Douglas Maclean
New Zealand politician (1852–1929)
Sir Robert Donald Douglas Maclean (7 November 1852 – 7 February 1929), generally known as Douglas Maclean but earlier spelled McLean like his father, was one of the largest land holders in the Hawke's Bay region of New Zealand. He was regarded as the country's most successful breeder of shorthorn cattle and Welsh Ponies. He had inherited his station from his father, Donald McLean, who was one of the most influential figures in Māori-Pākehā relations in the mid-1800s. For one term, Douglas Maclean represented the Napier electorate as an independent Conservative member of parliament. After his death, his station was broken up and the land is now covered by 60 farms. The woolshed of his station still exists. It is registered as a Category I heritage structure by Heritage New Zealand.
Early life
His parents, Donald McLean and Susan Douglas Strang, married on 28 August 1851 in Wellington. He was born in that city a good year later and shortly afterwards, his mother died in December 1852. His father was deeply affected by the loss and never remarried.
The public source identifies “Douglas Maclean” as new Zealand politician (1852–1929). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Douglas, Maclean and Zealand.
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Biographical claims are most persuasive when dates, appointments and relationships can be traced to records created close to the events described. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 6, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7347566. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1852, 1929 and 1851.
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This entry incorporates text from “Douglas Maclean” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.