Don McLaren

Born in the Auckland suburb of Epsom in 1933,^[1] McLaren founded Bomac Laboratories, an animal remedies company, in 1958.^[2] The company, which held 154 patents, 55 inventions, and registered 360 products in New Zealand, was sold to the German company Bayer in 2010.^[3]

McLaren was also active in the thoroughbred racing industry. He established Northfields Stud near Karaka,^[4] served on the committee of the Auckland Racing Club from 1980 to 1999, including a term as president from 1995 to 1999,^[5] and was patron of the New Zealand racing hall of fame.^[4]

He was inducted into the New Zealand Business Hall of Fame in 1999.^[6] In the 2000 New Year Honours, McLaren was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the animal health industry and racing.^[7] He was promoted to Companion of the same order in the 2014 New Year Honours.^[8] In 2013, he received an honorary DSc degree from Massey University.^[2]

He died in Auckland on 5 November 2014.^[9]