Donald McLean (politician)

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Donald McLean about 1870

Sir Donald McLean KCMG (born October 25, 1820 in Tiree , Scotland , † January 5, 1877 in Napier , New Zealand ) was a Scottish-born New Zealand politician, administrator, minister for Māori affairs and minister for defense.

Early years

Donald McLean was born on October 25, 1820, the third son of John McLean of Kilmaluaig and his wife Margrette , née McColl , on the Isle of Tiree in the Inner Hebrides , Scotland. His father was a Tacksman who rented and farmed land from the Duke of Argyll . When his father lost the country and died, McLean was only 11 years old and raised by his mother's family. His uncle Donald McColl , a pastor of the Presbyterian Church , trained him. McLean studied history, literature and theology until 1838. He was just 18 years old when he left Scotland with a cousin to seek fortune in Australia .

New Zealand

They reached Sydney in April 1839. McLean stayed in New South Wales for a few months , but then moved to New Zealand in 1840 to work as an agent for the timber trading company Abercrombie & Company . He quickly realized that knowledge and understanding of the Māori culture could be helpful and valuable. So he quickly learned to speak their language and understand their culture.

In 1843 he was noticed with his knowledge and skills by Colonial Secretary Andrew Sinclair , who recommended him to Governor Robert FitzRoy . FitzRoy gave him a job in the office of the Protector of Aborigines in April 1844 , in which McLean rose to the so-called subprotector for the Taranaki region in June 1844 and investigated land claims of the New Zealand Company in the area around New Plymouth in August . Because of his skills, McLean was called more and more to resolve conflicts. In January 1845, for example, he traveled to Wanganui with a large group of Māori to settle a dispute between two Māori - Iwi (tribes). Further orders of this kind followed.

family

On August 28, 1851, McLean married Susan Strang , daughter of an officer in the Wellington Supreme Court . After his wife died giving birth to their son Douglas in November 1853 , McLean moved to Auckland . In September 1859 he fell ill and left New Zealand for treatment in England . From 1862 he lived on his country estate Maraekakaho in the Hawke's Bay region . A year later, his two sisters Catherine and Annabella came to New Zealand to look after his son Douglas .

Career

When Governor George Edward Gray closed the Protector of Aborigines office in 1846 , he kept McLean and made him police inspector for the Taranaki area . From then on, McLean's steep career began. He became an expert in land issues and land sales between the Māori and the government and continued to act as a mediator in conflict situations between Māori and Pākehā . The government charged him with land purchases from Māori land and promoted him to Chief Native Land Purchase Commissioner (chief representative for Māori land purchases). In August 1856 he was appointed head of the Native Affairs Department .

In 1861 McLean briefly retired from government duties in order to build up his own land and his country estate Maraekakaho in Hawke's Bay and to operate it profitably, but kept his job in the Land Purchase Department . During this time he became involved in local politics and was elected Superintendent of Hawke's Bay Province on March 4, 1863 . When the Waikato War over the Waitara land purchases began in mid-1863 , McLean was appointed General Government Agent as he supported the purchases . After Governor Gray gave up buying the Waitara lands in 1864 , the war over them was also ended. In 1865 the Land Purchase Department was dissolved, with which McLean lost his job as head of the department . But in March 1865 he was appointed government agent for the east coast with the task of ending the Māori uprisings and the Pai Marire movement. In 1866 McLean won the constituency of Hawke's Bay and became a member of the House of Representatives .

When the rebel Te Kooti fled the Chatham Islands in July 1868 to fight against the government with his followers, McLean was tasked with catching Te Kooti and rendering his group harmless. But dissent with the government eventually led to McLean's dismissal as a government agent in March 1869 . By a fortunate coincidence for him, William Fox took over the affairs of state in June 1869 and appointed him to the cabinet. McLean was appointed Minister of Native Affairs and Minister of Defense under Fox , who retained these positions when Julius Vogel became Prime Minister in April 1873 .

When McLean's health deteriorated in 1876 , he resigned from his ministerial post in December of that year and retired to Hawke's Bay , where he died on January 5, 1877, aged only 56.

Honors

In July 1874 Donald McLean was awarded the KCMG and was allowed to call himself Sir Donald McLean for the last three years of his life .

Documents

The Alexander Turnbull Library , which is part of the National Library of New Zealand in Wellington , has a collection of over 14,500 letters that Donald McLean received during his work, around 3,000 of which were from Māori . Most of these letters are in digitized form and can be viewed online.

literature

  • Charles Alexander Harris : McLean, Donald . In: Dictionary of National Biography 1885-1900 . Volume 35 . Elder Smith & Co. , London 1893 (English).
  • Austin Graham Bagnall : McLean, Sir Donald . In: Alexander Hare McLintock (Ed.): An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand . Wellington 1966 ( online [accessed December 15, 2015]).

Web links

Wikisource: McLean, Donald (DNB00)  - Sources and full texts (English)

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Sir Donald McLean Timeline . In: Collections of the Alexander Turnbull Library . National Library of New Zealand , accessed June 28, 2013 .
  2. ^ Donald McLean (1820-1877) . In: Collections of the Alexander Turnbull Library . National Library of New Zealand , accessed June 28, 2013 .
  3. ↑ Series 1 - Letters written to Donald McLean (in English) . In: Collections of the Alexander Turnbull Library . National Library of New Zealand , accessed June 29, 2013 .
  4. ^ Series 2 - Letters written to Donald McLean (in Māori) . In: Collections of the Alexander Turnbull Library . National Library of New Zealand , accessed June 29, 2013 .
personal data
SURNAME McLean, Donald
BRIEF DESCRIPTION New Zealand politician, administrator, Minister for Māori Affairs and Defense
DATE OF BIRTH October 25, 1820
PLACE OF BIRTH Tiree , Scotland
DATE OF DEATH January 5, 1877
Place of death Napier , New Zealand