Mr Brown acknowledged he was going through 'testing times' but insisted he was determined to continue to serve all the people of the country.
He sought to brush off speculation about a possible challenge to his leadership, telling delegates he did not want to talk about 'that other stuff'.
And he promised to seek the return of £8 million (€10.15m) transferred from Lehman Brothers offices in London to the US shortly before the bank's collapse last weekend, in order to ensure that workers including low-paid cleaners and computer operators get their wages.
Mr Brown received a generally warm response from activists, who appeared to have decided to put thoughts of rebellion on ice at least for the five days of the Manchester gathering.
The announcement of a £1 million (€1.25m) donation to the Labour Party from Harry Potter author JK Rowling was carefully timed to sprinkle a bit of magic on Mr Brown at the start of what had been billed as the toughest conference of his political life.
And the multi-million selling author gave Mr Brown a political boost too, hailing his record on fighting child poverty and condemning Conservative leader David Cameron's plans for tax breaks for married couples.
