Macdonald-Paterson was born in Glasgow, Scotland, he was educated there privately before migrating to Australia in 1861,[1] where he became a butcher, speculator and lawyer.

He was a delegate to the Federation Convention of 1891, and returned to the Legislative Assembly in 1896 as the member for North Brisbane.

In 1901 he transferred to federal politics, winning the Australian House of Representatives seat of Brisbane.

In 1903, the National Liberal Union (a protectionist organisation) endorsed another candidate William Morse in Brisbane, and the division of the protectionist vote allowed a Labor candidate Millice Culpin to defeat Macdonald-Paterson.

This article about an Australian independent politician is a stub.