Johnstons Abroad

J16259) Arthur Alma JOHNSTON born in Ramelton, Co Donegal on 3rd October 1854. He qualified as a medical doctor in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1876. Arthur worked in Ireland and England before becoming a ship's surgeon and met his future wife at a doctors' convention in Buenos Aires in 1879. Arthur married Giovanina (Nina) DE STRENS in St Philip's Church, Sydney on 1st December 1881. Nina, of Italian origin, was born in Brussels, Belgium about 1851.

Arthur & Nina led a very nomadic life, starting in Parkes where their first five children were born. Located on the central western slopes of the Great Dividing Range in the state of NSW, Parkes is situated 365 kilometres west of Sydney. It was originally founded in 1853 as the Currajong Settlement, named for the abundance of Kurrajong trees in the area, but was then known as Bushman's, from the local mine, Bushman's Lead. Renamed Parkes in 1873 in honour of Sir Henry Parkes, otherwise known as the "Father of the Federation" for his role in unifying Australia. Parkes attracted significant attention during the gold rush of the 1870s onwards, and even to this day modern mining companies still have sites in the nearby region.

Another of Australia's gold rush towns of the 19th century is Moruya, situated on the south coast of NSW, where Arthur & Nina's son George was born. When Alma was born, her father was superintendant at the Sunbury asylum, Victoria. (The building is a college today, now in a Melbourne suburb.) The family then moved to Tasmania at the turn of the century, at Beaconsfield gold mine, where they lived in "Rose Cottage". A photo of the doctor is still in the hospital there. When the Beaconsfield mine closed, they went to live in Deloraine.He died (stroke) on 29th December 1915, aged 61, and is buried in Deloraine, Tasmania. Nina died on 11th December 1918, aged 67. She is buried in St Saviour's cemetery in Punchbowl, Canterbury, N.S.W. Australia They had seven children :

Luigi Gino JOHNSTON 1882-1883
Emilio Guido JOHNSTON born & died 1884
Gordon A. JOHNSTON born & died 1885

J162591) Reginald JOHNSTON born at Currajong Villa, Church Street in Parkes NSW on 6th April 1886. He was a car salesman and lived in Sydney where he married Beatrice Harriett Gwynne UNDERWOOD in 1912. Reginald died on 16th November 1962 aged 76, and was cremated at Woronora Crematorium. Beatrice died in 1967, in Sutherland NSW. They had four children:

J1625911) Arthur Hugh Gwynne (Bill) JOHNSTON, born in 1913 in Randwick, Sydney, nicknamed Bill by his father because he was born on January 1st when another bill arrived for payment on the first of the month ! The family lived in Neutral Bay until 1919. They moved to Willoughby where Bill attended the Public School before going on to the North Sydney Intermediate High School. He joined the Water Board in 1929 and studied for and passed his Accountancy exams. Bill married Grace Eloise Goodwin (Bunty) in 1940 and they lived at Rose Bay.

In June 1941 Bill joined the A.I.F. and was stationed in Darwin with the Sparrow Force which was formed to defend the island of Timor from invasion by Japan. He was despatched to Koepang, Timor where he was captured by the Japanese in February 1942 and interned in Changi prison. As a POW he worked for a time on the wharves at Koepang and Batavia before being sent to construct the railway in Burma at Hellfire Pass, carrying bags of cement and sleepers to build the “Pack of Cards” bridge. When he was suffering from Berri Berri and Trench feet, Bill was evacuated to a recuperation camp at Tamarkan. From there, he was sent to Japan to work in a copper mine and was released in September 1945.
On his return to Australia, Bill rejoined and embarked on a life-long career with the Water Board, a career for which, at one period, enabled him to proudly guide public tours of the emerging monolith that became Warragamba Dam. Bill & Bunty lived in Como for nine years where their two sons were born. They were active members in a small group which built and started St Anne's Church in Como. In 1956, Bill accepted a promotion to the newly-opened Water Board office in the remote outskirts of Wollongong. He retired in 1971 having been given six months to live ! He & Grace travelled the world.
Music played a huge part in both Bill & Bunty's lives. Their mothers had met during Conservatorium studies. Bunty was a great pianist and they were both life members of the Wollongong Eisteddfod choral societies.
Bill died in 1999 and Grace in 2009. They had two sons.

J1625912) Kathleen (Kay) JOHNSTON born 23 February 1914. Married Frederick Maxwell Rays. Kay died 30 April 2003

J1625913) Cyril JOHNSTON born 1916

J1625914) Rex JOHNSTON, youngest son of Reginald & Beatrice Johnston, born in 1928. He was educated at the De La Salle school in Sydney and joined the Merchant Navy as an officer/cadet during the Second World War. Later, Rex studied at a private Navigation School and obtained his Foreign-Going Master's Ticket and, in due course, became a ship's Captain and Torres Strait pilot. He married Judith on 26th April 1951 at St James' Cathedral, Townsville, north Queensland. The bride's uncle, Dean of the Cathedral, officiated.

Rex had a massive heart attack and died in 1997. His ashes were committed to the waters of Moreton Bay, Queensland on 23rd August 1997. He & Judith had three sons.

J162592) Maude Nina Alma JOHNSTON born in Parkes NSW on 6th April 1888. She remained a spinster. During World War II she was in the Belgian Consulate in Milan, working for her uncle Emile de Strens.

Late of Bundeena, she was living at Wollongong, NSW where she died on 25th October 1973. She was cremated and her ashes were buried in Woronora Memorial Park in Sutherland, NSW.

