James Reddy Clendon (1 October 1800 – 26 October 1872) was an early European settler in New Zealand, the first United States Consul to New Zealand, and he was a witness to the Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand (1835) and the Treaty of Waitangi (1840).

Early life

Clendon was born in 1800 in

Deal, Kent Deal is a coastal town in Kent, England, which lies where the North Sea and the English Channel meet, north-east of Dover and south of Ramsgate. It is a former fishing, mining and garrison town whose history is closely linked to the anchora ...

, England, the son of George Clendon and Elizabeth Chitty. He started business as a shipowner in London with his brother, John Chitty Clendon. He married Sarah Hill in Sydney on 2 October 1826 and their first child, James Stephenson Clendon, was born in London in January 1827.Dictionary of New Zealand Biography: James Reddy Clendon
/ref>

Career

New Zealand

In 1828, as captain of the ''City of Edinburgh'', he transported female convicts to Sydney and then sailed to New Zealand to pick up spars. His wife Sarah Clendon was on the voyage, and in January 1829, at sea near Hokianga, she gave birth to their second child, Eliza. In 1830 he visited the Bay of Islands and bought of land from

Pōmare II Pōmare II (c. 1782 – December 7, 1821) (fully Tu Tunuieaiteatua Pōmare II or in modern orthography Tū Tū-nui-ʻēʻa-i-te-atua Pōmare II; historically misspelled as Tu Tunuiea'aite-a-tua), was the second king of Tahiti between 1782 and 182 ...

Te Ara, An Encyclopedia of New Zealand 1966: James Reddy Clendon
/ref> and Kiwikiwi, of Ngāti Manu, at Okiato, a few miles south of

Kororareka Russell, known as Kororāreka in the early 19th century, was the first permanent European settlement and seaport in New Zealand. It is situated in the Bay of Islands, in the far north of the North Island. History and culture Māori settle ...

. The Clendon family returned to London in 1830. Clendon purchased the schooner ''Fortitude'' and, with his family and business partner Samuel Stephenson, sailed back to New Zealand in 1832. He settled on his property at Okiato and established a successful trading station supplying whaling ships working in the Pacific Ocean. His friendship with

, Tamati Waka Nene and other Maori chiefs and his contact with the European settlers at Kororareka made him more influential than the British Resident, James Busby, at Waitangi. When Frenchman Baron Charles de Thierry tried to set himself up as 'sovereign chief' at Hokianga, Clendon supported Busby's efforts to form a confederation of northern Maori chiefs and he witnessed the Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand on 28 October 1835 together with Gilbert Mair.

US Consul

On 12 October 1838, Clendon was appointed the United States Consul in New Zealand.New Zealand in History: The Colonisation of New Zealand
/ref> As a result, he gained most of the trade with American whaling and trading ships visiting the Bay of Islands. He remained the consul until April 1841. Despite representing the U.S., he assisted Captain William Hobson in negotiating the recognition of British sovereignty over New Zealand and was a witness to the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in February 1840. Felton Mathew, the Surveyor-General, selected Clendon's Okiato property as the most suitable location in the Bay of Islands to establish the

capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...

of the colony. Clendon wanted 23,000 pounds for the 1.24 km² of land, the house, two small cottages, a large store and other buildings but eventually agreed to accept 15,000 pounds. However he received only 2,250 pounds in cash and of land south of

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

. The suburb of Clendon Park in

Manukau City Manukau City was a territorial authority district in Auckland, New Zealand, that was governed by the Manukau City Council. The area is sometimes referred to as "South Auckland", although this term never possessed official recognition and does ...

is named after him.

Farming and politics

From 1841 he farmed on of land he had purchased at Manawaora in the Bay of Islands in 1838. He became the president of the

New Zealand Banking Company The New Zealand Banking Company was the first bank established in New Zealand, it operated from 1840 until being wound up in 1845. History The idea of a New Zealand-based bank was first raised in 1840s, and at a meeting in the Bay of Islands on 2 ...

, the owner of New Zealand's first bank which opened at Kororareka in September 1840. Also in 1840 he became a justice of the peace and was a member of New Zealand's first Legislative Council from 1840 to 1844. He was appointed as the police magistrate at the Bay of Islands in 1845 and advised the British military during the Flagstaff War. From about 1846 his role of magistrate was extended to include Hokianga.

Second Marriage

In 1855, his wife Sarah died. On 9 January 1856, the 55-year-old Clendon married 18-year-old Jane Cochrane, daughter of Dennis Cochrane of Hokianga and his late wife, Takatowai Te Whata. Jane Cochrane was also known as Mihi Kerene an
Jane Takotowi Clendon
and was born on 28 July 1838 in Hokianga, New Zealand. Jane had an Irish father and a Maori mother. Clendon had six children with his first wife and eight with his second. In 1862, James and Jane settled at Rawene where he continued as magistrate until 1867. He died at Rawene on either 24 or 26 October 1872. His second wife, Jane, died in 1919. Heritage New Zealand owns Clendon House at Rawene, which was built in the 1860s, and keeps it open to the public.

References

External links

James Reddy Clendon page
i
Clendon Family Tree
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clendon, James, Reddy 1800 births 1872 deaths New Zealand farmers Treaty of Waitangi People from Deal, Kent People from the Bay of Islands Members of the New Zealand Legislative Council (1841–1853)