In 1851 James Fulcher Brown III was the son of a Brush maker in Whitechapel Middlesex. James sailed to New Zealand with his wife and daughter aboard the Buckinghamshire arriving in Port Chalmers in the South Island of New Zealand on May 29th 1874. Thereafter he purportedly made the first Brushes commercially in New Zealand at a Pioneers Expo in the town of Gore in 1879, the occasion was to celebrate the day the first train ran between Dunedin and Invercargill. James used the native Manuka timber and Pig Bristle to create those brushes, James had rightly recognised an opportunity to provide a growing population with his Brushes and Brooms. James moved north as did many immigrants driven by the demands of early colonial life and during the late 19th century he re-located the Brush factory to Wakefield St in Auckland City, then following later to a location in Greys Ave. Expansion of the business saw manufacturing move to the Auckland suburb of Sandringham in 1905 and from there to a purpose built factory in New Lynn in 1938. The business still operates on the same site adjoining the Whau River to this day. Brushmaking like many craft industries the world over faces the challenge of where to convert raw material to best overall advantage. For Browns Brushware the developing world markets and development of world markets are a key element that enable the business to meet the needs of its customers whilst it continues to remain as a New Zealand manufacturer of Brushware spanning three centuries. The Directors of Browns Brushware who are direct descendants of the Founder take great pride in sustaining Browns seamless supply of the widest range and finest quality Brooms, Brushes, Mops and Cleaning Hardware for 142 years.