J162593) George Arthur JOHNSTON born in Moruya, NSW on 14th December 1889. George worked as a teacher and then in the First World War was in 3rd Light Horse in Galipoli. After the war he was a farmer and then a Health Inspector. He married firstly Eileen GRIFFIN on 17th February 1917 and had 5 children :

J1625931) Emil Peter JOHNSTON was born on 29th June 1920 in Devonport, Tasmania, the eldest son of George Arthur Johnston & his first wife Eileen Griffin.

His very early childhood was spent in Upper Burnie. Then the family moved to Wynyard where Emil went to the newly established St Bridget's Primary school, which opened in 1928. Emil’s secondary education was spread between St Virgils (as a boarder) and St Pats for various durations between 1935 and 1938. The family was now in Launceston. He lost his mother in a car accident in 1936.

Emil began work at The Forestry Commission in 1943 after graduating from the Australian Forestry School in Canberra. He was Regional Forester for the North East from 1947 and 1974 when he was appointed Chief of Division of Operations, based in Hobart. Emil retired in 1982. He went on to become Chairman of the Hollybank Forest Advisory Committee. His skills and contribution to forestry were recognised in the early 2000s when he was admitted into the Institute of Foresters at a special ceremony in Hobart, for a lifetime of devoted work to Forestry Tasmania.

Emil married firstly Angela Margaret THOMAS in December 1944. Angela died in 2000, they had six children. Emil married his golfing partner's widow in 2002, Lois CLEAVER. Emil died aged 94 on 13th March 2015. His funeral service was held at the church of St Francis, Trevalyn, Launceston and his ashes scattered on Angela's grave at Glengarry, West Tamar, Tasmania.

J1625932) Arthur Joseph JOHNSTON born 24th August 1921 in Devonport, Tasmania. He died on 13th May 2007, in Brisbane, Queensland.

J1625933) Eileen Giovanina JOHNSTON

J1625934) Desmond JOHNSTON born on 2nd March 1925. He died on 24th August 1994.

J1625935) Mona JOHNSTON

The whole family was in a bad car crash in 1936. George & the children survived, but his wife Eileen died (25th March 1936). He married secondly Mary Adeline (Mollie) McGEE on 20th September 1937 at the Church of Apostles, Launceston, Tasmania. Mollie was born on 6th October 1907. George died on 2nd April 1957. They had one son :

J1625936) Barry Anthony JOHNSTON

Mollie remarried, to George COULTHARD. She died on 23rd August 2001, aged 93.

J162594) Alma Nina JOHNSTON, youngest child of Dr Arthur Alma Johnston & his wife Nina née de Strens, born in Sunbury on 30th September 1892. She married David Ronald YOUNG in 1918 in Sydney. David was born about 1890. The family were living in Hurstville where David was a shop assistant when he died suddenly at the age of 64 on 26th February 1954. Alma died on 2nd January 1986. They had two children :

Yvonne Phyllis YOUNG born 6th January 1921. Yvonne died on 21st May 1992.

Alexander Brian YOUNG (Brian) born 15th January 1923. Brian worked for the Department of Technical Education at the School of Graphic Arts. He married Nora Beatrice ?, they had four children. Nora died on 5th April 1981 aged 55 years. Brian died on 30th June 1998.

The Young family are all buried in Woronora Memorial Park, Sutherland, NSW.

J1625T) Charles Inkerman JOHNSTON tenth and youngest child of Dr Benjamin Johnston & his wife Emma née Maturin. Charles was born in Ramelton, Co Donegal on 19th October 1856. After his father's death, he lived with his mother at 38 Rutland Street, Dublin. He had T.B. and died at the Adelaide Hospital, Dublin on 23rd November 1886, aged 30. He was buried in Mount Jerome Cemetery, Dublin.

J1626) Edmond JOHNSTON born in The Copse, Rathdrum, Co Wicklow, and baptised 26th July 1818. Edmond appears in Griffith's Valuation as owner of property in Belvedere Place, Dublin with the Rev Benjamin Maturin (his cousin Anna's husband). He also owned property in Mountjoy Square East, with Charles Maturin.

Edmond or Edmund Johnston may have emigrated ... His name is on a passenger list, aged 19, Agent, born Ireland, on his way to Canada, with a stop in New York, travelling on SS George Washington in August 1837. He appears in Chicago Directories in 1874 and 1875 residing at 573 Michigan Avenue. The 1875 directory also gives his trade at the time, « tinware », like his grandfather John Johnston, J16.
His death notice appeared in the Daily Inter Ocean newspaper in January 1882. He died at his residence on 25th Street on the 7th January, aged 61 years, son of Benjamin & Catherine Johnston. His death record states that he was married. He was buried in Forest Home Cemetery, Cook County, Illinois.

J1627) William JOHNSTON born in The Copse, Rathdrum, Co Wicklow, and baptised 7th February 1820. Qualified as a solicitor and barrister, affidavit 1836, King's Inns, Dublin. In 1850 he is living at 9 Upper Pembroke St, Dublin.

William Johnston

He emigrated to New Zealand (with 3 brothers) , on the “Agra” arriving Port Chalmers in May 1852. He farmed in Kuri Bush, Otago for 9 years and was Justice of the Peace from January 1859. He returned to his profession as a solicitor, admitted to the NZ Law Society in 1862. Listed in Temuka in 1881. William married Mary FALCONER, a teacher who arrived from Scotland in May 1848 on the “Blundell”. They were married on 16th November 1853, by Rev Henry Graydon Johnston, William’s brother, at the house of Mr Dewe, Resident Magistrate, Tokomairiro, Otago. Arthur Charles Johnston and Mr Dewe were witnesses.
Mary died on 27th January 1862 (consumption) aged 33 years. She is buried in the Southern cemetery, Dunedin. They had 3 children :

J16271) Graydon Falconer JOHNSTON born in 1855. He attended the Otago Boys’ School, Dunedin, from 1864 to 1869. He died on 6th April 1876 (TB) aged 21 years. He is buried in the Anglican Section of Queenstown Cemetery, South Island, New Zealand.

