He was born March 1, 1849, in Honolulu, Hawaii. His parents were Henry Richard Macfarlane and Eliza Macfarlane. His father was Scottish, of the Highland Clan MacFarlane, while his mother was of English descent from Devonshire. His parents married in Auckland and were early settlers of Hawaii arriving to the islands in 1846 via New Zealand. His brothers were: Henry R. Macfarlane, Edward C. Macfarlane, who served on as Queen Liliuokalani's cabinet minister, Frederick W. Macfarlane and Clarence W. Macfarlane. A younger sister Helen Blanche Macfarlane married William H. Cornwell. All were born in the island with the exception of Henry who was born at sea. He attended Punahou School.
Political career
During the reign of Kalākaua, George Macfarlane was made a Major on the military staff of the Governor of Oahu, John Owen Dominis, and later was elevated to the rank of Colonel on the king's military staff. He would also serve as a member of the House of Nobles in the Legislature of the Kingdom of Hawaii, participating in the session of 1886. He also served on the Privy Council of State, the advisory council of the monarch. In 1881, he accompanied Kalākaua on his tour around the world, serving as his aide-de-camp. He didn't travel the entire trip around world, only accompanying the king and his suite, including the then-incumbent Chamberlain Charles Hastings Judd and cabinet minister William Nevins Armstrong, on the first leg of the journey from Honolulu to San Francisco and later rejoining them in Europe and the United States. In 1887, he accompanied Queen Kapiolani and the then-Crown Princess Liliuokalani to the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria. In 1888, he was appointed as Chamberlain of the Royal Household. With Robert Hoapili Baker, he accompanied the king on his final visit to the United States aboard the USS Charleston, in November 1890. While visiting Southern California, the king drank excessively and fell ill in January 1891 and had to be returned to San Francisco. Hoapili and Macfarlane were at his deathbed at San Francisco's Palace Hotel; he sat at the head of the bed clasping the king's right hand. Kalākaua died on January 20, 1891 The new queen Liliuokalani removed Macfarlane as Chamberlain and appointed James William Robertson to the post.
Later life
Besides politics, he was also involved in business investing in sugarcane plantation and was an owner of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, in downtown Honolulu, Park Beach Hotel, one of the first hotel at Waikiki, and the Seaside Hotel. Macfarlane died at his home, 610 West 150th Street, in New York City, on February 20, 1921, of apoplexy, at the age of 71. He was buried at Oahu Cemetery in Honolulu.
