Herbert Charles Brown (public servant)

Herbert Charles Brown CBE
Secretary of the Department of Markets
In office August 1928 – 10 December 1928
Secretary of the Department of Markets and Transport
In office 10 December 1928 – 21 April 1930
Secretary of the Department of Transport
In office 1 May 1930 – 12 April 1932
Secretary of the Department of the Interior
In office 12 April 1932 – 1935
Commonwealth Auditor-General
In office 1935–1938
Personal details
Born	1874
Died	16 July 1940 (aged 67)
Nationality	Australian
Occupation	Public servant

Herbert Charles Brown CBE (1874 – 1940) was a senior Australian public servant best known for his time as Commonwealth Auditor-General in the late 1930s.

Life and career

Brown was born in 1874, and joined the New South Wales public service in 1891.^[1]

Brown served for 12-years in the Postmaster-General's Department, before joining the Department of Home Affairs. He then became an Assistant Secretary in the Department of Works and Railways, then a chief clerk and accountant in the Prime Minister's Department.^[2]

In 1928, Brown was appointed Secretary of the Department of Markets.^[3] He became Secretary of the expanded Department of Markets and Transport at the end of that year.^[4]

Brown was Secretary of the Department of Transport between 1930 and 1932.^[5] His salary was initially set at £1,100 per year, and his responsibilities included Commonwealth railways, assisted Migration from Britain, and lighthouses, light ships, beacons and buoys.^[6]

When the Department of the Interior was created in 1932, amalgamating the Departments of Home Affairs, Transport and Works and Railways, Brown was appointed to be its head.^[7] Having served as head of the Department of the Interior for over three years, Brown was appointed Commonwealth Auditor-General in November 1935.^[7]

Brown died on 16 July 1940, aged 67.^[8] His death was at home after a short illness.^[9][10]

Awards

Brown was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in June 1933 whilst Secretary of the Department of the Interior.^[11]

References

1. "Markets. New Secretary: Mr. H. C. Brown appointed". The Canberra Times. 25 July 1928. p. 4.
2. "Federal Service Promotions". The Argus (Melbourne, Victoria). 4 November 1935. p. 8.
3. CA 21: Department of Markets [I], Central Office, National Archives of Australia, retrieved 21 February 2015
4. "Round the Departments". The Canberra Times. 7 December 1929. p. 2.
5. CA 26: Department of Transport [I], Central Office, National Archives of Australia, retrieved 21 February 2015
6. Order. Administrative Arrangements (PDF), Australian Government, 1 May 1930, archived from the original (PDF) on 12 February 2014
7. "Federal Service. New Appointments. London Official Secretaryship". The Sydney Morning Herald. 4 November 1935. p. 10.
8. "Mr. H. C. Brown". Daily Advertiser (Wagga Wagga, NSW). 19 July 1940. p. 5.
9. "Obituary: Mr. H. C. Brown, C.B.E.- Former Commonwealth Auditor-General". Advocate (Burnie, Tasmania). 18 July 1940. p. 2.
10. "Former Auditor General Dead". Barrier Miner (Broken Hill, NSW). 17 July 1940. p. 1.
11. "Search Australian Honours: BROWN, Herbert Charles, Award: The Order of the British Empire - Commander (Civil)", itsanhonour.gov.au (Australian Government), archived from the original on 21 February 2015