MACFARLANE, THOMAS (1811-85) was born at Glasgow, Scotland, and as a youth became a clerk to an advocate in Edinburgh who was later elevated to the bench (as Lord Curriehill). Macfarlane took a deep interest in social movements, and particularly in the establishment of an institution in Edinburgh for the deaf and dumb. On the death in 1860 of his elder brother John (who arrived in Wellington in the London in 1840) Macfarlane came to New Zealand and took his place in the business of Henderson and Macfarlane, then the largest employers in the province. He continued in New Zealand the interests which had commanded his attention in Edinburgh, and was prominently associated with the acclimatisation society, the archery and lawn tennis club, the ladies' benevolent society and the bowling club.

Macfarlane also played his part in politics. In 1867 he was elected to Parliament for the Northern Division, which he represented to 1870. He had an exhaustive knowledge of bankruptcy law, was for some years a trustee in bankruptcy and at the time of his death a curator of intestate estates and a visiting justice at Auckland gaol. He died on 10 May 1885.

Guthrie Hay; N.Z. Herald, 25 May 1885, 18 Jun 1894; Southern Cross, 7 Sep 1860. Portrait: Parliament House.

Reference: Volume 2, page 9

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