Maitland Brown’s Fruit Bowl

c. 1904
Overview

EPNS fruit bowl

Historical information

The Greenough Farmers’ Club organised a social in St Catherine’s Hall on 28th June 1904 to acknowledge their former President, Maitland Brown. This fruit bowl was suitably inscribed, but the function had to be cancelled due to the death of Mrs Brown.
The fourth son of Thomas and Eliza Brown, Maitland was born on their property at York on 17 July 1843. He was educated at home. At the age of fifteen he was apprenticed to his brother Kenneth at Glengarry to learn about the sheep industry. On the completion of his contract Brown accompanied Gregory to the North West, where he gained a reputation as a skilled bushman. On his return he helped establish Newmarracarra, where horses were bred for export to India and Mauritius. In December 1863 Maitland shipped the first load of horses from Geraldton. The trade flourished until 1884. In 1865, Brown eagerly volunteered to Governor Hampton to lead a party of men north in search of missing explorers Panter, Goldwyer and Harding. On bringing their bodies back to Perth he was acclaimed a hero, and as a reward appointed Stipendiary Magistrate of the Victoria District in 1866. In 1867 he became Resident Magistrate of the Greenough District. He was only 23, and was known amongst his squatter friends as the ‘boy magistrate’.

Whilst serving his first term as Government Resident at Geraldton in 1869 the farmers on the Greenough faced destitution through the destruction of their wheat crops by rust. Brown came up with a scheme that would solve two problems at once. Geraldton was continually threatened with being buried by the drifting sand dunes. The Greenough farmers needed to earn money. Brown proposed to the Government that these men be employed by the Government to stop the sand drift. By careful observation Brown had noticed that the most successful method was to cover the sand with cut brush and vegetation to hold the drift and allow for a natural regrowth. That the project went ahead was solely due to Brown’s conviction and enthusiasm. Brown married Amy, the daughter of Reverend Howard, in St George’s Cathedral, Perth, and raised a family of two sons and four daughters.

Brown served as MLC for Geraldton from 1874 to 1883 and Government Resident for Geraldton from 1886 to 1904. That year he retired due to ill health and moved to Perth. Maitland Brown died on 9 May 1905.

The fruit bowl was donated in 2015 by Peter Carew-Reid (a descendant of Maitland Brown).

Details

Details

Registration number
cwa-org-72-GMOB0525
Item type
Width
22 mm
Height or length
13 mm
Depth
32 mm
Inscriptions and markings

Inscription on front of bowl - "Presented to Maitland Brown Esq., by the Greenough Farmers Club June 1904."
On base H2152 with 10x scratched into the metal.

Contextual Information

This fruit bowl is representative of the type of silverware presented as a gift in the Edwardian era. It is indicative of the appreciation the people at Greenough felt towards Maitland Brown.

Year
c. 1904
Statement of significance

The object 'EPNS fruit bowl' (GMOB0525) has high aesthetic significance, given its (form, colour, texture) and has some rarity value. The item has low scientific significance, although being representative of the class TROPHIES & AWARDS/Public Events in good condition. The item has high historic significance for the local community and possibly for the State and has high interpretive potential. This item has very high social significance given it was associated with MAITLAND BROWN,(1904,1905), associated with the GREENOUGH FARMERS CLUB(1904),

Primary significance criteria
Social or spiritual significance
Comparative significance criteria
Interpretive capacity
Object’s condition or completeness
Rare or representative
Well provenanced
Greenough Museum and Gardens

Greenough Museum and Gardens

Organisation Details
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Maitland Brown's fruit bowl
Fruit bowl presented to Maitland Brown by the Greenough Farmers' Club.

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