Jess Adamson: Channel 7 cameraman Rob ‘RB’ Brown was a giant of the Australian media industry

Rob ‘RB’ Brown wasn’t just Tex Walker’s father in law – he was a mentor, family man, magician and a giant of Australia’s media industry, writes Jess Adamson.

Channel 7 cameraman Rob Brown was a giant of the media industry.

Today we farewelled one of the greats. A giant of Australia’s media industry.

Rob ‘RB’ Brown was a husband, dad and grandfather – mentor, mate and magician.

A multiple award winner who never cared much for awards. Only for the pictures, the story and the team.

And the thrill of the chase. A brilliant and meticulous camera operator, editor and producer, who thrived in the danger zone.

A man of integrity and honour who left us on March 20, just three months and 12 days after being diagnosed with cancer. He was only 61.

I’m forever grateful to have worked alongside him and to call him a friend.

Rob worked his way into television in his early 20s after taking up an apprenticeship as a motor mechanic. He spent 22 years at Channel 7.

On Tuesday afternoon, hundreds at Centennial Park heard about his extraordinary life.

Rob took on dangerous assignments in Egypt, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Lebanon, Myanmar, East Timor, Indonesia and Aceh. He covered eight Olympic Games, two soccer World Cups and a handful of Commonwealth Games.

So many of the pictures we’ve seen from countries of conflict over the years were brought to us through his eyes.

In a crisis, Rob had courage and a cool head.

He was held at knifepoint in Johannesburg, dodged bullets in Afghanistan, was detained by Hezbollah militants, kidnapped in Cairo, and in Baghdad his hotel came under mortar attack.

Rob was respected and admired by the opposition.

They all wanted him on their team and I was so proud to be on his.

Channel 7 cameraman Rob Brown worked for the station for 22 years. Picture: Supplied

He was generous with his wisdom but didn’t suffer fools.

You had to work fast to earn his respect – and when you did, he had your back forever. Rob had loyalty in spades.

Like so many others, we had some big adventures together – Banda Aceh, Beaconsfield, Barrow Creek, the Bali bombings, the Bali Nine and many more.

Wherever we went, my husband Dave was always relieved to know Rob was with me. He trusted him with my life and so did I.

There were times when we probably shouldn’t have.

Rob and I were sent to a run of the mill house fire once. The police discovered a growhouse in it and were looking for two middle-aged blokes in a white van.

“What, like those two?” Rob asked, as the suspects pulled up to check their crop.

“Get in,” he said, and off we went on a frenetic chase through the suburbs – no police, just us and two suspects.

They were changing lanes and putting on wigs. My phone was on speaker to police as Rob called our pursuit. When they asked us to stop, Rob told me to hang up.

He cornered the men in a cul-de-sac in St Peters. I was frozen with fear but he had one guy on the ground and the other by the collar.

Cameraman, Rob Brown, at home in Millswood.

The news camera was on his shoulder and with his spare hand he was filming the double arrest. It was all in a day’s work.

Rob was a fixer with a heart of gold. He loved helping people.

A friend at Channel 7 messaged him for help one day when her car battery was flat.

“No worries, leave your keys at reception,” Rob said.

He messaged a few hours later to say it was all fixed, the keys back at reception.

A week later she learned Rob had driven back from Victor Harbor with his jumper leads.

RB always had a Plan B.

I was in Sydney in 2002 when former psychiatrist Jean Eric Gassy was arrested over the murder of SA mental health chief, Dr Margaret Tobin.

Rob was straight on the phone, organising me a Handycam to get the first pictures of Gassy

at the airport as he was extradited to Adelaide.

I got them but the NSW Police weren’t happy about me filming there and they wanted the tape.

I rang him, my heart racing, as they were striding towards me at the departure gate.

“Turn around and walk the other way,” he said.

“Now take the tape out, put it in your bra and tell them you’ve posted it to me.”

They didn’t believe me, but they never found the tape.

Rob was a perfectionist who always went the extra mile.

When Crows star Taylor Walker asked permission to marry his daughter Ellie in 2018, Rob saw an opportunity.

Tex was preparing to pop the question at Victoria Park racecourse. He’d organised a golf buggy to be on the track, a romantic reminder of their first meeting during an Adelaide 500 race when Ellie was a “runner” for Channel 7.

Rob couldn’t help himself. He got there first, wired the buggy up with a microphone, then hid amid the trees on East Tce to film the moment with his news camera on a tripod.

Everything in his life was a perfectly orchestrated production.

Tex paid tribute today, describing his father-in-law as brave and stoic to the very end.

“Who’s going to make the mango daiquiris on Christmas morning?” he asked.

‘’Who’s going to set up the lights and the tripod for the photos of the kids unwrapping their

presents? Who’s going to have a Corona with me?”

Rob had a wicked sense of fun and a boyish grin that we all loved. To hear him laugh, especially when it broke the seriousness of work, was a gift.

He loved his craft and mentored countless cameramen, sound technicians and reporters.

When RB was around, everyone around him lifted.

He loved shooting a sunrise and when you joined him you never regretted it.

I loved those mornings and the roadies we had after a long day.

They were the times we talked about family. He loved his three girls more than anything.

He was fiercely proud of his wife Vicky and the enormous sacrifices she made, of his beautiful daughters Ellie and Alex, and his three grandchildren.

Rob gave so much of his life to others and his family deserved more time with him.

Right now, it feels like he’s on another trip, but this time he’s not coming home.

He was the best of the best and will never, ever be forgotten.

Originally published as Jess Adamson: Channel 7 cameraman Rob ‘RB’ Brown was a giant of the Australian media industry