Frederick Austin Johnston (9 October 1909 – 19 May 1990) was an Australian businessman and political activist. He ran one of

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

's largest meat-processing firms and served on the

Perth City Council The City of Perth is a local government area and body, within the Perth metropolitan area, which is the capital of Western Australia. The local government is commonly known as Perth City Council. The City covers the Perth city centre and sur ...

from 1963 to 1965, also serving terms as president of the

Liberal and Country League The South Australian Liberal Party, officially known as the Liberal Party of Australia (South Australian Division), and often shortened to SA Liberals, is the South Australian Division of the Liberal Party of Australia. It was formed as the Lib ...

and the Australian Council of Employers' Federations.

Early life

Johnston was born on 9 October 1909 in

Blaydon Blaydon is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England, and historically in County Durham. Blaydon, and neighbouring Winlaton, which Blaydon is now contiguous with, form the town of Blaydon-on-Tyne. The Blaydon/Winl ...

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city in north east England **County Durham, a ceremonial county which includes Durham *Durham, North Carolina, a city in North Carolina, United States Durham may also refer to: Places ...

, England. He was the son of Elizabeth Florence (née Johnston) and William Oliver Johnston, his father being a butcher. He attended secondary school in

Wallsend Wallsend () is a town in North Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England, at the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 43,842 and lies east of Newcastle upon Tyne. History Roman Wallsend In Roman times, this was the site of the fort of ...

. The family immigrated to Australia in 1926, settling in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

where his father opened a butcher's shop on

Barrack Street Barrack Street is one of two major cross-streets in the central business district of Perth, Western Australia. Together with St Georges Terrace, Wellington Street and William Street it defines the boundary of the main shopping precinct of th ...

. The shop relocated to

Beaufort Street Beaufort Street is a major road in the inner north-eastern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia, connecting the Morley, Western Australia, Morley area to the Perth central business district. For most of its length, it is a single-carriageway, tw ...

in 1929.

Business career

Johnston became managing director of W. O. Johnston & Sons in 1942. The company became "one of Western Australia’s biggest meat-processing firms", exporting sausages and

smallgoods Smallgoods is a term used in New Zealand and Australia to refer to small meat products such as ham, bacon, sausages or salami.The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary (Fifth edition; 2002) Volume 2, p. 2884. Many companies, such as Primo Small ...

overseas to Singapore and the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies (; ), was a Dutch Empire, Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, declared independence on 17 Au ...

. It also supplied the

Department of Defence Co-ordination The Department of Defence Co-ordination was an Australian government department that existed between November 1939 and April 1942. History The department was formed shortly after Australia declared war on Germany in September 19 ...

during World War II. In 1947, the company was fined for producing sausages with too much starch. Johnston claimed in 1949 that the company would soon close down due to inconsistent electricity supply and a shortage of meat. In October 1964 he announced that his firm had become insolvent, stating in a notice to creditors that "the stock and receivables of the company had been gravely overvalued". It was taken over in 1967 by Talloman Holdings. Johnston was a member of the Meat and Allied Trades Federation of Australia, a

peak body A peak organisation or peak body is an Australian term for an advocacy group or trade association, an association of industries or groups with allied interests. They are generally established for the purposes of developing standards and processe ...

for employers, and helped establish the Western Australian Meat Exporters' Association in the 1960s. He served as president of the Western Australian Employers' Federation (1948–1953) and the Australian Council of Employers' Federations (1953–1955). In 1952 he stated that communists were to blame for a strike in the

Midland Railway Workshops The Midland Railway Workshops in Midland, Western Australia, were the main workshops for the Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR) for over 80 years, (1904-1994). History The first railway workshops in Western Australia were located at ...

. In 1954 he publicly criticised federal opposition leader

H. V. Evatt Herbert Vere "Doc" Evatt, (30 April 1894 – 2 November 1965) was an Australian politician and judge. He served as a justice of the High Court of Australia from 1930 to 1940, Attorney-General of Australia, Attorney-General and Minister for For ...

's statements on the

Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration The Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration was an Australian court that operated from 1904 to 1956 with jurisdiction to hear and arbitrate interstate industrial disputes, and to make awards. It also had the judicial functions of i ...

. He was also a member of the council of the

Chamber of Manufactures Chamber or The Chamber may refer to: Organizations and government *Chamber of commerce, a form of business network *Legislative chamber, a deliberative assembly within a legislature *Debate chamber, a room for people to discuss and debate Arts ...

(1949–1957).

Politics and public life

Johnston was a foundation member of the

Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia (LP) is the prominent centre-right political party in Australia. It is considered one of the two major parties in Australian politics, the other being the Australian Labor Party (ALP). The Liberal Party was fo ...

in 1945. In the lead-up to the

1947 Western Australian state election Elections were held in the state of Western Australia on 15 March 1947 to elect all 50 members to the Legislative Assembly. The result was a hung parliament—the four-term Labor government, led by Premier Frank Wise, was defeated with a swing of ...

he "took a leading role in mobilising business support in the campaign". Johnston was elected state president of

in 1954, but resigned in February 1955 to take an overseas trip. He served a further term from 1957 to 1961, and again "rallied business support" in the lead-up to the 1959 state election. He served on the

from 1963 to 1965. Outside of politics, Johnston served terms as president of the Western Australian Golf Club and the Badminton Association of Western Australia. He was chairman of the finance committee for the

1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games The 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games were held in Perth, Western Australia, from 22 November to 1 December 1962. Athletic events were held at Perry Lakes Stadium in the suburb of Floreat and swimming events at Beatty Park in North ...

in Perth. He also served as chairman of

Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital (SCGH) is a teaching hospital in Nedlands, Western Australia. Opened in 1958 as the Perth Chest Hospital and later named in honour of Sir Charles Gairdner, governor of Western Australia from 1951 to 1963, it is p ...

(1974–1982) and president of the Cancer Council of Western Australia (1978–1984).

Personal life

Johnston married Nance Jessie Dethridge on 23 March 1935, with whom he had two children. His daughter-in-law

Ricky Johnston Henrike "Ricky" Johnston (; born 29 September 1943) is a former Australian politician. A member of the Liberal Party, she represented the Western Australian seat of Canning in the House of Representatives from 1996 to 1998. Early life Johnston ...

was also involved in the Liberal Party and became a federal MP. He died in

Subiaco, Western Australia Subiaco (known colloquially as Subi) is an inner-Western suburbs (Perth), western suburb of Perth, the capital of Western Australia. It is approximately west of Perth's central business district, in the City of Subiaco local government area. H ...

, on 19 May 1990, aged 80. Johnston was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) in 1956. He was also made

Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George I ...

(CMG) in 1963 for service to the Commonwealth Games.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnston, Frederick 1909 births 1990 deaths Australian butchers Australian chief executives People from Blaydon-on-Tyne Businesspeople from Tyne and Wear English emigrants to Australia Liberal Party of Australia Australian Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Australian Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Australian food industry businesspeople