William McLean (New Zealand politician)

William McLean (1845 – 25 August 1914) was a 19th-century Liberal Party Member of Parliament in Wellington, New Zealand.

William McLean
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for City of Wellington
In office
15 January 1892 – 28 November 1893
Personal details
Born1845
Grantown, Scotland
Died25 August 1914
Political partyLiberal
Spouse(s)Mary Elizabeth Crumpton

Early life

McLean was born in Grantown, Scotland, in 1845, the youngest son of John McLean, a shoemaker.[1] He was adopted by a parish priest at an early age.[2] Aged 13, he moved to Rochdale to work as a cotton spinner. His employer suspended operations in 1863 in the Lancashire Cotton Famine caused by the American Civil War, and McLean emigrated to New Zealand for the Otago Gold Rush.[2]

Life in New Zealand

He arrived in Dunedin on the Dauntless[3] and went to the gold fields in Central Otago. He was successful and could open a store in the Bread and Water gully. When word of the West Coast Gold Rush arrived, he went to Hokitika at once. He broke his arm digging at Lake Kaniere and had to go to Christchurch for medical treatment, as there were no doctors on the West Coast yet. He returned to the West Coast, and then back to Central Otago, before settling in Reefton.[2] For a time, he was a schoolmaster on the West Coast.[3] He erected the second gold mining plant in Reefton, and became an auctioneer and a mining and commission agent.[2]

On 20 April 1877, McLean married Mary Elizabeth Crumpton, the daughter of Thomas Crumpton.[1] The Crumptons were from Charleston on the West Coast.[4]

He moved to Wellington in 1884, where he was an auctioneer at first.[3] For a few years following, he was secretary for the Wellington Loan Company, and afterwards secretary for the Empire Loan and Discount Company.[2]

Political career
New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate Party
1892–1893 11th City of Wellington Liberal

McLean was one of three candidates in the Inangahua electorate in the 1881 election, but came last with just 3% of the vote.[5]

McLean contested the Thorndon electorate in the 1887 election, but was beaten by Alfred Newman.[6] He unsuccessfully contested the three-member Wellington electorate in the 1890 election, where he came seventh.[7]

He represented the City of Wellington electorate from an 1892 by-election to the 1893 general election, when he was defeated.[8] In 1892, he narrowly defeated the later Prime Minister Francis Bell by 3388 votes to 3245.[9]

McLean contested the Wellington East electorate in the 1905 election and came a very close second to John Aitken, with just 19 votes (0.32%) between them.[10] He contested the Wellington East electorate again in 1908, but the Liberal vote was split by another Liberal candidate, George Winder. In the first ballot, both Liberal candidates were eliminated. This left the Independent Political Labour League (IPLL) candidate, David McLaren, face a conservative candidate and with many Liberal voters transferring their allegiance to McLaren, he became the only candidate of the IPLL who was ever elected to the House of Representatives.[11][12]

Later life

In 1898, McLean imported two Benz cars from Paris; they were believed to be the first motor vehicles in New Zealand.[13][14] Parliament passed the McLean Motor-car Act, setting out the rules under which McLean and others could operate cars.[14]

McLean was one of the promoters of the Wellington Opera House.[3] For some years, he was secretary of the company that owned the Opera House.[4] He believed in oil being available in commercially viable quantities in Taranaki, and went to America to purchase a plant for oil extraction.[4] It was many decades later before viable quantities were found.[15]

McLean's wife died on 30 January 1904.[16] William McLean died on 25 August 1914 at Nurse Major's Private Hospital in Wellington.[4][17] He was survived by two sons and three daughters.[4] He is buried at Karori Cemetery,[18] and other family member who share the same plot (38 G) include his wife,[19] his son Sydney,[20] a daughter in law,[21] and grandchildren.[22][23]

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References
  1. "Marriage". Inangahua Times. IV (6). 23 April 1877. p. 2. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  2. "Biographical". Wanganui Herald. XXVI (7622). 19 January 1892. p. 2. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  3. Scholefield, Guy, ed. (1940). A Dictionary of New Zealand Biography : M–Addenda (PDF). II. Wellington: Department of Internal Affairs. p. 37. Retrieved 6 October 2013.
  4. "Deaths". The Evening Post. LXXXVIII (48). 25 August 1914. p. 1. Retrieved 9 February 2012.
  5. "Nelson and Blenheim Elections". Auckland Star. XII (3540). 10 December 1881. p. 3. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  6. "The General Election, 1887". National Library. 1887. pp. 1–4. Retrieved 25 February 2012.
  7. "The General Election, 1890". National Library. 1891. p. 2. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  8. Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. p. 217. OCLC 154283103.
  9. "The Wellington Election". The Press. XLIX (8076). 20 January 1892. p. 5. Retrieved 29 September 2012.
  10. "The General Election, 1905". National Library. 1906. p. 3. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
  11. Gustafson, Barry (1980). Labour's path to political independence: The Origins and Establishment of the New Zealand Labour Party, 1900–19. Auckland, New Zealand: Auckland University Press. p. 19. ISBN 0-19-647986-X.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  12. "The General Election, 1908". National Library. 1909. pp. 13, 31. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
  13. "Motor-Cars in Wellington". The Evening Post. LV (64). 17 March 1898. p. 5. Retrieved 9 February 2012.
  14. Pawson, Eric. "Cars and the motor industry - A motorised society". Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. p. 13 July 2012. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  15. Gregg, Roger; Walrond, Carl (13 July 2012). "Oil and gas - Early petroleum exploration, 1865–1960". Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  16. "Death Search". Department of Internal Affairs. Retrieved 4 April 2014. Search for registration number 1904/1037
  17. "Personal". The Marlborough Express. XLVIII (199). 25 August 1914. p. 5. Retrieved 9 February 2012.
  18. "Details". Wellington City Council. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  19. "Details". Wellington City Council. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  20. "Details". Wellington City Council. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  21. "Details". Wellington City Council. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  22. "Details". Wellington City Council. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  23. "Details". Wellington City Council. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
New Zealand Parliament
Preceded by
Kennedy Macdonald		 Member of Parliament for Wellington
1892-1893
Served alongside: John Duthie, George Fisher		 Succeeded by
Francis Bell, Robert Stout, John Duthie
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