Roger Johnston

Roger Johnston
Member of the Australian Parliament
for Hotham
In office
10 December 1977  18 October 1980
Preceded byDon Chipp
Succeeded byLewis Kent
Personal details
Born
James Roger Johnston

(1930-06-18)18 June 1930
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Died24 June 2020(2020-06-24) (aged 90)
Political partyLiberal Party of Australia
OccupationBusinessperson
ProfessionCivil engineer

James Roger Johnston (18 June 1930 – 24 June 2020) was an Australian politician. He contested the Division of Melbourne Ports in 1975, but lost to the incumbent Labor member Frank Crean. Following this, Johnston successfully sought Liberal preselection for Hotham, competing against nine other members. In 1977, he was elected to the Australian House of Representatives as the Liberal member for Hotham. He was a member of the Parliamentary Yacht Club, along with Phillip Lynch, Alan Cadman and Marshall Baillieu. In 1979, Johnston was part of a delegation of Australian parliamentarians sent to Port Moresby to learn about resources development. He was defeated in 1980. He attempted to gain preselection for the 1982 Flinders by-election.

Johnston is a great-grandson of David Syme, and his ashes are interred in David Syme's tomb situated in Boroondara Cemetery in Kew, Victoria. It is my understanding that Mr. Johnston's ashes are not interred in the Syme mausoleum: upon opening of the crypt, it was found to be flooded with groundwater and the ashes were placed elsewhere.