Sir Donald McLean (27 October 1820 – 5 January 1877) was a 19th-century New Zealand politician and government official. He was involved in negotiations between the settler government and Māori from 1844 to 1861, eventually as Native Secretary and Land Purchase commissioner. He was one of the most influential figures in Māori-

Pākehā Pākehā (or Pakeha; ; ) is a Māori term for New Zealanders primarily of European descent. Pākehā is not a legal concept and has no definition under New Zealand law. The term can apply to fair-skinned persons, or to any non- Māori New Z ...

relations in the mid-1800s and was involved in the dispute over the "Waitara Purchase", which led up to the

First Taranaki War The First Taranaki War (also known as the North Taranaki War) was an armed conflict over land ownership and sovereignty that took place between Māori and the New Zealand government in the Taranaki district of New Zealand's North Island from M ...

Early life

He was born on the

Hebridean The Hebrides (; gd, Innse Gall, ; non, Suðreyjar, "southern isles") are an archipelago off the west coast of the Scottish mainland. The islands fall into two main groups, based on their proximity to the mainland: the Inner and Outer Hebri ...

island 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, an ...

, and came to New Zealand via Australia in 1840. He married Susan Douglas Strang, daughter of the registrar of the Supreme Court in Wellington, Robert Strang, on 28 August 1851. She died after giving birth to their son

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals * Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking *Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civi ...

in December 1852 and her death deeply affected McLean; he never remarried.

Political career

Donald McLean purchasing land at Wairoa, Hawkes Bay

McLean was involved in negotiations between the settler government and Māori from 1844 to 1861, eventually as Native Secretary and Land Purchase commissioner. He was involved in the dispute over the "Waitara Purchase", which led up to the

. He was one of the most influential figures in Māori-

relations in the mid-1800s. He was elected

Superintendent Superintendent may refer to: *Superintendent (police), Superintendent of Police (SP), or Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), a police rank *Prison warden or Superintendent, a prison administrator *Superintendent (ecclesiastical), a church exec ...

Hawke's Bay Province The Hawke's Bay Province was a province of New Zealand. The province separated from the Wellington Province following a meeting in Napier in February 1858, and existed until the abolition of provincial government in 1876. At the time of its es ...

on 26 February 1863 and served until the end of the term on 10 January 1867. He was re-elected on 9 May 1867 and served until his resignation on 3 September 1869. In addition, he was a member of the Hawke's Bay Provincial Council, representing the Napier Country electorate in the 2nd Council (1862–1867) and the Napier Town electorate in the 3rd Council (1867–1871). He was a Member of Parliament for the Napier electorate in the 4th to 6th Parliament, from 1866 until his death in 1877. In 1867 he introduced the law providing for four

Māori electorates In New Zealand politics, Māori electorates, colloquially known as the Māori seats, are a special category of electorate that give reserved positions to representatives of Māori in the New Zealand Parliament. Every area in New Zealand is ...

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

from 1868. In the third Fox Ministry, he was

Minister of Defence A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

from 1869 to 1872 and Minister of Native Affairs. In the Waterhouse, fourth Fox, first Vogel,

Pollen Pollen is a powdery substance produced by seed plants. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm cells). Pollen grains have a hard coat made of sporopollenin that protects the gametophyt ...

, second Vogel, first Atkinson and second Atkinson Ministries, he remained Minister of Native Affairs until he resigned as a minister on 7 December 1876, shortly before he died. In 1874 he was made a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George. The

National Library of New Zealand The National Library of New Zealand ( mi, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa) is New Zealand's legal deposit library charged with the obligation to "enrich the cultural and economic life of New Zealand and its interchanges with other nations" (''Nat ...

has digitised 100,000 pages of his papers, and the collection is featured on their website. The collection includes over 3,000 letters written to McLean by Māori from throughout New Zealand. It is the largest surviving group of 19th-century letters in Māori.

Notes

References

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External links

Biography in the 1966 ''Encyclopaedia of New Zealand''
{{DEFAULTSORT:McLean, Donald 1820 births 1877 deaths New Zealand Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Members of the Cabinet of New Zealand Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives Superintendents of New Zealand provincial councils New Zealand defence ministers Scottish emigrants to New Zealand Members of the Hawke's Bay Provincial Council New Zealand MPs for North Island electorates People from Argyll and Bute 19th-century New Zealand politicians New Zealand politicians awarded knighthoods