Joseph Colin Francis Johnson (12 February 1848 – 18 June 1904), generally called J. C. F. Johnson or Frank Johnson, was a journalist and politician in colonial

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

, Minister of Education 1887 to 1889. Johnson was born in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

, the son of Henry Johnson, an Adelaide solicitor, by his marriage with Wilhelmina Colquhoun, ''née'' Campbell, the third daughter of Colin Campbell, of Stonefield, Pine Forest, South Australia. His father moved to

Victoria (Australia) Victoria is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state with a land area of , the second most populated state (after New South Wales) with a population of over 6.5 million, and the most densely populated state in ...

during the gold-digging fever, Joseph was educated at the Geelong National Grammar School. Returning to South Australia in 1868, he was for eleven years on the staff of the ''

South Australian Register ''The Register'', originally the ''South Australian Gazette and Colonial Register'', and later ''South Australian Register,'' was South Australia's first newspaper. It was first published in London in June 1836, moved to Adelaide in 1837, and f ...

'', noted for his theatre criticisms as ''The Gallery Boy''. In December 1878 he purchased a half-share in the ''

Adelaide Punch ''Adelaide Punch'' (1878–1884) was a short-lived humorous and satirical magazine published in Adelaide, South Australia. Like ''Melbourne Punch'', it was modelled on ''Punch'' of London. History ''Adelaide Punch'' had its origin in ''The Rat ...

'' and shortly afterwards became sole proprietor. He conducted it for several years, but the paper suffered an irreparable loss when cartoonist W. J. Kennedy left. Around 1882 he became interested in gold mining and sold his interest to E. H. Derrington. On 8 April 1884 Johnson was elected a member to the

Electoral district of Onkaparinga Onkaparinga is a defunct electoral district that elected members to the House of Assembly, the lower house of the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of South Australia. It was established in 1857, abolished in 1902; re-established in 1 ...

in the

South Australian House of Assembly The House of Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. The other is the Legislative Council. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Adelaide. Overview The House of Assembly was creat ...

, and was Minister of Education and of the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

from 11 June 1887 to 27 June 1889 in the

Thomas Playford II Thomas Playford (26 November 1837 – 19 April 1915) was an Australian politician who served two terms as Premier of South Australia (1887–1889; 1890–1892). He subsequently entered federal politics, serving as a Senator for South Australia ...

Ministry. Johnson was the author of "Moses and Me," the record of a visit paid to the Mount Brown diggings in 1880. Johnson held his seat of Onkaparinga until 24 April 1896. Johnson died in North Adelaide, South Australia, Australia on 18 June 1904, survived by an adopted son.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Frank 1848 births 1904 deaths Members of the South Australian House of Assembly Australian journalists Australian newspaper proprietors Politicians from Adelaide 19th-century Australian politicians 19th-century Australian businesspeople