John Wallace Downie

Who was John Wallace Downie?

Hon. John Wallace Downie CMG served as High Commissioner of Southern Rhodesia from 1930 to 1935. The son of Lanark Station Master Christopher Downie, he was born in Lanark, Scotland, emigrating to South Africa in 1897 to work on the Cape Railways. Here he worked on the line in process of construction from Bechuanaland to Bulawayo. Subsequently he worked for a time as postmaster in Francistown. On 15 October 1899, following the declaration of The Anglo-Boer War, John Downie volunteered to join the Francistown Defence Force 1899 under the leadership of Umfreville Percy Swinburne.

In 1900 he returned to Glasgow in order to study, coming back to Africa in 1901.

On his return he was appointed secretary of a small mining company and subsequently joined the firm of Haddon, Cotton & Butt, a Rhodesian shipping and forwarding house. John Downie was very successful in his new position and rose to be managing director. He was interested in a number of gold mining ventures, and in addition to his firm acted as manager of the Portland Cement Works for some time. John Downie later sold his interests in the firm, and in 1920 he became manager of the Salisbury Farmer's Co-operative, holding this post till the period of the end of Chartered Company Rule in 1923. John Downie was a keen advocate of responsible government and served as treasurer of the Responsible Government Party. Subsequently he became Chairman of the Rhodesia Party and was responsible for much of the work of party organisation.