Thomas McDonnell Sr. (1788 – 13 September 1864) was a timber trader and Additional British Resident in New Zealand.
He was in command of a brig in the China seas in 1830 and visited the Kaipara and the Hokianga in New Zealand around this time.
He bought a property at Horeke on the Hokianga Harbour in 1831 and developed a trading, timber and shipbuilding business.
He later visited England and was appointed an additional British Resident for the Hokianga district in late 1834 or early 1835.
[2] After ongoing disputes with Māori, other settlers and officials in the Hokianga, McDonnell moved to Whangārei in 1858, and then immediately to Onehunga.