Jack was born in East Taieri and attend Mosgiel school before leaving and gaining an education as blacksmith. Following his apprenticeship, Jack established himself as a Blacksmith on the Taieri Plains, but I have been unable to learn under whom he studied. There is a potential candidate in his Uncle, Robert Stark, husband of Kate nee Brown (Jack’s Aunt).
On the 1 Jan 1903 Jack married Caroline Lane at Oamaru and it is there that the newly minted married couple, would call home until Jack’s passing
Jack worked around the district as a Blacksmith and then Mechanical Engineer and finally Fitter. The sites he worked included a stint up the Waitaki Valley working on the hydro schemes, which would have been Waitaki in the 1930s – 1940’s, New Zealand’s first Hydro Power Station.
They had 5 children all born in Oamaru, laid out in the following table.
| 1904 | Sybilla Houseal | Died | 1963 |
| 1906 | John Rutherford | Died | 2001 |
| 1909 | Nancy Edith | Died | 1976 |
| 1911 | Isabelle Rosamund | Died | 2009 |
| 1914 | David Godfrey | Died | 1986 |
The following photos of John Brown and wife Caroline.
Photos from Riwia Fox
