Green’s Dictionary of Slang

Johnny Russell n.

(Aus.) bustle, hustle.

1900–10		Stephens & O’Brien Materials for a Dict. of Aus. Sl. [unpub. ms.] 89: JOHNNY RUSSEL [sic]: bush a rhyming variant of ‘bustle.’.
1942		Argus (Melbourne) 18 Apr. 3s/6: ‘Johnny Russell’ is a bustle.

In phrases

on the Johnny Russell (Aus.)

struggling for existence.

1900–10

Stephens & O’Brien Materials for a Dict. of Aus. Sl. [unpub. ms.] 11: ‘On the Johnny Russell’ is [sic] a variant for battling is merely a rhyming slang arrangement of ‘on the hustle’.