J16272) Catherine Mary JOHNSTON, was born on April 3rd 1856 and christened on April 23rd (Presbyterian Baptismal Register for East & West Taieri, Native Village, Waihola). She appears in the 1881 Census as governess in school in England. She then emigrated to Canada in 1883. She married William HUTCHINS, a Tea Merchant of Montreal, Canada., on 19th September 1894. The marriage took place in All Saints’ Church, Toronto.

William was born in Somerset, England on 9th December 1848. He had married firstly Ester Ann McArthur in 1873 in Montreal and had six children. Once widowed, he probably employed Catherine Johnston as a governess for the children…

In the 1901 Census, the family are living in London, Ontario. Catherine (or Katherine) died aged 80 in Toronto on 22nd December 1936 and is buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery.

William & Catherine had a daughter :

Ruth HUTCHINS, born 23rd February 1898. Ruth was a secretary, aged 26, when she married John Bain STEWART on 24th September 1924, in St Thomas’ Church, Toronto.

John was born in Duluth, Minnesota on 3rd February 1890, although both his parents were born in Canada. He was one of four children. He married, firstly, Mary Rennie in 1913. In November 1915, John was with the Canadian Overseas Expeditionary Force, having already spent 5 years with the 2nd Queen’s Own Rifles and was active in 97th Regiment of the Canadian Militia. He served in the First World War as a lieutenant, rising to captain. His first wife died of TB in 1921. He was an Accountant residing in Toronto at the time of the marriage to Ruth.

Ruth & John moved to Qualicum Beach in British Columbia. Ruth died in 1964 and John in 1971. They had a son :

John David STEWART, born in Toronto on 22nd June 1925. He was a pilot and he died when his plane crashed on 29th June 1947. He is buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto.

J16273) William JOHNSTON born on 16th August 1860 in Kuri Bush, Otago. He married Helen Sophia MATHER on 13th October 1897 in Trinity Church, Adelaide, South Australia.
William was Secretary of the Union Club in Sydney. He died on 30th April 1926 aged 65.
He was cremated at Rookwood Cemetery.
Helen was born on 27th January 1873 in Streaky Bay, Karcultaby, South Australia, daughter of George Ernest Mather & his wife Mary née Titmus. She died in Chatswood, NSW, on 18th January 1958, aged 84. At the time, she was living with her son Graydon at 10 Raymond Rd, Neutral Bay. She was cremated at the Northern Suburbs Crematorium on 21st January 1958.

J162731) Graydon Mather JOHNSTON, born 5th November 1898 in Stirling West, South Australia. He was enrolled in St Helier’s School in Auckland between October 1905 and February 1907 when the family went to Australia. They settled in Bathurst, NSW where Graydon attended All Saints College until 1916. He won a scholarship to study Law at the University of Sydney but after two years there he decided that it was not his calling.
Graydon left Bathurst and went to the far west of New South Wales to work as a Jackaroo and Book-Keeper on several large sheep stations in the area. (Jackaroo is the Australian term for an agricultural trainee.) After several years, Graydon returned to the farm at Oberon which was purchased by his father, William. Oberon is about 50 kms south east of Bathurst.
Graydon married Mollie WILLANS in 1933, in Gordon, NSW, a suburb of Sydney. He sold the property at Oberon and went back to Bathurst in 1940 to work in a Munitions Factory. He was there for the duration of World War II. Once the war was over, the factory closed down.
In 1946, he bought a large truck and became the first person to seriously motor-transport livestock in the Bathhurst district. Graydon sold the business ten years later and went to work for the NSW Government Railways, where he remained until he retired in 1963. He then bought the lease of the "Empire Hotel" in Newcastle and had a manager running the business for him.

Graydon died on 9th May 1967 at 18 Blandford St, Bathurst, NSW and was cremated at the Canobolas Crematorium. Mollie died in 1969. They had one son :

J1627311) William Willans JOHNSTON (Jock) was born on 5th January 1936 in Oberon, NSW, the highest town in the Blue Mountain region, 75 kms west of Sydney. The family moved to Bathurst in 1940 and, when Jock left school, he became a motor mechanic. He met Joan Alice MILLER who was a nurse in Bathurst Hospital. She was born in Leura, Katoomba, NSW on 15th December 1940, daughter of Herbert & Isabel Miller, and christened on 26th January 1941 at St Hilda’s Church, Katoomba.

Jock & Joan were married at St George’s Church, Wonthaggi, Victoria on 28th March 1964. Joan died in January 1971 and Jock in May 2013. They had two sons.

Researching this branch of the Johnston family was proving difficult, with records in both Australia and New Zealand. However, in 2011, on receiving a copy of Graydon Mather Johnston’s death certificate, we discovered that he had a son who was 31 years old in 1967 and, to cut a long story short, we found « Jock » living in Lyneham, Act (Australian Capital Territory), a suburb of Canberra. He was a great help with the details of his family and he gave us numerous family photos.

J16273111) David Graydon JOHNSTON 1967-1971

J16273112) Andrew Willans JOHNSTON 1969-1971

William (the solicitor J1627) married secondly Eubertine Charlotte Susanna Ryder RICHARDSON, on 28th January 1863, at the house of F.L. Mieville, Dunedin - witnesses : Jas.L. Landen, Jane Purdie, F. Mieville. William died on 17th October 1885 aged 65 years. He is buried in Gore cemetery , plot 13, block 57.

