FAIRCLOUGH, PAUL WYNYARD (1852-1917) was born in South Australia. He came to the West Coast of the South Island at the time of the gold rush. At Staffordtown he became a Methodist local preacher and in 1871 was accepted as a candidate for the ministry. He studied under the Rev. A. R. Fitchett and subsequently under Principal J. H. Fletcher at Newington College, Sydney.

Fairclough began his ministry at Timaru in 1874. He was a deep thinker and a courageous expositor of truth, a student who did not allow the claims of scholarship to transform him into a recluse, but whose brotherliness was as marked as his intellectual brilliance. For many years he contributed astronomical notes to the daily press and he was elected a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society. A public lecture on Halley's Comet led to the formation of the Astronomical Society of Dunedin, of which he was a vice-president. For six years he rendered distinguished service as editor of his church paper. In 1902 he published a pamphlet The Early History of Missions in Otago. In 1897 Fairclough was elected president of the conference and on several occasions he represented New Zealand in the general conference of Australasia. He frequently served as chairman of synods and filled many other positions. He was a chaplain to the forces and an ardent imperialist. He took a prominent part in the agitation for women's franchise and for temperance reform. He died on 17 Apr 1917.

Cycl. NZ

Reference: Volume 1, page 135

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