Fairfield Thompson, former councillor of the Feilding Borough, was a native of Belfast, Ireland. He was born in 1816, and completed his education and cabinetmaking apprenticeship in Belfast, and began working in the Queen's Island Shipyards, where he stayed for seven years.
Thompson came to New Zealand in 1874, on the ship Douglas. He landed at Wellington, and proceeded to Feilding where he continued his work as a carpenter and builder. Some of his work includes the Whanganui prison, and the Patea Anglican Church. In 1892, Thompson started a dairy farm on Kimbolton Road, running over one hundred cows.
Thompson was married to Elizabeth, and they had four daughters together. Not much is known about Elizabeth, but she did sign the women's suffrage petition in 1893.