Rice Owen Clark
Rice Owen Clark (1816 – 16 June 1896) was an English settler in New Zealand, establishing a brickworks at Hobsonville that was the origin of Crown Lynn and Ceramco.
Biography
[edit]Clark was baptised in Great Marlow, Buckinghamshire, England, on 19 September 1816, the son of Josiah and Ann Clark[1] and the brother of engineers Edwin Clark and Josiah Latimer Clark.[2] Clark worked as an underwriter for Lloyd's.[3] He emigrated to New Zealand on the Gertrude, arriving at Port Nicholson on 31 October 1841.[4] He ran a church school in Wellington, but it was destroyed by earthquake and he subsequently moved to Auckland.[5]
In 1854 Clark bought land in Hobsonville, becoming one of the first European settlers in the area. It was there that he set up a prosperous business making drain pipes, bricks and tiles for the increasing number of settlers.[6] Much of the clay he used was being sourced from Limeburners Bay, which is now an archaeological site.[7]
When he was 33 years old, Clark was tried at the Wellington Supreme Court for bigamy, but he was found not guilty.[8]
Clark died at his home in Hobsonville on 16 June 1896,[9] and was buried at Hobsonville Cemetery.[10]
Legacy
[edit]In 1908 Clark's Potteries became R.O. Clark Limited.[11] His great-grandson, Tom Clark, inherited the business setting up a ceramics company which eventually became known as Crown Lynn Potteries Ltd.
Notes
[edit]- ^ "England, select births and christenings, 1538–1975". Ancestry.com Operations. 2014. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
- ^ "Obituary". New Zealand Herald. 10 July 1896. p. 3. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
- ^ Gray, Matthew (15 September 2009). "Not the 'woman' he thought he was". Western Leader. Fairfax Media.
- ^ "Settlers advanced search". Hutt City Council. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
- ^ David Pearson Architects (August 2012). "Clark Cottage, Hobsonville, Auckland: a conservation plan" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 March 2016. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
- ^ NZ Historic Brick Database, Retrieved 1 September 2012
- ^ "Heritage has day in court". The Aucklander. New Zealand Herald. 15 May 2007.
- ^ New Zealand Lost Cases Project, 1 September 1849, Retrieved 1 September 2012
- ^ "Deaths". New Zealand Herald. 24 June 1896. p. 1. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
- ^ Gray, Matthew (15 February 2009). "Not the 'woman' he thought he was". Western Leader. p. 9. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
- ^ New Zealand Historical Places: Clark House, Retrieved 1 September 2012
References
[edit]- Clough, R. 2006. Hobsonville Limeburners Bay, Proposed Subdivision Dp104222: Archaeological Assessment. Unpublished Report.