Rice Owen Clark (1816 – 16 June 1896) was an English settler in New Zealand, establishing a brickworks at

Hobsonville Hobsonville is a suburb in West Auckland, in the North Island of New Zealand. Historically a rural settlement, Hobsonville has now developed into a suburb of Auckland. Hobsonville was one of the earliest European settlements in the area and ...

that was the origin of

Crown Lynn Crown Lynn was a New Zealand ceramics manufacturer that operated under various names between 1929 and 1989. Early history The pottery's origins started with an 1854 land purchase at Hobsonville, near Auckland, by Rice Owen Clark. He had arri ...

and Ceramco.

Biography

Clark was baptised in

Great Marlow Great Marlow is a civil parishes in England, civil parish within Wycombe district in the England, English county of Buckinghamshire, lying north of the town of Marlow, Buckinghamshire, Marlow and south of High Wycombe. The parish includes the ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

, England, on 19 September 1816, the son of Josiah and Ann Clark and the brother of engineers Edwin Clark and

Josiah Latimer Clark Josiah Latimer Clark FRS FRAS (10 March 1822 – 30 October 1898), was an English electrical engineer, born in Great Marlow, Buckinghamshire. Biography Josiah Latimer Clark was born in Great Marlow, Buckinghamshire, and was the younger bro ...

. Clark worked as an

underwriter Underwriting (UW) services are provided by some large financial institutions, such as banks, insurance companies and investment houses, whereby they guarantee payment in case of damage or financial loss and accept the financial risk for liability ...

for Lloyd's. He emigrated to New Zealand on the ''Gertrude'', arriving at

Port Nicholson A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manche ...

on 31 October 1841. He ran a church school in

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

, but it was destroyed by earthquake and he subsequently moved to

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

. In 1854 Clark bought land in

, 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. Much of the clay he used was being sourced from

Limeburners Bay Limeburners Bay, one of numerous bays in Port Phillip, lies in the southwest and adjoins Corio Bay, which abuts Geelong, the second largest city in Victoria, Australia. The bay was named after lime kilns, located on the east side of Corio Bay, u ...

, which is now an archaeological site. When he was 33 years old, Clark was tried at the Wellington

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

for

bigamy In a culture where only monogamous relationships are legally recognized, bigamy is the act of entering into a marriage with one person while still legally married to another. A legal or de facto separation of the couple does not alter their mar ...

, but he was found not guilty. Clark died at his home in Hobsonville on 16 June 1896, and was buried at Hobsonville Cemetery.

Legacy

In 1908 Clark's Potteries became R.O. Clark Limited.New Zealand Historical Places: Clark House
Retrieved 1 September 2012 His great-grandson, Tom Clark, inherited the business setting up a ceramics company which eventually became known as Crown Lynn Potteries Ltd.

Notes

References

* Clough, R. 2006. ''Hobsonville Limeburners Bay, Proposed Subdivision Dp104222: Archaeological Assessment.'' Unpublished Report. {{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Rice Owen 1816 births 1896 deaths People from Great Marlow English emigrants to New Zealand Settlers of New Zealand New Zealand businesspeople