Renaissance man, philosopher, one of life’s true gentlemen ... accolades heap up when people are describing Dr Malcolm Macpherson ONZM who died at his Alexandra home in August.
Malcolm and his wife Susan moved to Alexandra in 1988 and he quickly became an integral member of the community.
He served on the Central Otago District Council from 1990 to 2001, with the exception of the 1995-98 term. First elected in a by-election he went on to be mayor from 2001 to 2010.
During his time on the council he was a member of the Alexandra Community Board, deputy chairman of the economic development committee, project co-ordinator of Alexandra Futures — a community-led flood recovery project — and chairman of the Alexandra flood protection committee.
In addition he was involved in a myriad of community organisations including Central Stories Museum and Art Gallery, Central Lakes Trust, Life Education Trust, Otago District Health Board, the Otago Polytechnic council, Otago Community Hospice, Jolendale Park Charitable Trust and the Roxburgh Gorge Trail Trust.
Daughter Amy Mcpherson, in a tribute to her father, said she was grateful his long involvement in public life had left a physical and archival legacy, along with the emotional one the family would always carry.
Malcolm was born near Rangiora at a small settlement where his father was teaching and the family moved to Ettrick shortly afterwards. He started school at the Roxburgh Hydro Village which was then a 13-teacher school. He recalled having 11 teachers in his first two years at school. His father’s teaching posting then took the family to Canterbury.
He had an agile and inquiring mind. After graduating in 1968 with BSc in earth science from Canterbury University he went on to complete at postgraduate diploma in geology at Otago University the following year.
Malcolm’s wife Susan said following university he worked for Kennecott Copper Exploration in the early 1970s in Papua New-Guinea, Australia, Indonesia and the Pacific Islands.
"He was a geologist all over the Far East where they hadn’t seen a white man before, especially a white man with red, curly hair."
"Occasionally he would wonder ... if something happens to them no-one knows where I am and I won’t get out of here alive. Luckily he gave all that up."
Deciding to do a PhD at Canterbury University was doubly fortunate for Malcolm as he was introduced to his wife there by mutual friends.
"Later he liked to tell people I was a ten-pound Pom," his wife said.
She had arrived from Wales, via London, and was working as a doctor at the student medical centre at the university.
Dr Macpherson had to wait after agreeing to meet him.
"He was quiet and shy and I had to wait a while to be asked out."
"He proposed to me."
Dr Macpherson said yes and they married shortly afterwards.
"We had a tiny wedding and he had a tiny funeral because that’s what he wanted. It was entirely in character for Malcolm to not want a fuss."
They moved to Wales to be nearer Dr Macpherson’s parents. There was no suitable work in the area for Malcolm so they bought a Georgian house in dire need of repair and Malcolm set about repairing and restoring the house with the help of a plumber and an electrician to sign off the work he had done.
Once that was completed they bought another, larger property a few doors down with a workshop for Malcolm who did fine woodwork for churches and chapels in the area.
"The nuns loved him."
A six-week visit to New Zealand to show their three children, Amy, James and Marisa, their father’s home on a campervan trip, with her mother and his brother, led to the family returning to live on the West Coast, where Dr Macpherson worked in Whataroa.
"Malcolm was reading the ODT and he said ‘look, Susan, the special area medical specialist job is going in Whataroa’. And I said ‘Malcolm it’s always going because no-one wants to work there’."
He had worked for the Forest Service at Okarito and loved South Westland. So in the campervan they headed to the West Coast on the then gravel road to Haast.
Dr Macpherson took the job and Malcolm made furniture and pioneered desktop publishing using the then-latest PageMaker/Corel Draw software on a 286 PC.
He published New Zealand’s only national craft woodworking magazine The New Zealand Woodworker.
"He’s been able to give all sorts of things a go and not just give them a go but make a success of them."
In 1988 they moved to Alexandra as Malcolm’s mother was very ill. Then a year later Malcolm had cancer.
"The future was very uncertain. I pictured myself a widow as his mother had been with three small children."
Fortunately he was to have many more years and in January their entire family, including their three grandchildren, all gathered in Alexandra for the first time, Dr Macpherson said.
Grandson James Julian Macpherson, 9, brought a piece of timber from a scout project and his grandfather was able to spend some time in his workshop helping turn it into a race car.
Marisa Macpherson said her father was an extraordinary person for whom the term Renaissance man truly applied. He was also deeply committed to Central Otago and the wider region, and his professional and personal endeavours had a significant impact in the region.
Amy said her father was a man of few but well-chosen words. He had a mischievous sense of humour, along with a deep thoughtfulness, was a lifelong learner with boundless energy and resourcefulness for his many projects.
A man of his land, proud of his ancestral links to Central Otago, who knew all the names of the clouds, the winds and the rocks.
Central Otago Mayor Tim Cadogan said he had the pleasure of getting to know Malcolm when he was on the Vincent Community Board when Malcolm was mayor and then later as a Trustee of Central Lakes Trust when Malcolm was the chairman.
"Malcolm was a thoughtful, kind man who dedicated a huge part of his life to bettering Central Otago in many different ways."
A huge supporter of the Central Otago Museum and Art Gallery, Malcolm spent many hours there and held the fort between managers.
Manager Paula Stephenson said she was privileged to be hired and guided by Malcolm.
"To me he was an incredible man, who taught me what Central Stories was and what it could be for the community."
There will be a public memorial for Malcolm at Central Stories Museum and Art Gallery on March 26.
