Andrew Inglis Clark (1848 - 1907)

Born 24 Feb 1848 in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia

Ancestors

Husband of Grace Paterson (Ross) Clark — married 14 Jan 1878 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Descendants

Died 14 Nov 1907 at age 59 in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia

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Biography

Andrew Clark is Notable.

Andrew Inglis Clark (1848-1907), barrister, politician, and judge, was an author of the Australian constitution and introduced the Hare–Clark electoral system to Australia. He served as Attorney-General of Tasmania, Senior Justice of the Supreme Court of Tasmania, a Member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly, and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Tasmania.

Andrew Inglis Clark^[1] was born on 24 February 1848 in Hobart Town, the youngest son of Alexander Russell Clark, a successful engineer, building contractor and ironfounder, and his wife Ann, née Inglis.^[2]

Delicate as a child, he was taught by his mother until old enough to attend the Hobart High School. He was then apprenticed in the family firm, emerged a qualified engineer and became its business manager. At 24 he decided to study law, was articled to Robert Adams and in 1877 was called to the Bar.

In 1878 he married Grace Paterson, daughter of John Ross, a Hobart shipbuilder. They would have eight children together: Esma, Alexander, Andrew, Conway, Wendell, Melvyn, Correl, and Ethel. Melvyn died in infancy.

In the 1870s Clark was an active member of the local debating and literary societies and, with a few Unitarians, was prominent in the Minerva Club where contemporary problems were discussed. In 1874 he edited its short-lived Quadrilateral, a monthly journal of politics, literature and philosophy. He was also a member of the American Club with other 'young, ardent republicans'; at its annual dinner in 1876 he declared, 'We have met here tonight in the name of the principles which were proclaimed by the founders of the Anglo-American Republic … and we do so because we believe those principles to be permanently applicable to the politics of the world'.

When Clark stood for the House of Assembly in 1878 as the protégé of Thomas Reibey who was reputed to have the electorate of Norfolk Plains in his pocket, he was attacked by the Mercury for 'holding such very extreme ultra-republican, if not revolutionary, ideas' that his proper place was among 'Communists', and by the Launceston Examiner as 'a mere fledgeling' and a 'stranger' from Hobart. . . . more . . adb.anu.edu

Clark was blessed by a rich family life: Moncure Conway long remembered him under his 'vine and figtree' with his wife and children. He was never too busy to mend a toy for a child, and his wife once wrote on hearing of his imminent return from America: 'to celebrate your return I must do something or bust'.

Clark died on 14 November 1907 at his home, Rosebank, Battery Point, Hobart, and was buried in the old Queenborough Cemetery at Sandy Bay.^[3] He was survived by his wife, five sons and two daughters. Of his sons, Alexander became an engineer, Andrew a judge, Conway an architect, Wendell a doctor, and Carrel clerk of the Legislative Council.

In 2020, Andrew Inglis Clark was honoured with a statue on Constitution Avenue, Canberra.^[4]

Sources

• Visit: Tasmania Divisions - Profile Tree
• Wikidata: Item Q2846641, en:Wikipedia

1. ↑ H. Reynolds, Clark, Andrew Inglis (1848–1907), Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University,
   published first in hardcopy 1969, accessed online 31 May 2019.
2. ↑ Tasmanian Archives and Heritage Office Births RGD33/1/3/ no 592 Hobart 24 Feb 1848 Clark, Andrew Inglis Father: Clark, Alexander Mother: Inglis, Ann.
3. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 17 December 2020), memorial page for Andrew Inglis Clark (24 Feb 1848–14 Nov 1907), Find A Grave: Memorial #17834275, citing Queenborough Cemetery, Sandy Bay, Hobart City, Tasmania, Australia ; Maintained by Tom Denardo (contributor 767).
4. ↑ Canales, Sarah Basford (2020, December 15). Andrew Inglis Clark gets new home on Constitution Avenue Retrieved 16 December 2020 from https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7054881/civic-gets-statue-of-constitutions-founding-father/