[2] In 1888 Brown began acting as a shipping clerk and storeman for his father in Darwin, in the Northern Territory, and also held a number of mining (mineral) licenses.
[2] In October 1899 Brown returned to Darwin and began working as a trepanger at a business his father had purchased for him from EO Robinson on the Bowen Strait, on the Cobourg Peninsula.
[9] Following this enquiry, in which he gained respect from the government of the day, Brown was appointed the assistant health officer of Bowen Strait and made frequent trips to Darwin to sell loads of trepang, as well as other goods produced in the region.
[2] In July 1906, when the South Australian Government decided to terminate the Macassan trepanging industry Brown was no longer required to by the customs officer but he continued his business there.
[12] Through his years living in the region, and through his family, Brown learned to speak Marrgu as well as the closely related Garig and Ilgar languages and made recordings of these.