Responsible from a young age

George Thomas Clendon was born at Kororāreka Russell in 1856, the eldest son of Captain James Reddy Clendon and his second wife, Jane Takotowi Clendon. Even while his father was alive, George was responsible from a young age, acting as official letter carrier between Rāwene and Russell at the tender age of ten. The return journey by horse took a whole weekend.

No wonder that when his father died in 1872 leaving large debts, George provided much-needed support for his mother, Jane Clendon and his seven siblings. Within weeks of her husband’s death the young widow set out for Tāmaki Makaurau to face her creditors, leaving sixteen-year-old George to care for his brothers and sisters for several weeks. He continued to support his mother in her proactive and ultimately successful efforts to clear all of the family’s debt.

George remained living at Clendon House with his mother, even after he married his wife Catherine in 1893. When his mother died in 1919, he stayed in Clendon House, and ten years later, his two sisters and brother (joint owners of the house) conveyed the sole rights of the property to George Clendon ‘in consideration of the natural love and affection which they each and every one of them bear towards their brother.’

An educated and bilingual interpreter

The Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga collection at Clendon House includes some of George’s books. These included an English Grammar, Collection of Hymns and Child’s Guide to Knowledge. He was taught by a tutor at home, but also by his well-educated parents. After his father’s death the other children moved to the local Rāwene school to save money.

George was fluent in te reo Māori. This was essential for his role as an official kaiwhakamāori (translator). Heritage New Zealand still holds his official book of records as a ‘Licensed Native Interpreter’. In this large leather-bound volume, Clendon wrote out land sales, timber sales, leases and wills in both English and te reo Māori. The book reveals his elegant script and confident command of both languages.

After every entry George wrote a sentence certifying the translation process. For example, on page 24: ‘I hereby certify that I interpreted and explained in the Maori [sic] language the foregoing memorandum to each of the within named … and they appeared to fully understand the purpose and effect thereof before they signed.’

A member of the local Māori Council

George Clendon was an integral member of the bicultural and bilingual society of 19^th century Hokianga and a member of the local Māori Council. In 1900 the Māori Councils Act passed in parliament through the advocacy of Sir James Carroll and Sir Āpirana Ngata. This act established Māori councils to deal with health, sanitation and liquor control at a local level.

Giant of the community

Clendon was also a central figure in Rāwene’s society and governance. He was a great lover of cricket and rowing. He built and raced an unbeaten sailing boat for 30 years and often took his family out on the water. Clendon supported the local school; he sat on the Rāwene School Committee for a whopping 40 years. He also had input into the local hospital through his service on the Bay of Islands Hospital Board. A busy man, he was a local justice of the peace, clerk to the Rāwene Town board and even an Oddfellow freemason.

Learn more about the Clendon family’s remarkable lives when you visit Clendon House, a Tohu Whenua cared for Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga. You can also explore the digitised Clendon Collection online at the Heritage New Zealand website.