The Dictionary of Australasian Biography/Macdonald-Paterson, Hon. Thomas
Macdonald-Paterson, Hon. Thomas, M.L.C., was born in Glasgow on May 9th, 1844, and educated in that city, arriving in Queensland in 1861. Having become a resident of Rockhampton, he was elected mayor of that town, and represented the district in the Legislative Assembly in the Liberal interest from 1878 to 1883, when he unsuccessfully contested the Mitchell district. He was, however, returned unopposed for Moreton in November of the same year; but resigned his seat in April 1885, on his becoming Postmaster-General in the Griffith Government, and accepting a seat in the Legislative Council as the Ministerial representative in the Upper House. Mr. Macdonald-Paterson, who possesses a large stake in the Mount Morgan mine, left the Ministry in August 1887, but continues to be a member of the Upper House. He was selected as one of the Queensland representatives to the Federation Convention held in Sydney in March 1891.