The former Brisbane Roar striker was a handful for the Thistle defence all match and broke through with a clincal poacher's finish to give Hibs a 1-0 lead in the 71st minute.
Maclaren used his lightning pace to sprint ahead of his marker and poke the ball past the keeper from only six yards out.
Hibernian wrapped up the win five minutes later when Paul Hanlon scored to secure all three points for the Edinburgh-based side.
Adding insult to injury for visitors Partick Thistle, defender Danny Devine was sent of for a dangerous challenge in the 86th minute.
The result moves Hibernian up to fourth on the Scottish Premiership ladder, four points behind second-placed Rangers.
It was a tough night for Australians playing in the Premier League with Mat Ryan and Aaron Mooy both suffering defeats.
Ryan was unable to save his Brighton side in their clash against Leicester with the Foxes pinching a 2-0 win late despite being reduced to 10-men.
It was an equally frustrating night for Mooy who played the full 90 minutes but was unable to create any goals as Huddersfield went down 1-0 to Newcastle at St James Park.
In the Championship it was the battle of the Aussies as Jackson Irvine's Hull City hosted the Aston Villa side of Socceroos captain Mile Jedinak.
Both sides were forced to settle for a point with the match ending 0-0.
Irvine started the match but was substituted after 59 minutes, while Aston Villa coach Steve Bruce withdrew Jedinak after 62 minutes.
With the drawn result Hull City sit well outside the relegation zone in 18th place on 40 points as Aston Villa remain in fourth position on 70 points.
On Saturday, Millwall continued their impressive run of results with a 2-0 win against Nottingham Forest.
Fringe Socceroos defender James Meredith played all 90 minutes in his preferred left-back role.
Tim Cahill was an unused substitue.
Bailey Wright's Bristol City stayed in contention for a promotion playoff spot with a 2-2 draw with Barnsley.
Wright showed no fatigue after a week in Socceroos camp with a 90-minute performance.
Massimo Luongo was in action for QPR as they went down 1-0 to Preston North End.
Desptite an incredible performance for the Socceroos last Wednesday (AEST), Luongo could not replicate that form during his 74 minutes on the field for Ian Hollaway's side.
QPR sit in 15th position on the Championship ladder on 47 points.
Expect Luongo to lead the charge for QPR when they host Norwich on Tuesday.
Also in England, Callum Elder played 90 minutes in Wigan's 3-0 trouncing of Oldham Athletic.
Ange Postecoglou continued his strong start to life in the J-League with his Yokohama F. Marinos team getting all three points against fellow Australian Mitch Duke's Shimizu S Pulse with a 1-0 win.
Duke played 68 minutes for Shimizu before being substituted. While for Yokohama, Postecoglou started Socceroos defender Milos Degenek who played the full 90 minutes.
Mitch Langerak also saw action in the J-League overnight with his Nagoya Grampus side going down 3-2 on the road to Sagan Tosu.
In Portugal, Awer Mabil found himself on the scoresheet for Pacos de Ferreira as they claimed a 2-0 win against Chaves.
Mabil was in the right place at the right time to cannon home a volley from right in front of goal.
Finally, Brandon Borrello played 74 minutes for Kaiserslauten in Germany's 2. Bundesliga.
