Overview
Thomas Alexander Browne (born Brown, 6 August 1826 – 11 March 1915) was a British-born Australian police magistrate and author. He published many of his works under the pseudonym Rolf Boldrewood. He is best known for his 1882 bushranging novel Robbery Under Arms. He served as the goldfields commissioner in New South Wales. In his capacity as police magistrate and warden of goldfields, he was entrusted with the administration of justice at Gulgong, Dubbo, Armidale, and Albury. He acted as police magistrate during the period between 1870 and 1895.
Early years
Browne was born in London, England. He was the eldest child of Captain Sylvester John Brown, a captain of the East India Company, and Elizabeth Angell Browne (née Alexander). His mother was his "earliest admirer and most indulgent critic . . . to whom is chiefly due whatever meed of praise my readers may hereafter vouchsafe" (Dedication Old Melbourne Memories). Thomas added the 'e' to his surname in the 1860s. After his father's barque Proteus had delivered a cargo of convicts in Hobart, the family settled in Sydney in 1831. Sylvester Brown took up whaling and built a stone mansion, Enmore, which gave its name to the suburb of Sydney.
Literary career
Browne spent around twenty-five years as a squatter and about the same time as a government official, but his third career as author extended over forty years. In 1865, while recovering from a riding accident, he wrote two articles on pastoral life in Australia.
Novels
*My Run Home (1874) *The Squatter's Dream: A Story of Australian Life (1875) aka Ups and Downs : A Story of Australian Life *A Colonial Reformer (1876) *Babes in the Bush (1877) aka An Australian Squire *The Miner's Right : A Tale of the Australian Goldfields (1880) *Robbery Under Arms (1882) *The Sealskin Coat (1884–1885) aka The Sealskin Mantle *The Crooked Stick, or, Pollie's Probation (1885) aka The Final Choice, or, Pollie's Probation *The Sphinx of Eaglehawk: A Tale of Old Bendigo (1887) *A Sydney-Side Saxon (1888) *Nevermore (1889–1890) *A Modern Buccaneer (1894) *Plain Living: A Bush Idyll (1898) *War to the Knife', or Tangata Maori (1899) *The Ghost-Camp, or, The Avengers (1902) *The Last Chance: A Tale of the Golden West (1905)
Short story collections
*A Romance of Canvas Town and Other Stories (1898) *In Bad Company and Other Stories (1901)
Non-fiction
*S. W. Silver & Co's Australian Grazier's Guide : 1. Sheep and II. Cattle (1879) *S. W. Silver & Co.'s Australian Grazier's Guide (1879) *S. W. Silver & Co.'s Australian Grazier's Guide : No. II – Cattle. (1881)
References
*T. Inglis Moore, 'Browne, Thomas Alexander (Rolf Boldrewood) (1826–1915)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 3, MUP, 1969, pp 267–269. *
External links
* * * * Works by Rolf Boldrewood at Project Gutenberg Australia * * * Thomas Alexander Browne (1826–1915) Gravesite at Brighton General Cemetery (Vic) *