Early life and career Mackenzie was born in
Edinburgh in 1853. His family emigrated to New Zealand in 1858 when he was four and Mackenzie was educated at
Green Island School and at the Stone School, both in
Dunedin. After ending his education in his early teens he worked for several years in commercial firms before, aged 20, following his brother James into
surveying. He gained employment at the
Department of Lands and Survey and worked in several locations including the
Hutt Valley,
Rangitikei and
Manawatu before finally returning to his home area in
Dunedin. In 1877 he purchased a general storekeeping business in
Balclutha. He managed the business well and it developed well before he sold it in 1886 for a considerable profit. In the Balclutha area he became a well-known man and was accordingly elected a member of the Balclutha Borough Council from 1881 to 1887. He did so believing the Liberal Party's policies and reforms had become too mainstream and entrenched for them to be abolished. New Zealand historian Tom Brooking wrote that Mackenzie's greatest contribution was his vigorous support of the cause of conservation in New Zealand. ==Honours and recognition==