Mel Williams, Visitor Services,
One of the things I love most about the Heritage Park at Kiwi North is being able to walk among the historic buildings and imagine what it may have been like 138 years ago when Dr Alexander Clarke first bought the land here.
Today the original homestead still stands proud on the ground upon which it was built, gazing out toward Mount Manaia. I often saw and admired this home, but I didn’t know much about the people who once lived here. My mission this week was to learn more about the family who started it all.
Dr Alexander Clarke was born in Campsie, Scotland and studied medicine in Glasgow. He had come to New Zealand as a ship’s doctor and had visited his two brothers who had migrated to Pollock on the Manukau Harbour. This obviously made an impression on him because in 1884, at the age of 51, he boarded a ship with his wife, Mary Reid, and their three sons, William, James and Alexander to begin a new life in Whangārei.
The doctor purchased 200 acres of land in Maunu and a colonial home was built for his family by Richard Keyte the following year. He called their new home “Glorat” after a 19th century mansion house in the parish of Campsie in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland.
Family Portrait with tennis racquets and tea set
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Glorat wasn’t just a home however, it was also a place of work with a surgery and waiting room included in the build. In January 1886 a Vaccination Station was established in the doctor’s surgery which operated on Wednesday mornings. The following year, Dr Clarke spoke to a pharmacist friend in Scotland about opening a Pharmacy in Whangārei and soon after Clement and Bentley Chemists and Stationers opened their doors in Cameron Street. The building included rooms for Dr Clarke to see patients, although he continued to do so from his home as well.
In 1888 Dr Clarke found himself in the midst of a significant historical event when he was asked to accompany the Resident Magistrate, Mr Clendon, and Constables Gordon and Hogg to treat those wounded in an uprising at Porotī. The conflict had arisen over royalties paid for kauri gum. According to an article in Te Aroha News on July 28th 1888, Dr Clarke had great trouble attending to the wounded as they were “complicated and serious”. The Porotī Gum Wars has been described as the last inter-tribal musket war of Northland.
In 1890 the Northern Advocate reported Dr Clarke to be severely indisposed and confined to his house. He travelled to England to seek medical advice and returned the following year unsuccessful in his attempt to remedy his failing health, passing away in his home in February 1892.
His wife Mary remained at Glorat until she passed away in 1915. Little is known about her, but she reportedly said she found “living conditions in New Zealand somewhat primitive”. She also liked to keep Glorat spotless and there was always a housekeeper and maid to carry out the chores. Miss Myra Carter was employed as housekeeper in 1923 and continued her role there for 54 years.
When Dr and Mrs Clarke’s second son James married his wife Mabel in 1902, they took over Glorat and lived there for the remainder of their lives. They had two daughters, Doris and Joan, and two sons, Basil and Neville. Their time on the farm was a social one which regular tennis parties, garden parties and dances. It was also a time of change. James established Glorat Jersey Stud which produced milk, butter and cheese, farm buildings were erected and the house itself was renovated to accommodate his growing family. Advancements in technology also meant the gas lighting was upgraded to electricity at this time.
Alexander William & James McLean Clarke
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When James Clarke died in 1939 his eldest son Basil inherited the farm. Basil never married and continued to run the farm until 1972 when it was sold to the Northland Regional Council. Included in the sale was the guarantee that Basil would retain 15 acres for his own use during his lifetime. As he aged and the garden became overgrown, students from Maunu School, located across the road, would refer to Glorat as “the haunted house”. Basil continued to live in the Clarke family homestead until he passed away in 1983.
Glorat, the homestead, the farm, the land and the stories can all still be found in the Heritage Park. And, just a short walk from the house that was once home to three generations of the Clarke family, is a solitary headstone. It stands tall behind a white picket fence and reads “Sacred to the Memory of Alexander Clarke, also his beloved wife Mary Clarke. In death not divided”.
