[1] Described as a "modest, humane and hard-working individual", Maclean was selected to serve as Inspector of Prisons for New South Wales.
[2] As sheriff of New South Wales, Maclean is credited with abolishing the treadmill punishment once meted out at jails in the region.
[3] Despite being heavily lauded for his capabilities, Maclean worked on a low salary.
He was also a believer in the modern British penal model where long term prisoners reaching the last years of their sentence, were employed in the construction of public works projects.
Here they could learn skills useful for future employment and enjoy new privileges and freedoms as they approached the time of their release from prison.