John Whitney

John Whitney (27 June 1836–6 September 1932) was a New Zealand industrialist, who established the Colonial Ammunition Company. Born in England, he served as an officer in the British Army for several years, mainly in Ireland. In 1884 he and his family emigrated to New Zealand. The Panjdeh incident of 1885 saw him join the colonial militia. The crisis also saw Britain temporarily cease its supply of ammunition to New Zealand. To fill the resulting void, Whitney started up a company to manufacture ammunition, and by 1888, this had evolved into the Colonial Ammunition Company. Factories were built in Mount Eden and in Melbourne, Australia, and these supplied ammunition for New Zealand and Australian governments. The company was a major supplier of munitions during the First World War. After Whitney's retirement, the business was run by his son. Whitney died at the age of 96 at Remuera, in Auckland.

Early life Born on 27 June 1836, John Whitney was the son of James and Sophia Whitney, of Shrewsbury, Shropshire in England. He was educated at schools in Shrewsbury and once his education was completed joined the British Army in 1858. As a commissioned officer in the 10th (North Lincoln) Regiment of Foot, he served mainly in Ireland. Two years after beginning his military service, he married Harriet Musters at Colwick in Nottinghamshire and the couple went on to have six children. Upon the death of his father, he took ownership of the family estate at Calver Hill in Herefordshire.

New Zealand In 1884, Whitney, having sold the family estate, moved with his family to New Zealand, arriving in Auckland towards the end of the year abroad the Waihora. The following year, the Panjdeh incident erupted, which saw increased tensions between the British Empire and Russia. Whitney joined the New Zealand militia, initially as a captain, and served as a battery commander at Fort Resolution in Auckland. He later served as aide-de-camp to the commander of the New Zealand militia, Major General George Whitmore. As a result of the incident, Britain ceased supplying ammunition to New Zealand, needing to build up its reserves of small arms munitions. This exposed a shortfall in supply of ammunition in New Zealand.