Angus Johnstone Eulogy
By Ivan Johnstone. Angus passed away on 25 October 2024 at the age of 70
Angus was my younger brother by four years. He joined me and my two older brothers when he was two. We were living at the time with Agnes Frame, a foster parent who had physically and mentally abused us for 18 months before we older brothers were taken to the Lookout Point Boys Home. Angus was under the so called care of Agnes Frame for seven years until the age of nine when he joined us again under the care of Ron Malcolm, another foster parent. Angus was barely able to talk when he joined us. By the age of 14, Angus knew his alphabet, but had difficulty in spelling words correctly. I taught him a simplified phonetic system of spelling for two weeks before I left the Malcolm household and he made good progress. Many decades later my brother Keith and I found that he had used his own system of phonetic spelling in notes he had written to himself in many notebooks.
Upon leaving school, Angus assisted Ron Malcom who had set up a compost business when he retired in 1970. In 1976, Angus completed a course in Electric Arc Welding Practice at the Otago Polytechnic. Ron Malcolm had accompanied Angus during the course providing assistance where necessary. Angus passed the practical tests and an oral exam. He then worked as a welder at the Port Chalmers wharf under the supervision of the foreman. Angus’ workmates were not as compassionate and understanding as the foreman, and set out to embarrass him. Angus’ retaliation resulted in him being laid off and he fell into a deep depression, was diagnosed as being mentally ill, and was put on medication from then onwards. Angus worked for many decades at Cargill Enterprise in Dunedin, a sheltered work environment, where he refused to continue working at the repetitive robotic tasks at the age of 55.
As a young teenager, Angus had a passion for drawing intricate section views of imaginary spaceships which included many explanatory notes. He continued these drawings as an adult and these drawings provide a glimpse into the mind of someone whose verbal development had been retarded early in life. Most people had great difficulty in understanding what Angus tried to communicate due to his slurred speech which became even more slurred after receiving a monthly injection of medication instead of a daily oral dose. It must have been extremely frustrating for Angus not being able to communicate easily with others. Angus was shrewd and street savvy, and was the first in company to recognise a joke with a roar of laughter. His abilities were underestimated by many. Angus developed a strong interest in astronomy, collected many picture books on the subject, joined the Begg Observatory Society in Dunedin, wrote letters to NASA for information with the assistance of a flatmate, and visited NASA in the United States.
Angus joined the Mornington Harrier Club and participated in many races. When he lived in a flat in Port Chalmers, he used to walk to Dunedin and back. Unfortunately, Angus was introduced to smoking at the Port Chalmers wharf and became heavily addicted. I returned to Dunedin in 2006 and on his 52nd birthday we both climbed the steep sand dune at Sandspit at Aramoana Beach. At each of his successive birthdays, Angus’ physical deterioration progressively declined. By his 70th birthday, Angus was breathless walking only 50 metres and back to get an icecream. A few months later Angus was hospitalised on life support at the Dunedin Hospital. Glenda Wallace, his friend and Legal Guardian over Welfare and I were there with Angus when he passed away peacefully.
Physical abuse by Agnes Frame had been identified by Forbury School and my elder brothers and I we were taken away to the Lookout Point Boys Home soon after. My brothers and I often wondered why Angus had been left under the care of Mrs Frame. Many decades later, I was finally able to gain full access to my Child Welfare Records. Even with heavy redaction, there is clear evidence that the Child Welfare Department had been negligent in letting Agnes Frame take care of Angus during his most formative years. The physical and mental abuse of Angus and his brothers by Agnes Frame had been extreme, but no Johnstone sibling has made a claim against the state in the recent Royal Commission into abuse in state care. My own personal view is that no financial compensation can remedy abuse in the past. I am deeply saddened by Angus passing away and by the loss of what could have been.