Edwin Brown

Edwin Brown

Personal information
Full name	Edwin Stanley Brown
Nickname	Nigger
Born	1898 ?, Australia
Died	1972 (age 74) Toowoomba, Australia
Playing information
Position	Centre
Club
Years	Team	Pld	T	G	FG	P
191?–2?	Newtown (Toowoomba)
Representative
Years	Team	Pld	T	G	FG	P
1919–25	Queensland
1921–22	Australia
19??–??	Toowoomba

Edwin Stanley "Nigger" Brown^[1] (1898–1972) was an Australian rugby league footballer of the 1910s and 1920s. A Queensland state and Australian international representative centre,^[2] he played club football in Toowoomba for Newtown.^[3][4]

Brown, an Anglo-Australian who was nicknamed "Nigger" because of his fair complexion (or perhaps because of his use of the "Nigger Brown" variety of Kiwi shoe polish),^[5][6] became Toowoomba's first rugby league international^[7] when he was selected to go on the 1921–22 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain, during which he played four matches.

Brown forged a world-class centre combination with Tom Gorman in the famous Toowoomba sides of the 1920s,^[8] and in 1925 injured his ankle playing in their win over the New Zealand national side before a crowd of around 5,000 in Toowoomba.^[9]

Brown later served as a judge for The Sunday Herald's player of the season award.^[10] He was also president of the Toowoomba Rugby League during the eary 1950s^[11] and became a local councillor in Toowoomba.^[12] He was Kangaroo Tour manager in 1954.^[13]

In the 1960s a grandstand in Toowoomba's main football stadium, the Toowoomba Sports Ground, was named the 'E S "Nigger" Brown Stand' in his honour.^[14] Brown died in 1972 aged 74.^[15]

The "E S 'Nigger' Brown Stand" later became the subject of a book, The N Word: One Man's Stand, by Stephen Hagan who campaigned for its removal. When the stand was demolished in September 2008, the Toowoomba Sports Ground Inc decided not to use the "Nigger" nickname in future references to Brown.^[14]

References

1. also known as "Edward" Stanley Brown
2. Gallaway, Jack (2001). Brisbane Broncos: The Team to beat. Australia: University of Queensland Press. p. 128. ISBN 0-7022-3342-0. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
3. qrl.com.au (2010). Queensland Representative Players. Australia: Queensland Rugby League. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
4. australianrugbyleague.com.au (2009). Player Register. Australia: Australian Rugby League. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
5. KIWI Nigger Brown Boot Polish
6. AAP (20 March 2002). "Judge rejects bid on 'nigger' sign". The Age (Australia: Fairfax). Retrieved 20 February 2011.
7. Chilcott, Tanya (26 September 2008). "Toowoomba to drop 'Nigger' name from sports ground". The Courier-Mail (Australia: Queensland Newspapers). Retrieved 20 February 2011.
8. Pramberg, Bernie (14 June 2008). "League Centenary painting shows Queensland's dream team". The Courier-Mail (Australia: Queensland Newspapers). Retrieved 20 February 2011.
9. "Football". The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia). 13 August 1925. p. 12. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
10. "Three Players in Competition Lead". The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia). 3 July 1950. p. 1. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
11. Neil Rees, Katherine Lindsay and Simon Rice (2008). Australian Anti-Discrimination Law: Text, Cases and Materials. Australia: The Federation Press. p. 550. ISBN 978-1-86287-661-3. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
12. Andrew Fraser and Michael McKenna (26 September 2008). "Racist nickname consigned to history as indigenous activist celebrates victory". The Australian (Australia: News Limited). Retrieved 20 February 2011.
13. Collins, Tony (2004). "'Ahr Waggy'; Harold Wagstaff and the making of Anglo-Australian rugby league culture". 5th Annual Tom Brock Lecture. Australia: Tom Brock Bequest Committee. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-01-17. Retrieved 18 January 2011.
14. "'Nigger' Brown issue laid to rest at last". Brisbane Times (Fairfax Media). 17 February 2009. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
15. "Controversial stand to be demolished". Brisbane Times (Australia: Fairfax Media). 22 May 2007. Retrieved 20 February 2011.