John Browning

Background

About John Browning

John Browning was born in Blackburn, Lancashire. He studied Modern History at The Queen’s College, Oxford, where he was Fletcher Exhibitioner. He gained his teaching qualification at the University of Leeds and commenced teaching at Morley Grammar School in 1972. In 1975 he migrated to Australia with his wife, Anne, to teach at Sacred Heart College, Shepparton, Victoria. He moved to St Peter’s Lutheran College, Indooroopilly, Queensland, in 1977, where he became Head of Social Education. In 1983 he was appointed Deputy Principal of Our Lady of Mercy College in Mackay. A rationalisation of Catholic Secondary Education saw the school become Mercy College where he became Principal in 1988. In 1993, he was seconded as Senior Education Officer to the Government Review of the Queensland School Curriculum. In 1996 he was appointed Assistant to the Director at the Diocese of Rockhampton Catholic Education Office, oversighting clusters of primary and secondary schools. He also spent 18 months with responsibilities in finance, human resources, industrial relations, information technology, and major capital projects. During this time he also completed a Master of Educational Leadership with the Australian Catholic University and his book, a history of Catholic Education in the Diocese of Rockhampton, was published. In 2007 he was appointed to a position as Area Supervisor of Schools in Brisbane Catholic Education, and in 2008 became Manager of Professional Standards & Student Protection. Since retiring from full-time work in 2013, he has done consulting work in education including school reviews, senior leadership appraisals and workplace investigations. He is also an Expert Examiner under the Protection of Movable Cultural Heritage Act for the Commonwealth Government Department of the Arts, specialising in railway artefacts. In 2016, he was invited to join the Assembly of Good Samaritan Education, which has stewardship responsibilities for 10 schools in New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria, previously owned by the Benedictine Sisters of the Good Samaritan. In 2017 he was elected to the Governing Council of Good Samaritan Education and in 2021-2022 served as Deputy Chair of the Governing Council. Apart from family responsibilities, including five delightful grandchildren, he devotes the rest of his time to three main interests: choral singing, researching and writing on the history of private and industrial railways in Australia, and the mighty Blackburn Rovers Football Club.