John Hohnen
HOHNEN, John Harold, C Eng ACSM FIMM MAustMM JP FGS (1911 - 1991)
John was born at Bexley, NSW, on July 6, 1911. He was the son of commercial traveller Charles Edward Hohnen and his second wife, music teacher Edith Jane Hohnen (nee Ainsworth). John had four brothers and grew up in Arncliffe. He also had six step siblings from his father’s first marriage.
His education commenced at Bexley Primary School. By 1925, John was enrolled at Sydney Boys School under a Commercial Traveller’s Association scholarship. In 1928 he left school to work in the office of the Perpetual Trustee Company Limited. A period of ledger keeping in a small office encouraged him to seek out other work.
In January 1929 he sailed to New Caledonia to work for a coffee planter, Mr Want. This engagement only lasted three months before he left to travel to Noumea. He then got work on a Chromite mine in Paagoumene, New Caledonia. The Tiebaghi Mine was then the largest Chromite mine in the world.
John was subsequently able to secure a well paying job at the American Chagrin Nickel Mine at Koumac, New Caledonia, as shift boss. In 1932, the opportunity arose for him to work his passage to London on the British India steamer “Nardana”. His first job, in England, was as a salesman for a London chrome plating company.
John was able to apply for and complete the entrance examination for Camborne School of Mines, Cornwall and commenced an Associateship in the autumn of 1933. He completed an Associateship in 1936.
He worked his passage back to Australia on the “MV Port Nicholson”, earning a Seaman’s Ticket on his disembarkation. He spent three months working at the Tindals Gold Mine near Coolgardie whilst waiting offers of permanent employment.
He was next appointed Mine Agent of the Great Mysore Mine at Kolar Goldfield, India. He travelled on the “Moldavia” via Ceylon to the appointment. After three years, he went to London for medical treatment, arriving on August 2, 1939. He was visiting Camborne, in Cornwall, when war broke out.
John obtained work at the Akwatia Diamond Mine, 110 kilometres north west of Accra, Ghana. In 1941, he worked with the Minister of Economic Warfare and Ministry of Supply in the Non Ferrous Minerals Intelligence Division, London.
On August 7, 1943, he married Frances Margaret Merrifield, in St Michael’s Church in Leicester Square, London. They had five children, Jane Berta (born London 1944), Giles John (born India 1947), David James (born New Guinea), Mark Ainsworth (born 1950) and John Robert.
He travelled to Nigeria on the “Groix” in October 1943, to take up the position of Mining Engineer for the Bisichi Tin Mining Company on the Bauchi Plateau rising to the position of Acting General Manager. Returning to London, he secured the position of Mine Agent at the Badhia Mine, at Kolar, India. In June 1945, he sailed to India on the P&O “Mongolia” to commence the role.
He and his family, returned to Australia in September 1948 on the “Strathfield” and then he commenced work in New Guinea at Wau. He assisted in gaining cash flow for the reconstruction of the Wau gold mine by exporting treated sawn pine. Post war smelting of gold commenced in 1953. By 1954 he progressed to be the General Manager of the New Guinea Goldfields and then was Managing Director, a position he held until 1960.
From 1957 to 1960 he was the Nominated Member of the New Guinea Legislative Council. He also was Chairman of the New Guinea Native Apprenticeship Board.
He returned to Australia to become Managing Director of Rio Tinto (Australia) from 1960 to 1961. In 1961 he was appointed as Director of Operations of CRA WA. He also was appointed as a Member of the Board of Rio Tinto Collieries in 1962. In 1961, John played a crucial role in developing the iron ore industry in the Pilbara. He accompanied Tom Price on the assessment by Kaiser Steel of the potential for mining iron ore in WA. He also convinced the WA State Cabinet to facilitate the development of the industry.
From 1965 to 1970, John was a member of the CSIRO WA State Advisory Committee.
In 1969, John retired as Director of Operations of CRA WA. He became the Director of Australian Consolidated Minerals NL. John had purchased 110 acres of land at Margaret River, in 1965, known as Wallcliffe Farm with the intention of running beef cattle. He subsequently established Maragaret River Land Holdings Limited to increase the scale of the operation.
With his sons, Giles, David, Mark and John, he planted vines on this property, in 1970, to establish the winery, Cape Mentelle. Son David trained in winemaking in California and quickly established the Cape Mentelle winery as a producer of premium wines. Mark and David also established Cloudy Bay winery in Marlborough, New Zealand.
John was a Fellow of the Institution of Mining and Metallurgy and a Member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. He was also a Chartered Engineer, Justice of the Peace and Fellow of the Geological Society.
John died on December 31, 1991, aged 80.
References:
Evening News (Sydney), 24.12.1925, p12
The Argus, 16.8.1943, p6
West Australian, 2.2.1953, p14
Canberra Times, 20.1.1962, p6
CSIRO Annual Report 1966, p178
Hamersley News, 23.5.1969, p4
John Hohnen, the Hamersley Story
John Hohnen, W U J Hohnen, Union Offset, Canberra, 1988
Compiled by Chris Fitzhardinge, January 10, 2026
