Ian McLaren

Ian Francis McLaren (30 March 1912 – 17 April 2000), F.R.H.S.V., was an Australian politician, accountant, businessman, historian, bibliographer and book-collector.

Early life
He was born at Launceston in Tasmania to draper Alexander Morrison McLaren and Elsie Elizabeth Gibbins. He attended Caulfield Grammar School and the University of Melbourne, becoming an accountant. In 1938 he embarked on a world tour, returning in 1939. He served in the Royal Australian Navy, from 1942 to 1945, and attained the rank of Lieutenant. After the war he returned to Melbourne where he become a partner in the accountancy firm Harris & McLaren.

On 16 April 1941 he married Eileen Porter, with whom he had four children.

Political career
From 1945 to 1947 he was the independent member for Glen Iris in the Victorian Legislative Assembly. Following his defeat he joined the Liberal Party, and served on Malvern City Council from 1951 to 1953.

In 1965, he returned to the Legislative Assembly as the Liberal member for Caulfield, changing seats to Bennettswood in 1967. From 1973 he was Deputy Speaker. McLaren retired from politics in 1979.

Historian, bibliographer and book collector
He was a long-standing member of the Royal Historical Society of Victoria (RHSV). He served as its President (1956-1959) and contributed to its journal, Victorian Historical Magazine, and to other history and cultural periodicals. He also wrote thirteen entries for the Australian Dictionary of Biography.

He was a prolific bibliographer and produced numerous published bibliographies, including "major contributions to Australian bibliography". His first was Local Histories of Australia (1954). Others dealt with the La Trobe Valley, Burke and Wills, Australian aviation, Australian exploration, the Parliament of Victoria, Marcus Clarke and C.J. Dennis. He was appointed the honorary bibliographer at Melbourne University (Baillieu) Library in 1976. He was a contributor to the Bibliography of Australia (1941-1969).

McLaren was a noted book-collector specialising in Australiana and was a member of the Book Collectors Society of Australia and served a term as president of that organisation. He began collecting in 1943 and by 1974 he owned 40,000 books. The book collection grew so large that he had to sell his home in Malvern and buy a bigger house in the same suburb to accommodate his library. His collection of Australiana books was extensive, "totalling about 35,000 volumes". It was presented to the University of Melbourne where it is housed in the Special Collections (rare books) Department of the Baillieu Library. A further 5,000 volumes of "local histories, church histories, business histories and organisational histories" were donated to the National Library of Australia in 1965.

Other activities
As a businessman, McLaren was Deputy Chairman of Kiwi International and a director of the Gas and Fuel Corporation of Victoria (1963-1965).

From 1946 to 1957 he was the Chairman of the Wyperfeld National Park, President of the Youth Hostels Association of Victoria (1947–48), President of the Good Neighbour Council of Victoria (1950s), a delegate to the Australian Constitutional Conventions (1973–78), a member of the Estate Agents Committee (1956–65) a member of the Melbourne University Council (1977–79), chairman of the Australian Wool Authority and a member of the History Advisory Council of Victoria (1977–79).

He was President of the Australian YMCA (1957-1963) and Vice-President of the World YMCA (1961-1969).

Personal life
He died in Prahran, Victoria on 17 April 2000 and was survived by his wife Eileen (Chun) to whom he had been married "for 59 years" and their four children.

Honours
He was awarded the OBE in 1959.

In 1964, was made a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society of Victoria.

He was presented with an honorary Doctorate of Literature by the University of Melbourne in 1996.

At the time of his death Lindsay Thompson, the former Premier of Victoria, wrote of him, "During the 88 years of his life he achieved as much as an average citizen might be expected to achieve in two lifetimes"

Another obituary noted, "He spoke with vigour, clarity and concisenesses. And with all these qualities and qualifications Mr McLaren mixed integrity, friendliness and courtesy in his relations with others."