Alexander Macleay (also spelt McLeay) MLC FLS FRS (24 June 1767 – 18 July 1848) was a leading member of the

Linnean Society The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript and literature colle ...

, a fellow of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

and member of the

New South Wales Legislative Council The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. The other is the Legislative Assembly. Both sit at Parliament House in t ...

Life

Macleay was born on

Ross-shire Ross-shire (; gd, Siorrachd Rois) is a historic county in the Scottish Highlands. The county borders Sutherland to the north and Inverness-shire to the south, as well as having a complex border with Cromartyshire – a county consisting ...

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 ...

, eldest son of William Macleay, provost of

Wick Wick most often refers to: * Capillary action ("wicking") ** Candle wick, the cord used in a candle or oil lamp ** Solder wick, a copper-braided wire used to desolder electronic contacts Wick or WICK may also refer to: Places and placename ...

. Alexander had a classical education, before relocating to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and becoming a wine merchant with his business partner William Sharp – after whom his first son was named. In 1795 he was elected a fellow of the Linnean Society of London, also serving as its secretary, and was also appointed chief clerk in the prisoners of war office. When the office was linked with the Transport Board after war broke out, Macleay became head of the correspondence department and by 1806 secretary. The board was abolished in 1815, and Macleay retired on an annual pension, of £750. Macleay's chief natural history interest was

entomology Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as ara ...

, principally

lepidoptery Lepidopterology ()) is a branch of entomology concerning the scientific study of moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies. Someone who studies in this field is a lepidopterist or, archaically, an aurelian. Origins Post-Renaissance, the ...

, and he possessed the finest and most extensive collection then existing of any private individual in England and possibly the world. This included the British Collection of John Curtis now housed in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

. In 1813, he was elected a foreign member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences ( sv, Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien) is one of the royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special responsibility for prom ...

. On 14 June 1825, Macleay was appointed Colonial Secretary for

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. He arrived in Sydney in January 1826, with his wife Eliza, 9 of his 10 surviving children, and his extensive collection. He was soon working twelve-hour days and on 17 July 1825 was nominated to the New South Wales Legislative and Executive Councils, holding both positions until December 1836. Macleay represented Counties of Gloucester, Macquarie, and Stanley in the partially elected legislative council from June 1843 until 19 June 1848, a month before his death. Originally residing at the Colonial Secretary's House in Macquarie Place, Macleay was granted land at Elizabeth Bay by Governor Ralph Darling, where he constructed

Elizabeth Bay House Elizabeth Bay House is a heritage-listed Colonial Regency style house and now a museum and grotto, located at 7 Onslow Avenue in the inner eastern Sydney suburb of Elizabeth Bay in the City of Sydney local government area of New South Wales ...

and laid out an extensive botanic garden. St James' Church, Sydney 22

His extensive entomological collections formed the basis of the

Macleay Museum The Macleay Museum at The University of Sydney, was a natural history museum located on the University's campus, in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The Museum was amalgamanted into Chau Chak Wing Museum, which opened in 2020. The Macleay M ...

at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

. Macleay was also very active beyond his scientific pursuits and was the foundation president of the

Australian Club The Australian Club is a private club founded in 1838 and located in Sydney at 165 Macquarie Street. Its membership is men-only and it is the oldest gentlemen's club in the southern hemisphere. "The Club provides excellent dining facilities, ...

Family

Macleay married a Miss Barclay of Urie. He was the father of the entomologist

William Sharp Macleay William Sharp Macleay or McLeay (21 July 1792 – 26 January 1865) was a British civil servant and entomologist. He was a prominent promoter of the Quinarian system of classification. After graduating, he worked for the British embassy in Par ...

, who expanded his father's collection, and of

George Macleay Sir George Macleay (180924 June 1891) was an Australian explorer and politician. Biography Macleay was born in London, the third son of Alexander Macleay and educated at Westminster School. He came to Australia in 1826. In November 1829 he ...

, also a zoologist.

William John Macleay Sir William John Macleay (13 June 1820 – 7 December 1891) was a Scottish- Australian politician, naturalist, zoologist, and herpetologist. Early life Macleay was born at Wick, Caithness, Scotland, second son of Kenneth Macleay of Keiss an ...

, his nephew, was also an explorer and collector in Australia and New Guinea. His daughter Rosa Roberta married Arthur Pooley Onslow; her children included

Arthur Alexander Walton Onslow Arthur Alexander Walton Onslow (2 August 1833 – 30 January 1882) was born at Trichinopoly in India to surveyor Arthur Pooley Onslow and Rosa Roberta Macleay. In 1838 was sent to New South Wales, where he lived with his grandfather Alexander ...

and

Sir Alexander Onslow Sir Alexander Campbell Onslow (17 July 1842 – 20 October 1908) was the third Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Western Australia, which is the highest ranking court in the Australian State of Western Australia. Onslow is a forebear ...

. Another daughter, Christiana Susan, married

William Dumaresq William John Dumaresq (25 February 1793 – 9 November 1868) was an English-born military officer, civil engineer, landholder and early Australian politician. He is associated with settler colonisation of the areas around Scone, New South Wa ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Macleay, Alexander 1767 births 1848 deaths British entomologists Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Linnean Society of London Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council Scottish emigrants to colonial Australia Colonial Secretaries of New South Wales 19th-century Australian public servants Presidents of the New South Wales Legislative Council