Alexander McNeill (New Zealand politician)

[1][2] He and his brother John survived the wreck of the Orion in 1850, in which his parents and two sisters lost their lives.

[3] As a member of the Royal Engineers, McNeill participated in the Indian Rebellion of 1857 for the entire conflict.

At Calcutta, he married the daughter of Captain Henry Forrester Leighton; she was also the niece of Sir Archibald Wilson, the commander-in-chief at Delhi.

[2] He retired from the Royal Engineers and came to New Zealand, where he and his brother, Sir Malcolm McNeill, bought Ardlussa Station in Southland.

He was buried at Wanganui Cemetery where the inscription describes him as "Chief of the Colonsay Clan".