Notes:

1 - JOHN DONALD MACFARLANE, of Hawkswood, Waiau, Canterbury, New Zealand, b. 24th March, 1851 ; m. 9th June, 1880, Margaret Hart GIBSON, and has issue,
I. JOHN FREDERICK, b. 31st August, 1884.
II. Hugh Miller, b. 28th November, 1885.
III. Douglass Graham, b. 5th March, 1887.
I . Florence Agnes.
p680BURKE'S COLONIAL GENTRY.

2 - The original Hawkswood Station of around 40,000 acres was acquired by John Caverhill in 1859. Another Scottish settler, John Macfarlane, purchased the property from Caverhill in 1872 and it has been farmed by the Macfarlane family ever since. John Donald Macfarlane inherited Hawkswood, which was one of six large farms in the South Island purchased by John Macfarlane Sr. Earlier purchases included Coldstream (Rangiora), Kaiwara (Waiau), Achray (Culverden), and Lyndon (Waiau).
Hawkswood has always been a place for travellers to stop and rest. Back in the 1800s, the trip between Christchurch and Nelson took around three days, crossing rivers and negotiating various terrains and seasonal weather variations from drought to flood to snow. Hawkswood was in a position to offer shelter and rest for horses (whose life expectancy in those days was around 5 years!).
Hawskwood has been reduced in size over the years but is still owned by the Macfarlane family.
[ http://www.stagingpost.co.nz/history.html ]

3 - "Killed" by Act of Parliament.
Unique in the history of legislation.
They "killed" Amuri sheepfarmer John Donald Macfarlane in November 1918.
But it was only a paper slaying the New Zealand legislature performed that month.
Macfarlane was to survive his legal death by many years.
The private Act by which Macfarlane "died" was intended to ease the administration of his 8100 hectare sheep station, Hawkswood, while he was a patient in a mental hospital.
One of the lawyers involved in the affair was later to describe the Act as unique in the history of legislation. He was O.T.J. Alpers, later Mr Justice Alpers, who refers to it in his 1928 book "Cheerful Yesterdays".
"I do not think the legislature of any country in the world except New Zealand has ever killed a man by Act of Parliament, and solemnly enacted that the said AB (Alpers used initials instead of Macfarlane's name in his book) "shall be deemed to have died on the date of this Act coming into operation."
The Act was passed at a time when it was considered for Macfarlane there was " no prospect or reasonable hope of his recovery of mental health and power."
But he did eventually recover.
Alpers was in practice as a lawyer in Christchurch at the time of the affair, noted that Macfarlane recovered not merely his reason but his shrewd common sense.
After his return home the provisions of the Act were explained to him.
...... he thought the scheme eminently sensible and it never seemed to him to disturb it."
Alpers came into the matter when the Bill which officially "killed" Macfarlane was referred to a judge of the Supreme Court to investigate the circumstances and to report to the legislature whether nor not it was a proper one to pass.
The Public Trustee as statutory committee of lunatics in the Dominion, represented Macfarlane in the proceedings before the Court and Alpers acted as his counsel.
Macfarlane, the son of a pioneer who was in Canterbury before the arrival of the First Four ships bought the Hawkswood property in 1873.
Married with six children, Macfarlane was in 1896 found lunatic on inquisition by the Supreme Court according to the text of the Act. From November 1902, he was an inmate of Ashburn Hall.
His sheep station was managed by a committee, according to Alpers account.
Burden.
But during World War I there were difficulties obtaining labour. The property was also bearing a heavy taxation burden. Parliament was to be told later that half the income of the property was being paid in taxation.
"It was felt that the longer the retention of so large an estate in one holding was against public interest, retarded closer settlement, and militated against the most beneficial use of the land" said Alpers in his book.
Four of Macfarlane's children were sons, brought up to farming pursuits. If the estate were to be subdivided among them or sold in smaller blocks, it would be to the advantage of the family.
Alpers records that"three years before Macfarlane was found lunatic-- at a time when no doubt could be thrown about his soundness of mind and testamentary capacity- he made his will.
"A very just and sensible document," it provided for his property to be divided equally among his children after paying a large annuity to his widow.
"The family solicitor conceived the daring and novel expedient of promoting a private Act of Parliament to authorise the Supreme Court to grant the administration of his estate on the assumption that he died on the date of the coming into operation of the Act.
Alpers said that in the court proceedings, inquiring into the Bill he had no difficulty in satisfying himself that the Bill was a perfectly just and sensible measure, provided that an adequate sum was set aside for Macfarlane's maintenance until his natural death.
It had been agreed to set aside ?9000 to produce an income for Macfarlane's maintenance and comfort. At Alpers suggestion it was also agreed to provide him with a good motor car for drives and outings in the country.
Medical witnesses gave evidence that though Macfarlane's physical health was robust, his mental condition was rapidly deteriorating. In their opinion in no event could he ever recover or even improve.
"In these circumstances, I took the responsibility, on behalf of the insane man, of approving the Bill, which would have the effect of treating him as dead in contemplation of the law, and would accelerate perhaps by many years the distribution of his property", said Alpers.
Place.
As well as deciding the time of Macfarlane's legal "death" the Bill also determined the place. Although the mental hospital was in the Otago judicial district, the Bill deemed him to have died, and to have been domiciled at the time of his death in the Canterbury district. "Moreover, and this was highly important, for all purposes of administration, all children of Macfarlane were deemed to be living at the date of this Act, and to have survived their father." The Bill also contained a clause for keeping up the payment of premiums on Macfarlane's life insurance policies so that these should not lapse in the interval between his civil and natural deaths. Alpers had grave doubts whether or not the Bill would pass through Parliament. However, it did.
As it was being processed the Legislative Council was told the measure was thought advisable not only from the point of view of the family, but also from the point of view of the Dominion as a whole. It was recognised as being of an exceptional nature.
Oliver Samuel from Taranaki, told the council there was nothing to indicate other than a proper relationship between Macfarlane and his wife and children.
"They would seem to be actuated by the most proper and natural feelings of affection and the best motives in every respect," he said.
Shrank.
He noted that one daughter had not petitioned for the Bill, but neither had she opposed the petition.
"She apparently, perhaps not unnaturally, shrank from asking that her father should be deemed to be dead, even though the effect would only extend to his property and carry out his wishes.
"But at the same time, she submitted to whatever might be the judgment of Parliament."
At the time the country was in the grip of the great influenza epidemic and this at one stage led to the suspension of standing order requiring specific periods of time to elapse between stages of Bills passing through the House of Representative.
Alexander Scott Malcolm (Clutha) told the House that all the beneficiaries under Macfarlane's will were still alive. But if any one of them died it would considerably embarrass the administration of the will.
The John Donald Macfarlane Estate Administration Empowering Act was passed, dated November, 1918.
.
(John Donald Macfarlane returned to Hawkswood, where he died in 1921).
From The Christchurch Star. 4th August 1979

3 - Registration Number-1921/7288 MacFarlane, John Donald Age at Death-71Y
[NZ Govt. BDM website database-death entry]

John married Margaret Hart Gibson on 9 Jun 1880 in New Zealand. Margaret died in Sep 1931 in New Zealand. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]