John Dunstan "Torchy" Atkinson (3 March 1909 – 27 February 1990) was a New Zealand horticultural scientist and scientific administrator. Atkinson was born in

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

, New Zealand on 3 March 1909. His father was the solicitor Arnold Atkinson (1874–1917), and his mother was Mary Herrick Atkinson (née Hursthouse). He was known as Duncan by his family, but friends and colleagues almost all referred to him as Torchy for his red hair, and the name stuck even after he had turned grey. New Zealand's tenth

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

, Sir

Harry Atkinson Sir Harry Albert Atkinson (1 November 1831 – 28 June 1892) served as the tenth Prime Minister of New Zealand, premier of New Zealand on four separate occasions in the late 19th century, and was Minister of Finance (New Zealand), Colonial Tr ...

, was his grandfather. Atkinson wrote his master's thesis at Massey University in 1932 with the title ''Studies on the dieback of lacebarks, Myxosporium hoheria. n.f.sp''. He was the director of Fruit Research Station of the

Department of Scientific and Industrial Research Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, abbreviated DSIR was the name of several British Empire organisations founded after the 1923 Imperial Conference to foster intra-Empire trade and development. * Department of Scientific and Industria ...

(DSIR), and later the director of the Plant Diseases Division. His research has contributed significantly to New Zealand's strong position as an exporter of fruit. After his retirement in 1974, he was commissioned to write the history of the DSIR. In the

1975 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1975 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 1 January 1975 to celebr ...

, Atkinson was appointed an

Officer 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 ...

, for services to scientific research. Atkinson died at Birkdale, Auckland, on 27 February 1990.

References

1909 births 1990 deaths New Zealand horticulturists 20th-century New Zealand botanists Atkinson–Hursthouse–Richmond family New Zealand Officers of the Order of the British Empire People associated with Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (New Zealand) {{NewZealand-scientist-stub