Peter Nicholas Broun (17 August 1797 – 5 November 1846), known for most of his life as Peter Nicholas Brown, was the first Colonial Secretary of Western Australia, and a member of Western Australia's first Legislative Council.
Early life
Peter Broun was born in Guernsey on 17 August 1797, son of William Broun, who was the brother of Sir James Broun, the 7th baronet of Colstoun and Thornydykes, and Nancy Mainguy. Peter Broun was descended from Sir George Broun, the 3rd baronet, who lived in two of the family estates, Thornydyke Castle and Bassendean, in Berwickshire.
Broun spent his early life in Scotland as a gentleman clerk. In 1825 he married Caroline Simpson. They were to have three sons and five daughters.
Colonial Secretary
On 30 September 1828, Lieutenant-Governor James Stirling made a number of appointments to important public service positions for the planned colony of Western Australia, including appointing Peter Broun to the position of Colonial Secretary at a salary of £400. Broun's appointment was on the recommendation of Sir George Murray, Secretary of State for War and the Colonies, who was a close family friend of the Brouns. He was survived by his wife and a number of sons. A grandson, Frank Broun, later became Member for Beverley in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly, and, like his grandfather, Colonial Secretary of Western Australia.
His wife sailed for England in the which caught fire at sea and was destroyed. She was saved but Broun's diaries and papers which she had intended to have published in London were destroyed.
Brown or Broun
For most of his life, Broun spelled his surname Brown, despite the fact that the family name had been spelled Broun for most of the family's history. James Battye claims that the entire family had changed the spelling of their surname to Brown in an attempt to avoid the consequences of an involvement in the Jacobite rising of 1745. The entire family, including Peter Broun, changed back to Broun in 1843. Although Broun lived for only a further three years, most current sources adopt the Broun spelling.