John Stevenson was born in Gask, Perthshire, Scotland in 1843. He was educated at the local schools, Greig's Academy, Perth and the Perth Seminaries. He arrived in Queensland at the beginning of 1864 to take charge of Ravensbourne Station on the Barcoo, for the Earl of Macclesfield. In 1870, he purchased the station from the Earl and in 1883 sold it along with the adjoining station, Forest Hill to Sir Francis Murray and Sons. In 1874 Stevenson formed Ruthven Station, on the lower Barcoo which he sold five years later to James Grice of Melbourne. For many years he owned Canobie and other stations in the Gulf country in partnership with Edward Palmer, his brother-in-law.
In 1883, he joined the firm of B.D. Morehead and Co., where he took an active part as a manager until he retired in 1896 to form the business of John Stevenson and Company, stock and station agents, Adelaide Street, Brisbane. The latter were sold agents in Queensland for the Colonial Consignment and Distributing Company, Limited, London. In 1875, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly for the constituency of Clermont. He sat in the house until the General Election of 1893 when he was defeated. During a portion of the 18 years he was a member of Parliament he represented the electorate of Normanby.
From the description of 7474 John Stevenson Illuminated Address, 1889. (Libraries Australia). WorldCat record id: 755768445