Eubertine was born on 10th June 1842 in Tasmania to Arthur Mackinder RICHARDSON & his wife Ann née GREAVES (their marriage in Tasmania : 31st March 1840). After the death of William, she moved to Wellington – “Pleiades”, South Road. She appears on the 1893 Electoral Roll, the first year women were allowed to vote in NZ. She is still there in 1902, her address is given on a military pension list for her son Charles. In 1916, she is living at 120, Elizabeth Street, Wellington. Eubertine died at 21 Batt Street, Palmerston North from Kumeroa,on 21st July 1926, aged 84. She is buried in Terrace End Cemetery, Palmerston North. William & Eubertine had seven children :

J16274) Arthur Henderson JOHNSTON, born 23rd May 1863 in Dunedin. He married Ida Rose MacPHERSON on 23rd June 1902 in Temuka. He was aged 39, she was 40. Arthur was a Commission Agent, formerly of Masterton, later of Gisborne. He died, intestate, on 11th November 1932, aged 69. His address at the time of death was 114 Whitaker Street, Gisborne. He was buried in Taruheru Cemetery on 13th November 1932. His wife, Ida, died in 1957, probate in Auckland. Arthur & Ida had a daughter :

Jessica Helen JOHNSTON, born 26th March 1907 and died 14th April 1907.

J16275) Murray Eccles JOHNSTON, was born on 5th March 1866. He was drowned in Glenorchy on 9th February 1888 aged 22 years. He is buried in Queenstown cemetery with his half brother, Graydon.

J16276) Charles Frederick JOHNSTON, born 10th April 1868 in Dunedin. He volunteered for the Boer War and was posted as a trumpeter for the 8th Contingent of the New Zealand Mounted Rifles. On 27th January 1902 he had been noted as a shepherd living in Addington, Christchurch (NZ); Addington is now a suburb of Christchurch.
His military record notes him as 5 ft 6 ½ ins with blue eyes and fair hair and fair complexion. In June 1902 at Newcastle, Natal, he suffered one attack of rheumatic fever; after a second at Green Point, Capetown, on 16th August 1902, he was admitted to hospital at Wynburg, but discharged on 22nd Oct 1902. He was readmitted to hospital on 11th Dec , after just seven months in South Africa, when the doctor diagnosed heart disease resulting from the rheumatic fever but, as there were no heart lesions, the doctor recommended light employment and a pension for 6 months.

He returned to New Zealand, requiring supervision as an out-patient which started in Wellington on 10th March 1903 and on 25th March the decision was made that his heart disease was probably permanent and the result of military duty but not while in action; as he was capable of working he would receive a conditional Third Degree (i.e. half) pension of 1 shilling 3 pence per day for 12 months. In a letter from Westminster Chambers, 13 Victoria St, London SW, dated 24th Dec 1903, it was stated that Charles was thereafter to receive 12 pence (one shilling) per day, as a member of the NZ Expeditionary Force and this was confirmed as a permancy on 6th February 1904.

Charles married Barbara Ellen AUSTIN on 9th July 1912 in All Saints’ Church, Foxton. Barbara, daughter of William George Hodder, had married firstly Herbert Austin in 1896. Herbert died in 1906.
In Dec 1916 Charles & Barbara were living in Foxton, Manawatu, with no children (under 16); he was a Protestant, a farmer and owned a coach, belonged to the Foxton Defence Rifle Club and was applying for the NZ Expeditionary Force (at the age of 48 with a heart condition after rheumatic fever !!!).
Their marriage was dissolved by decree absolute on 22nd August 1927.

Charles died in July 1938 aged 70. He is buried in Totara Memorial Park Cemetery.

J16277) Mary Eubertine JOHNSTON, born 26th November 1869 in Dunedin, New Zealand. She came to England to train as a nurse and appears in 1891 census, niece staying with her uncle, Dr Augustus Johnston, Ambleside, Westmorland. She married Dr John Price WILLIAMS, on 11th February 1897 in Ambleside. John Williams was a physician/surgeon , born in Chorley, Lancs.

During the war Mary looked after the wounded New Zealand and Australian soldiers in the Manchester military district, managing a branch of the New Zealand Red Cross Society. They lived in Swinton, Manchester and had two children.

Alexander Smilie Kennedy was one of the injured soldiers who remembered Mary's kindness with great pleasure. His memoirs and photos are still treasured by his family. Alexander was a school teacher in Dunedin, New Zealand (born 28 Feb 1880; died 19 Dec 1976). He enlisted in the Otago Infantry Battalion in 1914 (service no. 8/1528) and was wounded at Gallipoli on 8 August 1915; his rank at the time was Corporal. After time in hospital in Alexandria, he was transferred to England. He entered Woodlawn British Red Cross Hospital 27 Oct 1915 and was a patient there until the end of May 1916, when he transferred to Walton on Thames Hospital. During these seven months, he had many outings and concerts organised by local people, including Mary Eubertine Williams. He was later commissioned 2nd Lieutenant (June 1917), rejoining his Unit in France for the rest of the war. He returned to New Zealand in 1919, marrying Ruth Elsie Moscrop 8 Apr 1923, and continuing his career as a school teacher. He retired as Principal of Methven District High School (Canterbury, NZ) in 1943.

When John Price WILLIAMS died in 1946, aged 81, his obituary was published in the British Medical Journal, describing him as an outstanding personality. Educated at Denstone College, he obtained the M.R.C.S. and L.R.C.P. in 1888, the M.B. London in 1892 and the B.Sc.Vict. in 1904. He became public vaccinator for Swinton and Pendlebury and medical officer to the Post Office.

He retired to Bramhall and Ambleside, aged 70. During his 47 years as a general practitioner, he endeared himself to his friends and patients and earned the regard and good will of his fellow colleagues.

