Brown Dog23

**The Hon. Brown\_Dog23** VC BM, otherwise known as "**Browny**" for short, is an Australian politician, news presenter, farmer, former soldier and former professional Rugby League player. He is currently the leader of Browny's Waltzing Matilda Party and the Member of Parliament for Kennedy, assuming office on November 1st 2022.

 **Nicknames**
Browny

## Early Life and Military Service

Brown\_Dog23 was born on March 23rd, 1943, in the heat of the Second World War. He spent his childhood on his father's farm just outside of Gladstone and playing his favourite sport, rugby league, which he excelled at immensely. He was drafted into the Australian Army at the age of 21, and was sent to fight in the Vietnam War, where he earned the Victoria Cross and the Bravery Medal during the Battle of Long Tan after saving 68 members of the Delta Company from an almost certain death. He is one of only two Australians alive today to have earned the Victoria Cross under the Imperial honours system rather than the Australian honours system.

List of Medals:

* Victoria Cross
* Bravery Medal
* Australian Service Medal 1945-1975
* Vietnam Medal (Australia)
* Australian Defence Medal
* National Service Medal 1951-1972
* Vietnam Campaign Star
* Queen's Platinum Jubilee Medal
* Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal
* Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal
* Queen's Silver Jubilee Medal

Note: Although he retired from the army in 1971, Brown\_Dog23 still was awarded all Jubilee Medals ranging from the 1977 Silver Jubilee to the 2022 Platinum Jubilee as it is custom for all Victoria Cross winners to be awarded Jubilee Medals

## Rugby League Career

After returning from the Vietnam War in 1971, at the age of 27, Mr Brown, who had kept up his Rugby League skills by playing on the army bases during free time, signed with the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, playing the positions of Winger, Fullback, Halfback and Hooker. He was called up to play for the Queensland Maroons in the first ever State of Origin in 1980, and retired from Rugby League in 1983 at the age of 38. He was captain during the Bulldog's 1980 premiership win. He went on to coach the Queensland Maroons from 1986 to 1989, winning the 1987, 1988 and 1989 State of Origin series. He was inducted as a Rugby League immortal in 2015 and had his statue erected in the courtyard of Suncorp Stadium.

## News Career

After retiring from Rugby League, Mr Brown began working for WIN News as a news presenter, working alongside fellow maroons great Wally Lewis. He would keep this career until retiring from it in 2017.

## Political Career

After a three year break from the spotlight, Mr Brown made headlines as he created his own political party, the Australian Patriot Party, a minor right wing party which contested the September 2020 and November 2020 elections with no success. On 29 November 2020, he announced that his party would be merging into the Australian Reform Party and that he would be retiring from politics. In July 2022, he shocked everyone as he returned to the spotlight as he toured the Kennedy towns of Gladstone, Rockhampton, Emerald, Barcaldine, Longreach, Winton and Cloncurry, with the residents of each town celebrating his tour and pledging their support, which became known as the Browny Rallies. He then went on to found Browny's Waltzing Matilda Party a day later, and contested the October 2022 federal election as candidate for Kennedy, narrowly winning the seat from Bromo.

## Personal Life

Brown\_Dog23 is married to his wife with whom he has had 7 children, 5 boys and 2 girls, with 23 grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren. He currently resides on the farm just outside of Gladstone that he grew up on, inheriting it from his father after his passing. He is currently 79 years old and is healthy.

Mr Brown is an patriotic Australian and a patriotic Queenslander. He supports the North Queensland Cowboys in the NRL Premiership and Queensland in State of Origin.

Mr Brown is of Scottish, Dutch, Irish, English and French descent through his father, and of English, Danish, Swedish, Russian, German and Swiss descent through his mother. He is a direct descendent of Princess Sophia of the United Kingdom, one of the younger daughters of King George III, making him very distantly in line to the throne. He is 6th cousin to King Charles III.