Charles Townley Browne

Charles Townley Browne (1826-1908)

Charles Browne was born in Dublin and went to Victoria, Australia, in 1852 where he joined the police force and was involved in some notorious cases. In 1866 he came to New Zealand and worked on the West Coast. He was appointed Chief Detective in 1880 and moved to Wellington. In 1890 he was to be transferred to Auckland but retired due to illness and moved to Kilbirnie/Hataitai where he became Mayor of Melrose for several years. He lived at Overtoun Tce but later shifted to his niece's house in Austin St. Browne was married but had no children.

Sources: Obituary, Evening Post, 11 Feb 1908; photo from Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, AWNS-19080305-10-2