Kathleen Mary Eubertine WILLIAMS, born 1901. She went to St George’s School, Harpenden,Herts, a co-education school whose headmaster Dr.Cecil Grant was an outstanding man, intellectual/theologian/writer who had a great influence on her.

On leaving school she was accepted by St.Hughes College, Oxford, as a member of the first intake of women to be allowed to get a degree as up to that time degrees were only given to men. Sadly, Kathleen had to renounce her studies when her father ran into financial difficulty. Her great passion was always books and reading and she opened The Times Book Club at Oxford. She met Roland Lionel RAYMOND at Oxford.

Roland played Rugby for Australia, a Wallaby, and got his Rugby Blue at Oxford, (in fact was chosen to play for England but was injured in the trials). Roland had already his medical degree from Sydney University and had won a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford. Kathleen & Roland married in England in 1926 and then went out to Sydney where he set up medical practice.
After the birth of their daughter in 1931, they returned to England for Roland to do another post graduate degree, the DOMS (degree in opthalmic surgery) at London university. He then furthered his medical qualifications by obtaining a degree at Edinburgh University in General Surgery, FRCS(Edin.)

He then said he would like to learn to fly, so joined the RAF and got his wings. The RAF posted him to India, where Kathleen and his daughter joined him. Roland then joined the Indian Medical Service, and it was the IMS who sent him to Burma, where the family lived. Roland & Kathleen had another daughter, born in London in 1935, but all four returned to Burma after her birth.

Kathleen and the girls were in England when war broke out. When the London blitz started, Roland, away in Burma, advised Kathleen to take the family back to Australia. So they joined the many women and children who were fleeing UK in passenger liners in escorted convoys. After avoiding Japanese submarines in the Pacific, they safely arrived in Auckland where they stayed with Fanny JOHNSTON (Kathleen’s adored unmarried aunt – Kathleen’s happiest memories of her childhood were when she stayed in Chipping Camden with Auntie Fan, who was a companion to Mrs.Gubbins – see below Fanny Johnston).

They spent two months with “ Auntie Fan”, and then sailed for Sydney, Australia.

Kathleen & the girls lived in Armidale, NSW, during the war while Roland, with the 4th Indian Division, fought with the Eighth Army in the desert with Monty against Rommel. After the war he returned to Burma, where Kathleen joined him in Rangoon. He was head of the Rangoon General Hospital, and Professor of Surgery at Rangoon University, until Burma became independent in 1948, when all the whites were thrown out of the country. They returned to Australia where Roland set up a practice in opthalmic surgery in Sydney.

Kathleen & Roland divorced in 1948 and Roland married again, to Agnes Irene LOCKHART. Roland died on 29th January 1964.

Kathleen died in 1998, aged 97.

Edmund Johnston WILLIAMS, born 1906. Edmund studied at Oxford and qualified as a medical doctor. He lived and worked as a GP all his life in Barnsley, Yorkshire.

J16278) Fanny Kathleen JOHNSTON, was born in Ballyshannon, Co Donegal on 1st Dec 1871 , while William Johnston and family must have been back in Ireland from New Zealand for a few months.

Fanny Johnston joined the Gubbins family in New Zealand in the 1880/1890s , probably as a companion to Mrs Gubbins. Arthur & Catherine Gubbins were both from Co Limerick, Ireland. They married in Ireland in 1878 and emigrated to NZ and farmed near Merrinsville. Beatrice, their daughter, was born in 1884.
Arthur Gubbins died in 1902 and in 1903 Catherine & Beatrice Gubbins, with Fanny, went to England. For seven years, they stayed with relatives and friends and even rented a house in Dublin.

In 1910 they settled down, in the Cotswolds at Chipping Camden. Fanny Johnston was still with them. From there they made trips to Ireland, Switzerland and other parts of Europe. It was during this period that Fanny visited Scandinavia with her brother in law, Dr Williams, and her niece Kathleen, of whom she was very fond. (She later became godmother to Kathleen’s eldest daughter.)

Catherine Gubbins died in 1918. Her daughter Beatrice had trained as a physiotherapist and travelled on hospital ships back & forth between NZ and England. After the war she set up a practice with a colleague in Wellington, NZ.

After 1918, Fanny joined the household of Mrs Georgina Battiscombe (it is not clear whether this is in England or in NZ). Fanny looked after the children and spoke of Mrs Battiscombe as the finest character she had ever met ! Georgina Battiscombe wrote : "Mrs Gladstone - The Portrait of a Marriage".
Meanwhile, the Barton family had emigrated to NZ in 1851, living in Hamilton near Morrinsville. Here, James Barton was born in 1886. He had a career in the Army. James was serving in England during WW1 and attended Catherine Gubbins' funeral in 1918.
After the war, James remained in the Army in NZ and met Beatrice Gubbins from time to time in Wellington. They married in 1923.
Their son Charles John Winthrop Barton was born in 1924.

When John Barton was born, Fanny joined the family in Blenheim, NZ, and became his godmother. Beatrice Barton died just before the Second World War. John joined the Air Force and served in England. Fanny was with his father at Lucerne Rd during most, if not all, of this time.

Fanny died on 21st February 1958. Her funeral service was held in St Aidan’s Church, Remuera, followed by her cremation at Purewa Crematorium.

(We are very grateful to Mrs John Barton for all her help with the details of this chapter. She wrote of “Auntie Fan” as one of the family, loved and beloved, loyal and caring and a dear friend.)

