Torchy Atkinson

{{Short description|Horticultural scientist, scientific administrator (1909–1990)}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2016}}

{{Use New Zealand English|date=March 2016}}

{{Infobox scientist

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| name = Torchy Atkinson

| honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=NZL|OBE|size=100%}}

| image = Dr JD Atkinson examining a nectarine tree (cropped).jpg

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| birth_name = John Dunstan Atkinson

| birth_date = {{birth date |1909|03|03|df=y}}

| birth_place = Wellington, New Zealand

| death_date = {{death date and age |1990|02|27|1909|03|03|df=y}}

| death_place = Birkdale, Auckland, New Zealand

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| thesis_title = Studies on the dieback of lacebarks, Myxosporium hoheria. n.f.sp

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| thesis_year = 1932

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| spouse = {{marriage |Ethel Thorp|1934}}

| children = 2

| relatives = {{ubl|Harry Atkinson (grandfather)|Richmond Hursthouse (grandfather)|Bruce Stocker (cousin)|Monica Brewster (cousin)|Harry Atkinson (cousin)|{{nowrap|Charles Wilson Hursthouse (great-uncle)}}|Arthur Atkinson (great-uncle)}}

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John Dunstan "Torchy" Atkinson {{post-nominals|country=NZL|OBE|size=85%}} (3 March 1909 – 27 February 1990) was a New Zealand horticultural scientist and scientific administrator.

Atkinson was born in Wellington, New Zealand on 3 March 1909. His father was the solicitor Arnold Atkinson (1874–1917),{{cite web |last1=Adlam |first1=Geoff |title=Samuel Arnold Atkinson, 1874–1917 |url= https://www.lawsociety.org.nz/news/people-in-the-law/obituaries/obituaries-list/samuel-arnold-atkinson-1874-1917/ |publisher=New Zealand Law Society |accessdate=19 February 2016}} and his mother was Mary Herrick Atkinson (née Hursthouse). He was known as Duncan by his family, but friends and colleagues almost all referred to him as Torchy for his red hair, and the name stuck even after he had turned grey. New Zealand's tenth Premier, Sir Harry Atkinson, was his grandfather.{{DNZB|Bollard|E. G.|5a24|John Dunstan Atkinson|1 December 2011}}

Atkinson wrote his master's thesis at Massey University in 1932 with the title Studies on the dieback of lacebarks, Myxosporium hoheria. n.f.sp.{{cite thesis |last=Atkinson |first=John |year=1932 |type=Masters thesis |title=Studies on the dieback of Lacebarks, Myxosporium hoheria. n.f.sp |publisher=Massey Research Online, Massey University |hdl=10179/13688 |url=https://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/13688}} He was the director of Fruit Research Station of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR), and later the director of the Plant Diseases Division. His research has contributed significantly to New Zealand's strong position as an exporter of fruit. After his retirement in 1974, he was commissioned to write the history of the DSIR. In the 1975 New Year Honours, Atkinson was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire, for services to scientific research.{{London Gazette |issue=46446 |date=1 January 1975 |page=38 |supp=3}}

Atkinson died at Birkdale, Auckland, on 27 February 1990.