Robert Macalister
Sir Robert Lachlan Macalister (2 December 1890 – 23 May 1967) was the Mayor of Wellington from 1950 to 1956, and had been the acting mayor for five months in 1948 during the absence overseas of Will Appleton. Early life. Macalister was born in Blenheim and moved to Wellington in his youth to study at Victoria University where he qualified as a Lawyer. He then enlisted in the military and served during World War I and once returning he became a member of the War Relief Association. He was a barrister and solicitor by trade and worked at the  same legal firm as Ossie Mazengarb. The firm of Mazengarb, Hay and Macalister was founded in 1918 and quickly became one of the largest law practices in Wellington. In 1919 he married Katherine Featherston Fitzgerald. Political career. In 1933 he stood for council on a Civic League ticket and was narrowly elected on the first count. However, after special votes were counted he lost his seat to the Labour Party's Peter Butler. He was elected a member of the Wellington City Council in 1938 and served until 1950 when he was elected Mayor. Macalister served as Mayor until 1956 . He was also a member of the Wellington Harbour Board from 1942 to 1956. In the 1956 Queen's Birthday Honours, Macalister was appointed a Knight Bachelor, in recognition of his service as mayor of Wellington. References. "No Mean City" by Stuart Perry (1969, Wellington City Council) includes a paragraph and a portrait or photo for each mayor.