 – 11 September 2000) was an Australian Federal politician. Born in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, he enlisted in 1940 and served with the

2nd AIF The Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF, or Second AIF) was the volunteer expeditionary force of the Australian Army in the Second World War. It was formed following the declaration of war on Nazi Germany, with an initial strength of one i ...

as a Gunner in the 14th Heavy Anti-aircraft Battery in Darwin during the

Bombing of Darwin The Bombing of Darwin, also known as the Battle of Darwin, on 19 February 1942 was the largest single attack ever mounted by a foreign power on Australia. On that day, 242 Empire of Japan, Japanese aircraft, in two separate raids, attacked the ...

from February 1942. In 1943 he transferred to the RAAF to undertake pilot training through the

Empire Air Training Scheme The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP), often referred to as simply "The Plan", was a large-scale multinational military aircrew training program created by the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand during the Second Wo ...

, initially at 2 Initial Training School (''2 I.T.S.'') ''Bradfield'' Park, Sydney. He was medically discharged from the RAAF after suffering from

mastoiditis Mastoiditis is the result of an infection that extends to the air cells of the skull behind the ear. Specifically, it is an inflammation of the mucosal lining of the mastoid antrum and mastoid air cell system inside the mastoid process. The ma ...

. Not yet satisfied with his contribution to the war, Browne signed-up with the

US Army Small Ships Section The US Army Small Ships Section was an improvised civilian fleet mobilized by Douglas MacArthur to provide logistical support to Allied Operations in the Pacific War. Between 1942 and 1945, over 4,372 Allied Merchant seaman served aboard command ...

in June 1944 where he served on ships directly supporting the Philippines Campaign, particularly the

Battle of Leyte Gulf The Battle of Leyte Gulf () 23–26 October 1944, was the largest naval battle of World War II and by some criteria the largest naval battle in history, with over 200,000 naval personnel involved. By late 1944, Japan possessed fewer capital sh ...

and

Invasion of Lingayen Gulf The Invasion of Lingayen Gulf (; ; ; ), 3–13 January 1945, was an Allies of World War II, Allied Amphibious warfare, amphibious operation in the Commonwealth of the Philippines, Philippines during World War II. In the early morning of 6 Janua ...

. In addition to his WWII Australian Service and Campaign medals, he was awarded US Service Medals, including the

Asiatic–Pacific Campaign Medal The Asiatic–Pacific Campaign Medal was a United States military award of the Second World War, which was awarded to any member of the United States Armed Forces who served in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater from 1941 to 1945. The medal was create ...

with

Campaign Stars A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or service period. T ...

for the

Battle of Leyte The Battle of Leyte (; ; ) in the Pacific campaign of World War II was the amphibious invasion of the island of Leyte in the Philippines by American forces and Filipino guerrillas under the overall command of General Douglas MacArthur, who fou ...

and the

Battle of Luzon The Battle of Luzon (; ; ) was a land battle of the Pacific Theater of Operations of World War II by the Allied forces of the U.S., its colony the Philippines, Mexico, and allies against forces of the Empire of Japan. The battle resulted in a U ...

and the

Philippines Liberation Medal The Philippine Liberation Medal is a military award of the Republic of the Philippines which was created by an order of Commonwealth Army of the Philippines Headquarters on December 20, 1944, and was issued as the Philippine Liberation Ribbon. Th ...

and Philippines Presidential Unit Citation. After the war Browne became a drover and horse breaker, as well as an organiser for the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

. In 1958, he was elected to the

Australian House of Representatives The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the upper house being the Australian Senate, Senate. Its composition and powers are set out in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia. ...

as the Liberal member for Kalgoorlie, in Western Australia. He held the seat until his defeat in 1961. He then served as the Principal Private Secretary to the Treasurer,

Harold Holt Harold Edward Holt (5 August 190817 December 1967) was an Australian politician and lawyer who served as the 17th prime minister of Australia from 1966 until Disappearance of Harold Holt, his disappearance and presumed death in 1967. He held o ...

, in the

Menzies Menzies is a Scottish surname, with Gaelic forms being Méinnearach and Méinn, and other variant forms being Menigees, Mennes, Mengzes, Menzeys, Mengies, and Minges. Derivation and history The name and its Gaelic form are probably derived f ...

government. Browne died in Fremantle in 2000 and wa
remembered
in the House of Representatives. His wife, Margaret, died in 2023 at the age of 91. He is survived by his three children, Rosemary, Stephen and Peter.

References

Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Kalgoorlie Members of the Australian House of Representatives 1924 births 2000 deaths Australian Army personnel of World War II Australian Army soldiers Royal Australian Air Force personnel of World War II United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army civilians Australian MPs 1958–1961 {{Australia-Liberal-politician-stub