John Whitney.

About John Whitney

John Whitney 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.