Cecil Henry Clinkard (1862 – 24 March 1941) was a United Party Member of Parliament in New Zealand, and the first

mayor of Rotorua The Mayor of Rotorua officiates over the Rotorua Lakes district of New Zealand, which is administered by the Rotorua Lakes Council (RLC), whose seat is in Rotorua. An elected borough council first came together in February 1923; prior to that, th ...

Early life

Clinkard was born in 1862 in

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

, England. He came to New Zealand with his parents in 1867. His father, Thomas Clinkard, was the first European settler at Makarau on the

Kaipara Harbour Kaipara Harbour is a large enclosed harbour estuary complex on the north western side of the North Island of New Zealand. The northern part of the harbour is administered by the Kaipara District and the southern part is administered by the Auckl ...

, where for three years his mother did not set eyes on a white woman. Being brought up to bush work, he commenced as a bush contractor at the age of 16, and mainly worked in the timber industry as a young adult. He took up large tracts of bush country and then worked out the timber, having it towed to

Wairoa Wairoa is a town and territorial authority district in New Zealand's North Island. The town is the northernmost in the Hawke's Bay region, and is located on the northern shore of Hawke Bay at the mouth of the Wairoa River and to the west of ...

, from where it got shipped to London,

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, and the southern ports of New Zealand. Clinkard was then one of the original settlers of the

Mamaku Mamaku is a small village in the Bay of Plenty Region of the North Island of New Zealand. It lies on the Mamaku Plateau at an elevation of above sea level. Situated at the highest point of the now-mothballed Rotorua Branch railway line, the ...

area in the

Bay of Plenty The Bay of Plenty ( mi, Te Moana-a-Toi) is a region of New Zealand, situated around a bight of the same name in the northern coast of the North Island. The bight stretches 260 km from the Coromandel Peninsula in the west to Cape Runawa ...

. Later, he lived at Devonport. He moved to

Rotorua Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. The city lies on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authority encompass ...

in 1917 and became a taxi proprietor.

Political career

Clinkard was secretary to the

Kaukapakapa Kaukapakapa is a town in the North Island of New Zealand. It is situated in the Rodney ward of the Auckland Region and is around 50 kilometres (31 miles) northwest of Auckland city. State Highway 16 passes through the town, connecting it to Hele ...

Road Board. Clinkard first stood in a general election in for the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

, when he challenged the incumbent in the electorate,

Ewen Alison Ewen William Alison (29 February 1852 – 6 June 1945) was a conservative politician who sat in both the House of Representatives (1902–1908) and the Legislative Council (1918–1932) of New Zealand. Biography He was born in Auckland on ...

. He unsuccessfully contested the electorate in the and s, coming a close second in 1922, and a distant second in 1925. On the formation of the Rotorua Borough Council in 1923, Clinkard was elected as the inaugural

and served in that role until 1927. Following his mayoralty, he served on the Borough Council for another year. He was Rotorua's representative on the Tauranga Harbour Board. He won the

electorate in

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhanov, J ...

, but was defeated in

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude Franco-Italian Agreement of 1935, an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * ...

, when he came third out of four candidates. In 1935, he was awarded the

King George V Silver Jubilee Medal The King George V Silver Jubilee Medal is a commemorative medal, instituted to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the accession of King George V. Issue This medal was awarded as a personal souvenir by King George V to commemorate his Silver J ...

. Clinkard was a member of the Rotorua Rotary Club, and was active on the school committee.

Family and death

On 11 July 1883, Clinkard married Julia Letitia Hooper (born 1862) at

Onehunga Onehunga is a suburb of Auckland in New Zealand and the location of the Port of Onehunga, the city's small port on the Manukau Harbour. It is south of the Auckland CBD, city centre, close to the volcano, volcanic cone of Maungakiekie / One Tree ...

. She was the daughter of the late Charles Hooper of

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, later Warkworth. Their eldest son was also named Cecil Henry; he married Margaret Tessier Gray in 1914. Four other sons, Charles Thomas, Sidney Eric, George William, and Alfred Edwin served in World War I. George William Clinkard was later a notable public servant and trade commissioner. His wife died on 26 July 1932 at

Auckland Hospital Auckland City Hospital is a public hospital located in Grafton, Auckland, New Zealand. It is the largest hospital in New Zealand,Largest hospital in New Zealand...' - News-Medical.Net, Tuesday 29 June 2004 as well as one of the oldest medical fac ...

; Clinkard was a member of parliament at the time. His grandson, Derek Charles Gray Clinkard (the eldest son of his eldest son), died on 8 March 1940 in a plane crash in World War II. A year later, Cecil Clinkard died on 24 March 1941 aged 79 at Rotorua after a long illness. He was survived by five sons.

Notes

References

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the

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: * {{DEFAULTSORT:Clinkard, Cecil 1862 births 1941 deaths Mayors of Rotorua United Party (New Zealand) MPs Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for North Island electorates Unsuccessful candidates in the 1905 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1922 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1925 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1935 New Zealand general election British emigrants to the Colony of New Zealand People from Oxfordshire