J16279) Capel Wolseley JOHNSTON, born 16th April 1877 in Queenstown, Otago,NZ. Capel, aged 11, was admitted to school at High Street, Dunedin on 14th June 1888 when his mother was living at Stafford St. His last school was Gore Primary School until July 1890 when he left to go to work, aged 13 years.
He married Anne Eliza Bevars SAMSON in 1909. In 1918 he was living at Hataitai, Wellington and working as a clerk. Capel appears in the Wellington East Electoral Roll in 1919. At the time of his death on 1st February 1948, Capel & his wife were living at 11 Kainui Rd, Wellington. He was cremated and his ashes scattered at Karori cemetery.
Capel & Anne had a daughter :

J162791) Phyllis Audrey Eubertine JOHNSTON, born 9th March 1911. She married Kenneth Charles ROBERTSON in 1947. Kenneth died in 1979 and Phyllis Audrey in August 1995. They are both buried in Karori cemetery.

They had a son :

John Melrose ROBERTSON, born about 1948/1949

J1627T) Madeline Miéville JOHNSTON, born 28th December 1879 in Temuka, Canterbury. NZ. Madeline married Harold SHEFFIELD of Hawkes Bay on 21st August 1907 in St Mary's Church, Wellington. They were married by the Rev. J.G. Bartlett.
Harold was born in Bombay about 1876, son of Duncan Sheffield & his wife Eleanor née Hazeldon. He was a dairy farmer in Palmerston North where their address was 144 Fitzherbert Avenue. Harold died on 28th September 1964, aged 88 years. Madeline died on 9th March 1972, aged 92. They were both cremated and their ashes were scattered in Kelvin Grove Cemetery, Palmerston North. They had no children.

J1628) Thomas JOHNSTON. Born 26th September 1821 at The Copse, Rathdrum, Co Wicklow. According to Beamish family papers held by Liz Augereau and old letters from Dr Augustus Johnston's children, George & Emily, Thomas emigrated to Demerara where he worked on an Estate. He died there.

J1629) Henry Graydon JOHNSTON, born at The Copse, Rathdrum, Co Wicklow, on 16th November 1823 and baptised on 21st December. He graduated from TCD in 1846 and was ordained in 1847. Henry appears in the 1850 Dublin City Directory, living at his parents’ address, 9 Upper Pembroke Street. In 1851 he was curate at Collon in the diocese of Armagh.

He emigrated to New Zealand in 1852 with his brothers William, Edward and Arthur where he was a priest at Otakou, Otago. In 1853 he was Tutor to sons of John Jones at Matanaka, Waikouaiti when he brought an assault case against Mr Jones for £1500 damages. He was awarded £150 (at the time his annual salary was £100 …) Henry returned to England where he was curate in Sheringham 1857-8, High Wycombe 1858-9, Accrington 1859-61, Shirley 1861-63, Silverstone 1863-65, Brompton-Ralph 1865-72, Tolland 1872.

Henry married Maria Althea CROSS on the 16th October 1857 in St Margaret’s Parish Church, Ipswich, Suffolk.

Maria was born in Peasonhall, Suffolk and baptised in September 1836, daughter of Samuel Cross and Mary née Kersey . She died in Brentford, 3rd Quarter 1903, aged 68.

Henry died in Tolland, Somerset on 18th February 1897. Probate was granted in Taunton on 7th April 1897 to the Rev Frederick Llewellyn Hughes. Effects : £439-18s-11d.
Henry and Maria had four children :

J16291) George Henry Bernard JOHNSTON eldest son of the Rev. Henry Graydon Johnston & his wife Maria née Cross, was born on 8th October 1859 in Hastingdon and baptised on 13th December in Accrington. He was educated at Taunton and at Blundell’s School, Tiverton. He left home at the age of 20 and enlisted in the 2nd Battalion Devons at Exeter. George went to India with the Regiment almost immediately and served for 6 years as a full sergeant.
There was no prospect of war at this time (1884-85) so he bought himself out and was given a post in the commissioned grades of the Indian Police in the United Provinces. He served for 26 years, retiring with the equivalent rank of Major.
George married Nyanza May DAVIS at Lyme Regis Parish Church on 12th August 1895. Nyanza was born “at sea” on 13th May 1870., daughter of William Stevens DAVIS, Colonel Madras Staff Corps.
George came back to England in 1914, under the age clause, having served 32 years in India. He was given a captaincy in the Wiltshires. For some time he trained recruits at Devizes and then went to Birmingham as Provost Marshal, and from there to Plymouth in charge of the Detention Barracks until the end of the war. He & Nyanza retired to the Evershot district in Dorset where George died on 1st October 1930, aged 70. His funeral service was held in Evershot Parish Church.
Nyanza died in Lyme Regis, on 7th September 1946, aged 76. They had two children :

J162911) Ronald Hilary G. JOHNSTON, son of George and Nyanza, born in January 1898 in Partabgarh, Oudh (Gonda), India. Ronald and his mother appear in the 1901 Census, staying with his grandmother Lucy Davis, in Lyme Regis, Dorset. He married Evelyn Mary JACOB in the Cathedral in Allahabad on 21st December 1931. Mary was born on 14th November 1897, the daughter of Rev William Jacob, canon at Canterbury & his wife (Emily) Mabel Hyde, later of Monkton-Wyld Rectory, Dorset.
Ronald has written a memoir, dated 1980, « One Man's Life » which is available at the British Library. He describes his life in the Indian Army, mainly on the North-West Frontier (1916-1922), and in the Indian Civil Service (1923-1947) chiefly in the United Provinces, apart from five years in Bengal (1935-1940).
When Ronald & Mary retired they returned to England. They bought a house in Stoke Abbott, Dorset and nine acres of land and planted an orchard. Mary died in August 1978 and Ronald in 1990, aged 92. They are both buried in Stoke Abbott. Ronald & Mary had two children :

J1629111) Hilary Mary JOHNSTON, born 7th November 1932, at St Stephen’s Hospital in Delhi. She married John Whitaker SWEET-ESCOTT (1925-1999) on 21st May 1956. They have four children.

