Donald McLean (pastoralist)

Donald McLean
Born	c. 1780 Duisky near Blaich, Ardgour, Argyleshire, Scotland
Died	11 October 1855
Occupation	Pastoralist
Known for	Early shareholder of the South Australian Company; established first commercial wheat crop in South Australia; early settler in South Australia

Donald McLean (circa 1780 – 11 October 1855) was a pastoralist originally from Scotland who established himself in Australia.

History

Originating from Duisky near Blaich in Ardgour, Argyleshire, McLean was among the early shareholders of the South Australian Company in July 1837. His subscription of £1000—an amount that would correspond to several million dollars today—granted him the privilege to select one town acre, one rural section, and an option on a future special survey. Although his family had once been prominent landowners, they had fallen to tenant farming status prior to their emigration.

The combined pressures of the 1836 Scottish famine and the Highland Clearances likely motivated his relocation. McLean emigrated with his extensive family aboard the Navarino, arriving at Holdfast Bay on 6 December 1837. He chose town acre number 57 on Hindley Street and secured an 80-acre estate at Hilton, near Adelaide, neighboring the property of Charles George Everard. Shortly after arrival, he dispatched his son Allan to Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania) to procure buffalo, agricultural implements, and wheat seed. They succeeded in planting and harvesting what is regarded as the colony’s inaugural wheat crop in 1838. McLean constructed a simple dwelling on the Hilton land, which he eventually sold to John Marles; this area later became known as Marleston.

Additionally, he obtained land at Strathalbyn through the Angas Special Survey of 1841, becoming the second settler there after John Rankine. At this location, he built a two-storey home called "Auchananda" (with some variations in spelling), where he passed away in 1855.

Wheat

McLean is recognized for cultivating South Australia’s first commercial wheat crop covering 20 acres by December 1838, although it is likely that others had smaller domestic plantings around the same time. Dr. Everard notably grew wheat successfully on poor soil at his residence on Hindley and Morphett Streets, demonstrating the crop’s potential despite initial doubts.

There were disputes over claims that Allan McLean was the first person to plough land in South Australia on Donald McLean’s 80-acre Hilton property using a newly acquired plough in January 1838; John Chambers contested this assertion.

Family

Donald McLean married Christina McPhee (circa 1790 – 9 April 1869). Their offspring included:

• Allan McLean (1811–1890), who wed Catherine Dawson in 1844
• Ewen "Hugh the Elder" McLean (1814–1876), married Christina Black; managed farms near Milang and Point McLeay before retiring to Meningie
• John McLean (1816–1903), married first Mary Stacey and later Elizabeth Dixon
• Mary McLean (1818–1889), married Adam Abercrombie followed by Duncan McRae
• Archibald McLean (1821–1899), married Ann Soward Janeway
• Ann McLean (circa 1823–1910), married Robert Leslie and subsequently Jeff Jeffreys
• Rachel McLean (1825–1908), married Ewen "Hugh" McDonald
• Margaret McLean (circa 1827–?), married James Keating then Richard Johns
• Jane McLean (1830–1886), married John Cheriton M.P.
• Elizabeth McLean (1835–1907)
• Ewen "Little Hugh" McLean (1836–1921), married Ann McBain and later Margaret Tannahill; resided at "Sunny Brae," Strathalbyn

McLean died near his residence "Auchanadala" in Strathalbyn.

A relative of his was Allan McLean, who served as Victoria's nineteenth premier.

There has been confusion between Donald McLean and another individual of the same name—likely unrelated—who died before July 1914. This other Donald managed North West Bend station for C. H. Armytage and was a pioneer of sheep paddocks in South Australia. He married Mary Barker, niece of John Chambers, in 1866. In 1871, along with William Barker, he acquired Murbko station on the River Murray opposite Morgan and later Comongin station near Quilpie. He introduced water pumping systems for livestock and incentivized dingo control through bounties for scalps.

Sources

• Donald McLean and Christina McLean (née McPhee), E. M. Stevenson, National Trust, Strathalbyn
• Biography of Christina "Chrissy" McLean (née Black) and Ewen "Hugh the Elder" McLean, E. M. Stevenson, National Trust, Strathalbyn
• L. J. McLean, Archivist at the Lands Department of South Australia, 2018 – pre-1858 documentation available at www.christinaanddonaldmclean.com
• L. J. McLean, Citation of remarks found in Matthew Rankine’s personal diary dated 13 October 1855