NORTHLAND

Clendon House farewells Lindsay Charman

Lindsay Charman has recently retired from 25 years working as the Senior Visitor Host at Clendon House in Rawene, Northland. Rosemary Baird talks to him about his time at this special property.

WORDS: Rosemary Baird

When did you first find out about Clendon House and how did you get a job there? I have ancestral connections to Hokianga but had quite a profound experience when I discovered Rawene. I arrived on a very quiet morning; it was high tide, absolutely glassy, fish plopping all over the harbour; a kotuku or white heron came gliding down the harbour and landed in the oak tree above my head. I was outside Clendon House, and I thought “Ah, here's a sign” – He kōtuku rerenga tahi! Some months later my partner at the time applied for the curator's position at Clendon House, so my first year there was as a volunteer doing the lawns and gardens. Then I took up the curatorship. What was the property like when you started?

A bit weary. The house had no sprinklers; there were leaks in the roof; the building needed a coat of paint; the backyard had a suite of noxious weeds, lantana, tobacco bush, honeysuckle etc. It needed some TLC definitely. Initially I just did the basic maintenance, getting the place looking tidy. Then I immersed myself in the readings. The first historian of the house was a scholar called Ruth Ross. She left an impeccable legacy. She did some comprehensive work on what is called the Clendon Papers and spent a lot of time at the house researching Rawene. She essentially established the collection and provided the primary narrative. What did your reading and research reveal about Clendon House?

Ruth Ross regarded Clendon House as “an Aladdin's Cave of New Zealand history” and it really is a special place. It has connection to every other HNZPT property in Northland including Kerikeri Mission, the ‘Clendon Cottage’ at Pompallier Mission and Clendon's burial site at Māngungu. I regard James Clendon as one of the more neglected characters in what was a critical time in Aotearoa New Zealand's history. He arrived in New Zealand in 1828, and as a trader became one of the go-to guys in the Bay of Islands. It didn't matter if you were Māori, missionary, military or whatever, Clendon was the fellow you talked to. He was an entrepreneur and a pragmatic trader, but they were complex social times and Clendon had a lot of debts. Nevertheless, James Reddy Clendon was a signatory to He Whakaputanga – The Declaration of Independence, and a witness to Pomare's signature on Te Tiriti o Waitangi. He was a contemporary of the leading Māori chiefs of the time and worked closely with Governors William Hobson, Robert FitzRoy and George Grey. I know you've also championed the history of James' wife, Jane Takotowi Clendon. Can you tell me more about her?

She was a remarkable woman. In my time here, with help from Clendon and Cochrane descendants, I've been able to bring some of the story of Jane to light. She was 34 years of age when her 72-year-old husband died. His passing left her with eight children under 16, a house insured for a few hundred pounds, and enormous debts.

Yet Jane endured. Seven weeks after her husband's death, she left her 16-year-old son at home with the seven other children, the youngest only 18 months, and made her way to Auckland to deal with creditors. When she returned to Rawene, Jane went into business as a trader with her son to try and clear her husband's debts. She also wrote very clever letters to the creditors, to keep the wolves at bay, as it were.

In the long run, it worked. Jane had her mana, her missionary education and a great love for her family. She lived in the house until her death in 1919 at the age of 81. How do visitors respond to Jane's story? This is the story of a young mother taking charge of her life in a crisis. And let's be frank, that resonates with most people. I've found that it can be a very emotional story. Jane Clendon is part of the first generation of truly bicultural New Zealanders. Her mother was Māori, her father was a wild Irish timber getter. Jane grew up in a largely Māori world with a comprehensive missionary education; I see her as an intelligent woman of great presence and mana. Visitors often comment about how peaceful the house seems to be. I think it's Jane.

Do you have any personal reflections about what your time here has meant to you? Oh, I loved it. The response you get from visitors is very positive. I've had so many handshakes, a fair few hugs, and many hongi too. When people leave Clendon House, they leave with a sense of curiosity. “Wow that was really interesting. What else should I know? Where else can I go to find out more about early New Zealand history?” For a storyteller, it's a gift. And, I love the Hokianga. I have old Māori bones here. I met my wife at Clendon House; we got married on the front veranda. Inevitably, nearly everyone who stands on that front veranda says, “Wow what a beautiful place.” And I still feel the same.

Clendon family descendants have been generous. In my time here they have donated family artefacts such as a silver pocket watch from 1815, inscribed with James R Clendon's name, and a silk shawl of Jane Clendon's, along with family photographs and letters. I feel like for the last 25 years I've been privileged to look after Jane and James Clendon's house and the Clendons in turn have looked after me. n