J & A Brown

J & A Brown was an privately owned Australian coal family firm founded by James Brown (1816–1894) and Alexander Brown (1827–1877).

In 1843 James Brown leased eighty acres at Four Mile Creek, near East Maitland, New South Wales and assisted by his brothers Alexander and John, began to mine outcrop coal for sale in Maitland. They mainly supplied the Hunter River Steam Navigation Company owned steamers at Morpeth. Due to the Browns being able to sell their coal cheaper than the Australian Agricultural Company (A.A. Co.), the A.A. Co. who had a government-granted monopoly on the mining of coal on most lands in New South Wales at the time took the Browns to court. The Browns fought the legal action and moved their operations closer to Morpeth on lands not covered by the A.A. Co's. monopoly. The court action progressed all the way to the Privy Council in England where the Browns lost the court case. However, in 1847 their actions forced a government inquiry into the A.A. Co's. monopoly which recommended that the A.A. Co. forego its monopoly. John Brown (1826-1847) died after becoming overcome by gas during the sinking of a mine shaft at Four Mile Creek in June 1847. A fourth Brown brother, William Brown (1820-1859) who was a doctor and who only had minimal interest in the family mining firm.

In 1852, after ten years of small-scale mining in the East Maitland area and with the freeing up of mining areas after the A.A. Co. dropped their monopoly on coal mining, James and Alexander Brown moved to the Burwood estate south of Newcastle and built a new mine. This mine was so successful that in 1856 it merged with the neighboring mines on the estate to form the Newcastle Coal & Copper Co. By 1857 J & A Brown owned extensive property assets and businesses in Newcastle including a ship-chandlery and import-export business, and an least one ocean-going ship.

In October 1853 J & A Brown purchased two parcels of land adjacent at Minmi adjacent to John Eales' existing mine. The haulage rate that Eales asked J & A Brown to pay for moving their coal over his private railway from Minmi to Hexham was too much for the Browns, so they continued operations on the Burwood Estate. However, in 1857 J & A Brown commenced sinking shafts on the land they bought in 1853. By 1859 after the one of the shafts had struck poor quality coal, the Browns made John Eales an offer for his existing mines and railway at Minmi, as they had been closed for over a year due to industrial problems. On 3 March 1859 J & A Brown were successful in purchasing the Minmi coal mines and railway from John Eales for ₤41,000. In 1861 a third coal mine was completed by the Browns which was known as 'C' Pit. Browns also built workshops for the Minmi mines and railway at this mine.

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