Thomas Edwin Clark (1916 - 2005)

Born 6 Aug 1916 in New Zealand

Ancestors

Died 14 Jun 2005 at age 88 in New Zealand

Biography

Tom Clark is Notable.

TOM CLARK - PIONEER INDUSTRIALIST and SPORTSMAN 1916 - 2005

Patron of New Zealand International Yachting

Managing Director of of Crown Lynn Potteries, later known as Ceramco.

Tom Clark left school aged 14 to work in his father's brick and tile business, a fourth-generation business making brick and drainage pipe from local clay in Hobsonville, West Auckland begun by his great-grandfather Rice Owen Clark in 1864.

He was an enthusiastic sportsman, driving Formula One until an accident driving a Ferrari in the 1956 Australian Grand Prix sent him to hospital for six months.

He then took up sailing and raced Saracen, Infidel and Buccaneer. He commissioned Lion New Zealand and Steinlager 2 for Whitbread Round the World Races, and sponsored Sir Peter Blake in the successful San Diego America's Cup campaign. He was also responsible for encouraging Michael Fay to sponsor the 1986 America's Cup campaign with KZ7 in Fremantle, Australia.

Tom Clark was managing a small factory at New Lynn making floor tiles and insulators when, during World War ll broke out in Europe. Cups and dinner ware become scarce in New Zealand for lack of imports from England and "the Government realised if we didn't do something we would be drinking out of jam tins" so ordered a production run from the Clark factory. Tom Clark did some research, built a tunnel kiln and started producing cups; the first time this had been done in New Zealand. "I thought then it was marvellous but actually it was terrible stuff," he remembered later. Some of those early production runs are still remembered for their lack of handles because Tom couldn't work out how to attach cup handles successfully. By 1948, the company was selling more than half its production to Australia. Then the Minister of Finance, Walter Nash changed the exchange rate by 25 per cent and the Australian market disappeared overnight though, by 1959, Crown Lynn Potteries had captured a large share of the local market and celebrated the production of its 100 millionth piece. Crown Lynn became Ceramco in 1974 and diversified into new products, manufacturing electronics and appliance wholesaling. New businesses were acquired including Bendon Lingerie. Then, the Crown Lynn pottery factory closed in 1989, no longer profitable as imported china began to take over the market.

Sir Tom Clark was knighted in 1986, He retired in 1993. The Mayor of Waitakere, Bob Harvey, presented Sir Tom Clark with the keys to Waitakere City describing him as a "giant in New Zealand business". Tom Clark was married three times and had nine children.

Sources

• N.Z. BIRTHS - 1916/18082 - Clark Thomas Edwin - parents : Margaret & Thomas Edwin
• N.Z. DEATHS - 2005/14767 - Clark Thomas Edwin - birth 6th August 1916
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Clark_(industrialist)