Arthur John Burns (22 October 1830 – 15 September 1901) was a prominent early settler of Otago, New Zealand, a member of the Otago Provincial Council, a member of the New Zealand House of Representatives and founder of the Mosgiel Woollen Company, Dunedin.
He came to Otago with his father in the Philip Laing arriving in Port Chalmers on 15 April 1848.
On three occasions, he served on the Executive Council of the Otago Province.
He founded the Mosgiel Woollen Company in 1871 in an area on the western outskirts of Dunedin.
[4] He imported skilled labour and specialised equipment from Great Britain to begin large scale clothmaking in 1873.