David Brown

David Brown is the eldest son of Mary and Frank Brown and the eldest grandson Alma and Anthony Baynie. The Baynie family immigrated to Australia from Bane in Lebanon in 1925. As the author of As Cedars Grow, David shares his memories of growing up within this remarkable family and also recounts his own journey to Bane in 2018, to understand more deeply, his roots and culture.

David has had a successful career in the Diagnostic Imaging industry working for the large German company, Siemens for more than 48years. In 2016 after retiring from the corporate sector, David was recruited by NSW Health department as a Medical Equipment technology consultant, a role he very much enjoys to this day.

David and Richard Broome established their friendship at The University of NSW in 1966. Despite their vastly different career paths their friendship has remained strong to this day.

Richard Broome

Richard Broome, Emeritus Professor of History at La Trobe University and author of seventeen books in Australian and Indigenous History, has been a friend of the Baynies and a mate of David Brown since 1966. He was delighted to assist David and the Baynies with this book.

Richard Broome completed his BA(Hons) and PhD in history and then pursued a distinguished career, rising to become Professor of Australian History at Melbourne’s Latrobe University. Along the way he became one of Australia’s most respected scholars of Aboriginal history.