James Armour Johnstone (25 June 1859–8 May 1933) was a New Zealand businessman and stock breeder. He was born in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

Lanarkshire Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark ( gd, Siorrachd Lannraig; sco, Lanrikshire), is a historic county, lieutenancy area and registration county in the central Lowlands of Scotland. Lanarkshire is the most populous county in Scotlan ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

on 25 June 1859. Johnstone's father, David, was a

Congregational Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...

minister. In 1868 he, his wife Jessie, and their four children moved to

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

, New Zealand. After attending high school, James Johnstone joined the stock and station agency

Wright Stephenson Wright Stephenson was a stock and station agency founded in Dunedin, New Zealand, in 1861. Foundation and development The business was begun in 1861 as Wright, Robertson, & Co. by partners John T. Wright and Robert M. Robertson as a result of ...

and worked his way up through the business from office boy to stock agent, and by 1885 his business skills saw him made a partner in the business. In 1899 he became senior partner and became chairman of directors when the company was publicly listed in 1906. Johnstone married Margaret Donald in 1894, and together they had three daughters. They made their home at

Maori Hill Māori Hill is a residential suburb of the New Zealand city of Dunedin. It is located at the northern end of the ridge which runs in a crescent around the central city's western edge, to the northwest of the city centre, immediately above and w ...

and owned farm property at Bushey Park near

Palmerston Palmerston may refer to: People * Christie Palmerston (c. 1851–1897), Australian explorer * Several prominent people have borne the title of Viscount Palmerston ** Henry Temple, 1st Viscount Palmerston (c. 1673–1757), Irish nobleman an ...

. The family took frequent international trips, mainly for business reasons. During one of these trips Johnstone became aware of a demand in Argentina for

Corriedale The Corriedale is a New Zealand breed of sheep. It was bred from about 1882 in the South Island by James Little, who cross-bred Merino and Lincoln Longwool sheep. The breed was officially recognised in 1911. It has been exported to Australi ...

sheep, a breed which had been developed in New Zealand. As a result, in 1920 he purchased a large flock of the sheep and turned Bushey Park into a stud-stock breeding centre. He expanded the farm to include imported shorthorn cattle and a

Clydesdale Clydesdale is an archaic name for Lanarkshire, a traditional county in Scotland. The name may also refer to: Sports * Clydesdale F.C., a former football club in Glasgow * Clydesdale RFC, Glasgow, a former rugby union club * Clydesdale RFC, South ...

stud. Both Johnstones had leadership roles in various agricultural and social organisations. James was the first president of the Clydesdale Horse Society of New Zealand and was also involved in the Royal Agricultural Society of New Zealand, the New Zealand Refrigerating Company and the Commercial Union Assurance Company. He also served as Dunedin's Argentine

vice-consul A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...

. Margaret became president of the

Plunket Society The Royal New Zealand Plunket Trust provides a range of free services aimed at improving the development, health and wellbeing of children under the age of five within New Zealand, where it is commonly known simply as Plunket. Its mission is "t ...

. Johnstone suffered a bad fall from his horse in the early 1930s, which led to a decline in his health. He died at home on 8 May 1933. Margaret was to die later the same year.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnstone, James Armour 1859 births 1933 deaths New Zealand stock and station agents New Zealand businesspeople Scottish emigrants to New Zealand Businesspeople from the British Empire Colony of New Zealand people