J1629112) (Bernard) William JOHNSTON was born on 8th September 1935 at Monkton-Wyld Rectory, Charmouth, Dorset. He died, following an accident, in Darjeeling, India in 1940.|

J162912) Margery Maturin Christabel JOHNSTON, daughter of George and Nyanza was born in India on 29th January 1903 and christened in Muttra, Bengal on 22nd February 1903. She married Ernest Victor SMALL. Victor was born on 27th March 1896, the son of Charles SMALL. He was an electrical engineer and he and Margery were married in Calcutta, Bengal, India on 19th October 1931.
They retired to Dorset, England. Victor died in 1975 and Margery on 30th March 1983. They had a daughter :

Nancy Juliet SMALL, born 15th August 1933 in Calcutta, India and christened in St Paul's Cathedral, Calcutta on 7th October 1933.
Nancy married John LOCK, son of Mr & Mrs F. E. LOCK, in 1956.
Nancy died in Surrey in 1983, aged 49.

J16292) Edith Mary JOHNSTON born on 19th October 1860, and baptised on 26th April 1861 in Accrington, Lancs. She died in Tolland, 2nd Quarter 1878, aged 17.

J16293) Percy Henderson JOHNSTON, was born on 24th November 1866 and baptised on 26th May 1867 in Brompton-Ralph, Somerset. He emigrated to the United States in 1886. Percy joined the U.S. Navy in 1894, serving on the U.S.S. Independence, Monterey, Nero, Olympia, Baltimore, Callao, Glacier and Oregon. Naturalized, he was discharged in 1901 and went to live in California where he is a lodger in the 1910 census living in Vallejo, Solano with Richard & Anna Moore, working as an engineer in the Navy Yard.

Percy married Anna H. HUFFMAN on 29th July 1913 in Marin, California. Polk's Vallejo City Directory shows Percy living with Anna until 1933. The same directory shows him living with May in 1935… Five years later, in 1940, according to another directory, Percy is living with Stella G. !

Estella Gertrude OSBORNE was Percy's third wife and he was her third husband ! She was born in Pennsylvania in 1873. When she was 20 she married George Clayton Price and had a son Reginald. Stella married secondly Edward McLean in 1905. They moved to Canada in 1911, residing in Point Grey, B.C. Her son John McLean was born there. The family moved back to the United States and in 1930 Stella is widowed and living in Turlock, Stanislaus, California with son John, listed as a poultry farmer. In 1940, Percy & Stella are living in Tuolumne, California and in 1947 they are in Los Gatos, 121 Olive Avenue.

Percy died in September 1950 and is buried in the Golden Gate National Cemetery, (U.S.Veteran site), San Bruno. Stella died in 1954 in Clackamas, Oregon and is buried in San Bruno, California.

J16294) Selbourne JOHNSTON, born 3rd Quarter 1876 in Tolland, Somerset. Selbourne appears in the 1901 Census, as a Corporal in the Royal Marines Barracks in Alverstoke, Hampshire. He is also listed as member of the crew on the “West Kader” sailing from Fushiki, Japan to Astoria, Oregon in July 1927 and on the “Kentucky” from Shanghai to Astoria in May 1934. Selbourne died in Siskiyou, California on 20th July 1955 and is buried in Evergreen Cemetery, Siskiyou.

J162T) Edward JOHNSTON born on 13th July 1825 at The Copse, Rathdrum, Co Wicklow.
Graduated from Trinity College, Dublin - BA 1851. He emigrated to New Zealand with William, arriving Port Chalmers in May 1852. He married Emily CHITTOCK (pictured right), on 27th February 1862 in Dunedin, Otago. Emily was born in St John’s Wood, London, on 11th October 1842, third child of Frederick Camel CHITTOCK and his first wife Rachel MASTERS. Rachel died after the birth of their fourth child and Frederick married secondly Sophia BARTON. Frederick and Sophia had three children before emigrating to New Zealand in 1857 and had another three in NZ.

Edward & Emily lived initially at Otokia on the Taieri Plains, south of Dunedin and Edward had a carting business of six bullocks and a dray. He and his brothers in law, James & Edward Chittock, drove the bullock teams from Dunedin to towns in Southland and Central Otago during the gold rush, carrying produce, supplies and hardware. Edward appears in Wise's Dunedin Directory in 1866, a farmer, address : The Copse, Saddle Hill.

After farming, Edward Johnston was first teacher at Kyeburn School and then Moa Flat Schook at Ettrick. Later, he used to travel around the towns in the Beaumont area as a preacher. A controversial writer and speaker in religious matters, he was forthright in his opinions. He was never referred to as a reverend, pastor or father so he was probably a self-proclaimed preacher. This was not uncommon in those days as, during the gold rush years, the numbers of single men in the region well exceeded women. Drink, crime and womanising were prevalent, an ideal place for an educated man to lecture to the masses on these “demons” !!!

When Edward died on 22nd June 1896, their address was Costerphine Creek, Beaumont. Situated five miles up river from Beaumont Bridge, the Johnston family home in wattle and daube was built by Edward and Emily’s children and Emily thatched the roof of tussock grass...

Emily died on 31st August 1899. She and Edward are buried in Beaumont cemetery. They had two children:

J162T1) Edward Augustus JOHNSTON, born 16th February 1863 at Otokia, Taieri Plains. Edward married Isabella Geddes GRANT in July 1901. The Grant family had a big sheep farm near the Shotover river.

Edward Augustus was a dredge master on the mining dredges – Gold Terrace no. 1 and Olrig. Isabella died in 1941 aged 66 years and “Gus” died in 1952, aged 89. They had no children.

