BUCHANAN, SIR WALTER CLARKE (1838-1924) was born at Glendaruel, Argyllshire, the son of Duncan Donald Buchanan, a farmer of Auchenbreck. He was educated at the parish school and at Greenock Academy; and at the age of 18 went to Victoria, where he spent six years as stockman to the Hon. Neil Black, of Glenormiston.

In 1862 he crossed to the Otago goldfields, where he engaged in carrying and stock dealing. In 1865 he moved to Canterbury with the intention of taking up land in company with a friend, John Ferguson. The discoveries of gold on the West Coast suggested the possibility of making a fortune there, and they hurried across the mountains and commenced packing between Greymouth and the Greenstone by way of Taylor's Saddle and the Teremakau. In company with Captain Leech they walked to Hokitika and marked out the channel of the river with poles to enable Leech to bring in safely a vessel which he was to load with merchandise at Nelson. Meanwhile Buchanan and Ferguson erected a store in Revell street. For the next two years they made handsome profits, then sold out and returned to their Canterbury place near Halswell where they resumed cattle dealing and shipping to the North Island.

About 1871 Buchanan moved to the North Island, and with his elder brother Donald purchased the Tupurupuru property, of 13,000 acres in Wairarapa, where he established an English Leicester flock and later specialised in Lincolns and in Shorthorn cattle. The sheep came mainly from Henry Dudding, of Riby Grove, Lincolnshire, and the cattle were founded on animals purchased from Alex McHardy, with later infusions of blood from Victoria. Buchanan took an early part in the affairs of the district, mainly in the eradication of scab and rabbits, two scourges which he was convinced would ruin the farmer if not remedied. He was one of the founders of the Wairarapa A. and P. Society (1877). Within the next few years he was a determined advocate of refrigeration, being an original promoter of the Wellington Meat Export Co. (1881) and its first chairman and a member of the board throughout life. He assisted later in the establishment of several dairy factories, being chairman of the companies at Greytown and Clareville, and took an interest in fruit growing in the Greytown district. He was chairman of the local highways board and a member for some years of the Wairarapa South county council. Buchanan represented Wairarapa South in Parliament 1881-87, and Wairarapa 1887-99, being defeated in the last year by Hornsby (q.v.). In 1902 he regained the seat, but lost it again at the following election. In 1908 the tables were again turned and Buchanan sat until 1914, when once more Hornsby defeated him. In 1915 he was called to the Legislative Council, of which he was a prominent member until his death. In his early days in Parliament he supported Atkinson, but as a farmer differed on protection and eventually followed Russell into opposition (1888). He was associated with Massey from his earlier entry into parliamentary life (1894) and was one of the strongest supporters of the Reform Party which eventually came into office (1913).

Buchanan was an ardent advocate of farming interests, attending for many years the Farmers' Union and Agricultural Conferences. In 1907 he formed a committee to bring about reductions in the freight on New Zealand wool to the same level as that ruling from Australia. The outcome was the formation of a farmers' shipping company (G. H. Scales and Co.), which achieved considerable improvement and in the interests of which he toured the Dominion shortly before his death. He was keenly interested in agricultural education, and his gift of £10,000 resulted in the establishment of a chair of agriculture at Victoria College and eventually led to the creation of Massey College. Buchanan was also for 30 years on the Wellington education board and assisted in the establishment of Flock House for the training of English boys and girls in farming. He was one of the founders of the meat control committee (1921) and was prominent for many years in the Council of Agriculture and the Royal Agricultural Society. Amongst his gifts to the Wairarapa district was the Buchanan Home for Incurables at Greytown. He was one of the founders of The Dominion newspaper (Wellington). Buchanan was knighted in 1913. He died, unmarried, on 19 Jul 1924.

N.Z.P.D., 1881-1924, pass.; Parltry Record; Scholefield in Wairarapa Age, 21 Jul 1924; Cycl. N.Z., i (p); iii, p 668. Portrait: Parliament House.

Reference: Volume 1, page 73

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