[1] His sister was Frances Lysnar who became the first woman in New Zealand to be a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.
In the 1928 contest Lysnar stood as an Independent supporter of the Reform Party and was successful.
[4] At the following election in 1931 he ran as an Independent, but was not returned,[5] beaten by Labour's David Coleman.
Dunlop got into difficulties and sold the house and associated land to Lysnar in 1898, who had it extended in 1900 and a ballroom and tower added in 1919.
Lysnar's daughter transferred the land to the council in 1954 for it to become a park and sold the house to the city for a nominal amount.