Sir Donald McLean Papers
More than 100,000 pages from Sir Donald McLean's papers have been digitised and can be searched on the Papers Past website.
It contains over 100,000 digitised pages from the Alexander Turnbull Library's holdings of Sir Donald McLean's papers, and nearly 60,000 digitised items from the Turnbull Library's pictorial collections (including photographs, paintings, prints, ephemera, cartoons and unpublished maps).
About the Sir Donald McLean papers
Sir Donald McLean (1820-1877) was one of the most influential figures in 19th-century New Zealand history. In his various roles as Chief Land Purchase Officer, Native Secretary, the Superintendent of Hawkes Bay, official in charge of military operations on the East Coast and Native Minister, McLean played a pivotal role in relations between Māori and the government.
Over 100,000 pages from McLean’s papers have been digitised, including correspondence, diaries, telegrams, letterbooks and maps. Many of the letters and diaries have been transcribed and are keyword searchable.
Of particular significance are over 3000 letters in te reo Māori, many of which have transcriptions and translations attached.