Allan McLean (24 May 1822 – 12 November 1907) was a New Zealand runholder and philanthropist. Moving from Scotland to Australia as a child, and to New Zealand as an adult, he rose from a working class shepherd, to sheep rancher and a rich land holder. In his seventies, McLean built 'Holly Lea' in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

, which was renamed McLean's Mansion. After his death, the building served as the McLean Institute through an

act of parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...

Early life

He was born on

Coll Coll (; gd, Cola; sco, Coll)Mac an Tàilleir (2003) p. 31 is an island located west of the Isle of Mull in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. Coll is known for its sandy beaches, which rise to form large sand dunes, for its corncrakes, and ...

, one of the islands of the

Inner Hebrides The Inner Hebrides (; Scottish Gaelic: ''Na h-Eileanan a-staigh'', "the inner isles") is an archipelago off the west coast of mainland Scotland, to the south east of the Outer Hebrides. Together these two island chains form the Hebrides, whic ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, and baptised on 24 May 1822. His father, Alexander McLean, was a farmer and fisherman who lived on Lagmor, where he drowned in 1836. Initially, the family was sustained by the large tracts of land they owned on the Isles of

Tiree Tiree (; gd, Tiriodh, ) is the most westerly island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The low-lying island, southwest of Coll, has an area of and a population of around 650. The land is highly fertile, and crofting, alongside tourism, and ...

and

Mull Mull may refer to: Places *Isle of Mull, a Scottish island in the Inner Hebrides **Sound of Mull, between the Isle of Mull and the rest of Scotland * Mount Mull, Antarctica *Mull Hill, Isle of Man * Mull, Arkansas, a place along Arkansas Highway ...

as well as on the mainland at Mowern and Ardnamurchan. But over the years, they needed additional resources to make a livelihood and resorted to fisheries. After his father's death, his mother, Mary, could not make a living with the lands left to her and they were in a penurious state. Mary took the five surviving of her eight children to Australia in 1840 after widespread crop failure. Allan McLean and his brothers

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

and Robertson made a living as working class shepherds, and became established enough so that they could buy two sheep runs in west

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, which they owned from 1848 to 1851. They capitalised on the

Victorian gold rush The Victorian gold rush was a period in the history of Victoria, Australia approximately between 1851 and the late 1860s. It led to a period of extreme prosperity for the Australian colony, and an influx of population growth and financial capita ...

by supplying the goldfields region, becoming runholders.

Life in New Zealand

In 1852, the brothers purchased the Ashfield run adjacent to the

Waimakariri River The Waimakariri River is one of the largest rivers in Canterbury, on the eastern coast of New Zealand's South Island. It flows for in a generally southeastward direction from the Southern Alps across the Canterbury Plains to the Pacific Ocean. ...

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, New Zealand, and the family moved to that country. Robertson returned to Scotland but Allan and John owned runs in Canterbury, Otago, and Morven Hills, acquiring the Waikakahi property near Waimate from a Mr. Harris in 1866. Their sister Alexandrina had married George Buckley in 1860, and Buckley became a shareholder in the Waikakahi run, but sold out to the brothers in 1875. Eventually, Allan and John's partnership ended. By 1882, his properties had a value of 200,000 pounds. In 1895, he owned 69,000 sheep, and his horse teams ploughed . He lived at 'the Valley', a homestead surrounded by gardens. McLean's land was bought by the

Liberal Government Liberal government may refer to: Australia In Australian politics, a Liberal government may refer to the following governments administered by the Liberal Party of Australia: * Menzies Government (1949–66), several Australian ministries under S ...

in 1899 as part of their policy of breaking up large land holdings. McLean was distressed by the forced sale of his land to the extent that he never returned to the district. For the government, it was the second largest purchase in Canterbury; the largest purchase was the estate of William Robinson around Cheviot. McLean retired to

, where he had a house of enormous dimensions built in a fusion of Jacobean and Victorian style for himself. 'Holly Lea' contained 53 rooms on three floors spread over an area of with lavish period furnishings and other embellishments. It is believed that at the time, 'Holly Lea' was the largest wooden residence in New Zealand. Later known as McLean's Mansion, the house is registered as a Category I heritage building by the

New Zealand Historic Places Trust Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga (initially the National Historic Places Trust and then, from 1963 to 2014, the New Zealand Historic Places Trust) ( mi, Pouhere Taonga) is a Crown entity with a membership of around 20,000 people that advocate ...

. McLean remained a bachelor. After building his dream house, he enjoyed its ambiance for 5 years before dying there in 1907 aged 85. His health had been failing for some time He was buried at

Addington Cemetery Addington may refer to: Places In Australia: * Addington, Victoria In Canada: * Addington, Ontario * Addington County, Ontario (now Lennox and Addington County, Ontario) * Addington Highlands, Ontario * Addington Parish, New Brunswick * Adding ...

in the family grave; his mother, brother John and sisters Mary and Alexandrina were buried there before him. Through his will, McLean made generous provisions for an institute that used his house "as a home for women of refinement and education in reduced or straitened circumstances". He endowed it with a fund of £300,000. The McLean Institute was formed and incorporated by a parliamentary act, the McLean Institute Act 1909. McLean's Mansion is now being restored by the McLean's Mansion Charitable Trust, with plans to partially reopen the building in 2021.

References

External links

McLean Institute Act 1909
* https://www.mcleansmansion.nz/ {{DEFAULTSORT:McLean, Allan 1822 births 1907 deaths New Zealand philanthropists New Zealand farmers Burials at Addington Cemetery, Christchurch Scottish emigrants to New Zealand 19th-century philanthropists