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ROBERT DONNELLY BROWN's story

This account has been adapted from "Browns of Kyeburn Peninsula" by Wally Brown - to whom many thanks



Bob was born two days after Christmas in 1892 at Naseby. Nothing appears to be recorded of his primary eduction, but he was a boarder at Otago Boys' High School in Dunedin, together with his cousin Wilfred. It was here that he gained his dislike of rhubarb, because it was served with sago at the School but never sugared. When he left school he got himself a job in a law office in Dunedin where he stayed until he embarked with the 17th reinforcements on 23rd September 1916, returning on 26th May 1919 and being discharged on 22nd June of that year. The account of his winning the DCM is on the Brown branch page.

Late in 1919 he moved to Christchurch, taking an accountancy position with a firm of solicitors, (Williams, Holmes and Booker) where he stayed until retirement, but before he did so he seems to have met Louisa (Louie) Anderson, who had been educated in Dunedin and was a shorthand typist, for in 1921 they married.

In spite of moving so far away, the family always returned to Kyeburn Diggings at Christmas, where each year Bob enthustiastically went gold panning in the Kye Burn as well as shooting rabbits and guddling (tickling) trout, although he never worked as a goldminer.

Bob was a blue eyed, dark haired slight man, never weighing more than 140lbs (64Kg) and was a keen gardener, followed rugby and cricket, enjoying the races and served as treasurer for the primary school committee for many years.

Louie had a lovely contralto voice and was much in demand for musical evenings, weddings and other functions - his daughter Bev remembered visiting her uncle Moses where her Aunt Flo played the piano and she and her Mum would sing duets.

Bob and Ernie lived at 7 Cuba Street, Bromley, Christchurch

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