Design and Art Australia Online

Alexander, known as Alex, was the last-born of Scottish immigrants Alexander and Margaret Johnston’s four children. Little is known of his formative years. He must have been a talented young man, painting, writing, and playing the violin. It is known he either attended art classes or was taught privately by Joshua Hicks Junior (1843-1903). He occasionally exhibited in public galleries, as evidenced by the following:

Launceston Examiner Tuesday May 31 1887, page 2.
FINE ART.- There were on view yesterday at Mr. W.C. Joscelyn’s establishment, St. John Street, several works of art from the brushes of well-known English artists, and one by Mr. Alex. Johnston, of Launceston. The last named was a marine sketch representing the yacht “Curnew” sailing on the open sea, and a ship under full sail standing across her bows, besides a number of smaller crafts. The sketch is a good one, the sails of the yacht filled with wind have been faithfully depicted, whilst the water is splendidly brought out, but the sky requires a little toning down. The picture, however, proves Mr. Johnston to be an artist of considerable skill and taste.

There must have been a bond between Joshua and Alex as apart from their mutual interests in art, the violin and sailing, they shared a thirst for adventure, travel and also writing. That Alex was a virtuoso violinist is indicated by a little newspaper snippet I found tucked away in an old sailing ‘bible’ of his:

Alex. Johnston, late of Coolgardie Miner, is running Shanghai Daily Press, a mostly scissors 8pp print. Johnston plays the violin like a young Joachim, and played himself into Shanghai “sassiety” within two weeks.

It is not known if Alex was a journalist from the time he left school, but it seems reasonable – and he remained a journalist all his life.

In 1894 when he was 26, Alex developed itchy feet which led him to the newly-discovered goldfields at Coolgardie in Western Australia, where he was a journalist with the daily ‘Coolgardie Miner’and possibly a correspondent for the Sydney Bulletin as well. He must have painted avidly in his spare time as evidenced by some wonderful sunset scenes of the goldfields, particularly Niagara, and aboriginal portraits. At that time he was painting in both oils and watercolours. Niagara was a mining centre about 190 km from Coolgardie, accessible only by camel or horse. 400-strong camel trains were used to cart cement to build a dam there. 

Western Australia was the ideal jumping-off point for the fabled East. There were plenty of steamers and Alex made several trips, as shown by dates on paintings and sketchbooks. After a brief visit home in 1899, he took off again for the Philippines, China, Japan and Colombo for a year, returned to the Goldfields for about 8 months, then went to Sydney in late 1900 where he may have remained for several years. There are no sketch books extant for that period. Returning to the Far East in 1904 he visited Indonesia, Japan, New Guinea, made a trip back to Hong Kong in October 1908, then probably settled down in Melbourne as a reporter on the Age.

A newspaper clipping dated 1899 indicates that he was already well known to the Sydney Bulletin. Perhaps he was their WA Goldfields correspondent? While in China and Japan he was said to be an official war correspondent for the Boxer Rebellion. Several of his surviving sketchbooks contain watercolours of life in China and Japan – Chinese men with pigtails and women in kimonos wearing clogs. He made some attempt to learn Chinese characters.

He met and married Bertha Elizabeth Wade, daughter of Invercargill NZ barrister and solicitor Frederick Wentworth Wade (1838-1912) and his wife Adela Macloskey (1848-1874), in Melbourne. Alex was 42 years old at the time.

It is not known if Alex and Bertha settled down immediately at 7 Wharf Road Longueville where they were to live out their days, or if Alex’s journalism took him around northern NSW and southern Queensland, and also if Bertha accompanied him. But in 1912 their first-born son Warwick Lyle Johnston was born, followed by another boy Ian Wentworth Johnston, who did not survive very long. Alex continued to paint at Longueville; there are many exquisite watercolours of the streets and nearby Tambourine Bay.

In 1922 Alex was working for the Sydney ‘Mail’, but was being published in interstate newspapers too, as evidenced by a typed letter from W.P. Hurst, the famed Editor of ‘The Australasian’ of Melbourne, who wrote “I am in the habit of putting your copy on the file without reading it, therefore I will be glad if you can avoid certain offences against my susceptibilities. One of these is using the expression ex-Minister, ex-Member and other “ex’s”. These words I think are not defensible.” This was annotated with a handwritten“… and a correction in proof is wasteful of time and money.” Then under his signature Hurst added: “Dear Alex, I have also an objection to saying ‘secure’ when ‘obtain’ or ‘procure’ is meant. Generally the letter is excellent.” This would indicate that Alex was a regular correspondent from Sydney.

Alex wrote and published several books under the pen name Spartacus Smith, which he also used for various newspaper articles. His first book ‘Gay Philosophies’ published by Angus & Robinson, Sydney in 1933 was a wonderful collection of humorous short stories about people, places and incidents in Sydney in the Thirties. ‘Anything Doing?’ Alex’s second book, was published in 1935. Alex’s range of knowledge was amazing and his humour lighthearted and refreshing. He interviewed many famous personages such as Amelia Earhart forthe ‘Mail’.

Alex maintained a lifelong friendship with Sir Lionel Lindsay, elder brother of the more rambunctious Norman Lindsay whom Alex almost certainly knew during his days with the Bulletin or Mail. Alex probably also knew the poet Henry Lawson from that time. Lionel once presented Alex with an original etching, signed as a personal gift to Alex, which is still in the family. When they were both old men they continued to correspond, grumbling gently about the infirmities of old age.

Alex loved sailing, an interest inherited by his son Warwick and grandchildren Nancy and Barry. The property at Wharf Road had a water frontage in Tambourine Bay, and there was a boatshed and long narrow jetty. It is believed that Alex once owned a reasonably sized sailing boat called Thistle which he sailed on Sydney Harbour. His son Warwick owned one or more sailing dinghies.

Alex’s wife Bertha died in 1947. Alex continued to live at Longueville for some years. Initially he had a housekeeper, but his eyesight deteriorated to the extent that he had to enter a nursing home. He died on 11 December 1952. The Longueville home with it’s lovely sweeping garden going down to Tambourine Bay, Alex’s study full of old tubes of oil paints, the old boatshed full of tarry smells and old rope, and the even more rickety jetty, was lost to the family.

Writers:

NancyVada

Date written:

2018

Last updated:

2018