Mary Elizabeth Brown (21 January 1862 – 1 May 1952) was one of the first women graduates of the University of Sydney (1885).

Early life The daughter of Rev. Dr. George Brown, D.D., F.R.G.S. (1835–1917),A "Mild and Ladylike" Missionary turned out to be a Fire-Eater: The Story of the Reverend George Brown, The (Sydney) Daily Mirror, (Monday, 10 December 1951), p. 17.The Blanche Bay Massacre, The Sydney Morning Herald, (Friday, 3 June 1881), pp.7–8.Deaths: Brown, The (Sydney) Daily Telegraph, Tuesday, 10 April 1917), p. 4.Death of Dr. George Brown, The Sydney Morning Herald, (Monday, 9 April 1917), p. 6. and Sarah Lydia Brown (1838–1923), née Wallis,Marriages: Brown—Wallis, The New Zealander, (Saturday, 1 September 1860), p. 5.Deaths: Brown, The Sydney Morning Herald, (Wednesday, 8 August 1923), p. 12. Mary Elizabeth Brown was born in Savaiʻi, Samoa in 1862, and lived her early years in Samoa. Her father, a Methodist missionary who had moved to Samoa in 1860, was also a collector of artifacts; and part of his collection is exhibited at the National Museum of Ethnology, in Osaka, Japan. Elizabeth, the second of seven children, was born and lived her early years in Samoa.

She was sent, together with her eldest sister Amy, to her grandparents in Auckland, New Zealand, for her education,Brown (1908), pp. 58–59. becoming one of the first pupils at the Auckland Girls' High School which opened in 1877, and when the Browns moved to Sydney in January 1881,Having established about twenty-nine missionary stations. she entered the ladies' college, the Argyle School, in Albion Street, Surry Hills, as a pupil.

Years at the University of Sydney 1882 was the first year in which female students were admitted to the University of Sydney. In June 1882 Brown passed the matriculation exam for the University of Sydney (1 of 74 admitted that year), and was admitted to studying Classics, Mathematics (Class I) and Natural Science (Class II), and was awarded the Walker Bursary No 4. Despite her significant family responsibilities, she successfully completed her studies at the university, and passed the examination for the Bachelor of Arts degree in 1885. Brown was often at the top of her class in Classics, Mathematics, Natural Science, and Chemistry.

Career Not much is known about Brown's personal life, except that she never married, nor about her teaching career. In April 1885 she became a teacher in the Brisbane Girls Grammar School. During the annual speech day held at the Grammar School in 1897, the Headmistress made reference to 'a very successful dancing class held by Miss Brown during the second and third quarters' of that year'. When her sister Amy died in 1904, leaving seven children, the youngest only one week old, She helped her mother care for the children. In 1908, when her father returned to his hometown of Durham in England, Mary and one of her sisters followed him, and helped with the writing of his autobiography (i.e., GB.1).

Death Brown died in Sydney on 1 May 1952, aged 90,Deaths: Brown, The Sydney Morning Herald, (Saturday, 3 May 1952), p. 36. and was cremated at the Rookwood Crematorium on 2 May 1952.Funerals: Brown, The Sydney Morning Herald, (Saturday, 3 May 1952), p. 36.

Legacy The Brown Fellowship at the University of Sydney The Equity fellowships were introduced by the university in 2009. The Brown Fellowship is one of these, named after Mary Elizabeth Brown. The aim of the Brown Fellowships is to assist university researchers, both male and female, whose careers have been interrupted by the undertaking of sustained primary caring duties. The Brown fellowship provides substantial relief from teaching and administrative responsibilities and allows Fellows to focus on their research while re-establishing or enhancing their academic research careers.

See also George Brown (1835–1917)

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References

DT.1: Candidates for Degrees: Faculty of Arts, The (Sydney) Daily Telegraph, (Monday, 16 May 1887), p. 3 GB.1: Brown, George (1908), George Brown, D.D., Pioneer-missionary and Explorer: An Autobiography: A Narrative of Forty-eight Years' Residence and Travel in Samoa, New Britain, New New Ireland, New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands, London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1908. HM.1: University of Tasmania, The (Hobart) Mercury, (Wednesday, 23 December 1896), p.  4. HM.2: University of Tasmania, The (Hobart Mercury, (Tuesday, 21 November 1899), p. 3. IN.1: The Lady Bachelors of Art, The Illustrated Sydney News, (Saturday, 6 June 1885), p. 10. JK.1: Kirby, J.C. (1889), "Co-Education in Australia", The (Boston) Woman's Journal, Vol.20, No.25, (22 June 1889), p 200. PA.1: Miss Edith Emily Dornwell, The Pictorial Australian, (Saturday, 1 May 1886), p. 70. TN.1: The University, The Tasmanian News, (Wednesday, 8 April 1903), p. 2.