# Old Brownbie — Harry Heathcote of Gangoil character guide

> Old Brownbie in Harry Heathcote of Gangoil by Anthony Trollope.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Brownbie, the Brownbies, Mr. Brownbie

**First appearance:** 0000-i-gangoil

## Snapshot

The broken patriarch of Boolabong, a squatter in name only, whose sons run the family's sheep-stealing trade while he survives by picking sides in their quarrels.

## Who they are

Old Brownbie is the nominal head of the Boolabong clan, but his authority is gone: the cattle belong to his sons, the house is a shambles, and he keeps his footing only by joining whichever faction is winning the family's endless internal fights. To Harry Heathcote he embodies everything loathsome about Brownbieism—the squatter who preys on his neighbors' flocks and calls it living. His decayed household, set just beyond Heathcote's western boundary, makes the feud feel less like a dispute between gentlemen and more like a slow rot at the edge of the run.

## Relationships

### [Harry Heathcote](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/harry_heathcote_of_gangoil_se/characters/harry_heathcote)

_rivalry_

Old Brownbie is a neighbor and rival to Harry, often clashing over boundaries and livestock.

### [Harry Heathcote](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/harry_heathcote_of_gangoil_se/characters/harry_heathcote)

_rivalry_

Old Brownbie is a neighbor and rival to Harry, often clashing over boundaries and livestock.

## In the story

### [VI: The Brownbies of Boolabong](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/harry_heathcote_of_gangoil_se/chapters/vi-the-brownbies-of-boolabong)

The patriarch of the Brownbie family, a former convict now old and dropsical, unable to move beyond the home station. He is largely powerless, his sons ignoring his authority.

### [Sergeant Forrest](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/harry_heathcote_of_gangoil_se/chapters/xi-sergeant-forrest)

Head of the Brownbie family, he is gracious to the police but defensive about the family's role in the fire.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/harry_heathcote_of_gangoil_se/characters/old_brownbie
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/harry_heathcote_of_gangoil_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/harry_heathcote_of_gangoil_se/characters