An article on the history of how Clark Potteries came to be ....

Courtesy of Jackie Clark -
"I thought everyone on the boards might like to see this, from the newspaper, the Observer, August 1908. It's a history of how the Clark Potteries came to be."

http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=TO19080815.2.74&srpos=16&e=-------10--11----2Rice+Owen+Clark--

The Romance of a Pottery is such an unprobable title for the article
Perhaps in looking back at what was achieved, it would be with rose coloured glasses. Where as in reality it would have been pure blood sweat and tears!!
You have to take your hat off to our pioneer settlers.
I so enjoyed reading that thank you Jackie ...
but a couple of places stopped mid air and I hankered to read what was missing.

Not the best, I know, Ev! Rice Owen I was a very interesting man. He walked from Wellington to Auckland, and there was also a court case against him, because when he married Louisa Felgate, it was believed that he was already married to a servant from the Gertrude - the ship he came out on in 1840. The charges against him were dropped. As I think I've said elsewhere, he and Louisa taught in native schools, were fluent in Te Reo and had a great relationship with the local iwi of Hobsonville. I believe that for a time he was a market gardener and the local iwi owned a ship, and freighted his goods to Auckland for him.