J162T2) Catherine JOHNSTON, born 11th May 1871 at Otokia, Taieri Plains (pictured right).
Known as Kate Spence, at the age of 16, she married Andrew WATSON from Dunfermline, Scotland, on 14th July 1887. They were married by the Rev W. Grant in the Congregational Church in Port Chalmers.

Andrew was born in Dunfermline, Fife on 3rd October 1860, fourth child of Andrew Watson & his wife Isabella née Inglis. Andrew was listed originally as a mariner. He & Kate Spence lived at Beaumont and Andrew worked as a labourer on the railway, and then became a steam engine driver.

They moved to 44 Carr Street, Dunedin in about 1922 where he worked as the boiler attendant at the Moray Place Tepid Baths.

Andrew died on 3rd August 1930 and Kate Spence in 1962, aged 90. They are both buried at Anderson’s Bay cemetery, block 130, plot 0070.

They had seven children :

Christina Victoria WATSON born 24th May 1887, she married William Townsend HARVEY on 8th January 1919. Christina died on 12th January 1963. They had five children :

Vivan Chittock HARVEY, born 1920 in Dunedin. He remained a bachelor. He died at 52 Bonnington St, Dunedin on Christmas Day 1972 and is buried in Anderson’s Bay Cemetery, Block 219 Plot 0079.

Pearl Catherine HARVEY, born 9th December 1923 in Dunedin. She married Frederick B. COUSINS (born 1926).
Frederick died on 19th November 1970 and Pearl on 4th August 2000. They are buried in Marsden Valley cemetery, Nelson, plot 273. They had four children.

Violet May HARVEY, born 2nd May 1926 and lived in Queenstown. She married Frank BROUGH. They had two children.

Dorothy Heather HARVEY, born 18th April 1928 in Dunedin. She married George C. PORTEOUS (born 1929)
Dorothy died at her grandparents original address, 44 Carr St, Dunedin on 3rd December 1997. She was cremated and her ashes were scattered.
Dorothy & George had two children.

Dulcie Winifred HARVEY, born 13th March 1930 in Dunedin. She married James S. McCRORIE.
They have two daughters.

Emily Violet WATSON, born 24th January 1891. The young man she loved was killed in WW1. She never married . Emily lived at Cherry Farm, Waikouaiti. She died on 8th February 1982, aged 91.

Rose G. WATSON , born and died 1892.

Augustus James Frederick WATSON, born 19th April 1895. Augustus married Mary (Molly) KENNETT on 19th September 1922 in Dunedin. Molly was born in 1891 at Lake Wakatipu. They lived at 3 Frame St, Dunedin. Augustus died on 16th September 1962 and Molly on 31st December 1973. They had two children
Kennett Andrew WATSON, born 5th September 1924 in Dunedin. He married Rita Irene GODSO (born 3rd July 1923). They lived at 74 Knowles St, Christchurch. Rita died on 18th February 1989 and Kennett in 1998. They had three children.

Jean Rees WATSON, born 21st July 1929. She married Joseph HARPER (born 10th August 1927 in Stillwater, West Coast) on 20th October 1951. They have three children.

Albert Inglis WATSON, born 8th April 1897. Albert remained a bachelor and lived in his parents’ home, 44 Carr St Dunedin. He died on 11th June 1980. He was cremated and his ashes scattered.

Charles Hector WATSON, born 12th March 1902 . He never married and lived with his brother Albert at 44 Carr St, Dunedin.
He died on 5th February 1979. He was cremated and his ashes scattered.

William Stanley WATSON born on 24th June 1903, he married Ethel Jessie NAYLOR (born 1904) on 16th September 1922. William was a steam engine fireman and then an engine driver in Dunedin. They retired to and lived at 99 Chelmsford St, Invercargill. William died on 3rd June 1972 and Ethel on 19th June 1993. They are both buried in the Eastern Cemetery, Block 36, plot 820A. They had four children:

Stanley WATSON, born on 5th September 1925 in Balclutha. He married Gwen Laurette QUELCH in Waikiwi on 4th June 1949. Gwen died on 28th December 1996 in Devonport, Auckland, and Gordon died 20th November 2014 at Evelyn Page Retirement Village, Orewa, Auckland. They are buried together at Schnapper Rock Road, Central Mixed Section 4, Row D, plot 84. They had six children.

Bruce William WATSON, born 14th April 1927 in Dunedin. He married Maureen Patricia O’CALLAGHAN in Lumsden, Southland, on 7th February 1959. Brian died at 13 Folia St, Lumsden, on 7th August 2000 and Pat on 21st March 2007. They had five children.

Nancy Mavis WATSON, born 21st December 1929 in Dunedin. She died on 5th November 1997 in Whangaparaoa, Auckland. She married Lenard O. BROUGH in 1952 in Invercargill. Nancy had three children.

Joyce Eleanor WATSON, born 23rd September 1931 in Dunedin. She married Trevor Russell JACKSON on 28th September 1954. They have two children.

Dr Arthur Alma Johnston Giovanina Johnston

Bill and Grace on their wedding day in 1940

Emil Johnston

Helen with grandson William Willans

Graydon & Mollie at Oberon , NSW

John Williams, Mary and Edmund

Kathleen and Roland's wedding

Fanny with Kathleen and Edmund Williams

Fanny in 1950

Phyllis

Emily (Chittock)

Edward Augustus Isabella

Kate Watson

The Watson family home at Beaumont, Central Otago, NZ circa 1916
Standing - Christina Victoria 1887-1963;

Charles Hector 1902-1979; Augustus James 1895-1962; Emily Violet 1891-1982
Seated - Kate Spence; Andrew
Front - William Stanley 1903-1972; Albert Inglis 1897-1980