Background
He was born in Kinross, Scotland. Whyte was born in Kinross in 1826.
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John Whyte
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One of his schoolteachers was a nephew of Robert Burns, the Scottish poet, and schoolmates included Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman who later became Prime Minister of Great Britain. He served an apprenticeship in Dunfermline as a draper and milliner then opened his own shop in Galway, Ireland. Were wholesale grocers and shipowners.
James Counsell (Louisa Heath"s brother), John and William Whyte established the grocery firm of Whyte, Counsell and Company
In 1864 they built a large building in Currie Street, Adelaide. They also owned several Murray River steamers which were loaded with goods from their warehouse and sold along the Murray-Darling river system.
Whyte withdrew from the partnership in 1884, taking a share of the paddle steamers and the Currie Street property. He also then purchased runs in the Mid North and Far North of South Australia.
Some of the pastoral leases he acquired had previously been stocked with cattle, but Whyte restocked them with sheep.
In 1877, Whyte had held a total of 21 pastoral leases covering a total of 3,343 square miles (8,660 km2) (not all at the same time). He grazed up to 61,783 sheep in addition to some cattle. The town of Whyte Yarcowie is named in part in honour of John Whyte.
In 1890 he was owner of Decoy, Tolarno, Saddler and South Australian, and at the time of his death in 1902 he was the owner of Menindie and Saddler.
