Robert Arthur Johnstone | |
|---|---|
 Sub-Inspector Robert Johnstone | |
| Born | 1843 |
| Died | 16 January 1905 (aged 61) Toowong, Queensland |
| Occupation(s) | Station manager, police officer, explorer, police magistrate |
| Spouse | Maria Ann Gibson |
Robert Arthur Johnstone (1843 – 16 January 1905) was an officer in the Native Police paramilitary force which operated in the British colony of Queensland. He was stationed at various locations in central and northern Queensland between 1867 and 1880 conducting regular punitive expeditions against clans of Indigenous Australians who resisted colonisation. He also participated in several surveying expeditions in Far North Queensland, including those under the leadership of George Elphinstone Dalrymple.
After resigning from the Native Police in 1880, he became a police magistrate in various locations around Queensland before retiring from government service in 1891. In his years of duty for the Native Police, Johnstone led many punitive expeditions and "dispersals" consistent with government policy, resulting in thousands of Aboriginal people being killed or displaced from their traditional lands.
A number of geographical and zoological entities are named after Johnstone, such as the Johnstone River and the freshwater crocodile.