Zachariah Clark (c. 1743–1804)
Zachary Clark was an agent for contractor William Richards jnr. who sent him to the New South Wales aboard the Scarborough as part of the First Fleet. Clark transferred to the Alexander in November 1787.
Clark had two children with Ann Moulton (Mary Morton). Early in 1792 Clark asked to retire but was sent to Norfolk Island as deputy commissary, probably leaving his children and their mother in Sydney. After a visit to England in 1799 for health reasons, Clarke returned to New South Wales in the Coromandel in 1802, bringing with him his 25-year-old daughter Ann who gave birth to an illegitimate child on 10 August, four days out from Port Jackson.
Clark resumed his duty on 1 October at Norfolk Island. On 24-25 October depositions were taken that Clark had committed incest with his daughter. He was sent to Sydney for trial but was returned to Norfolk Island for trial and dismissed from his post. He was convicted on 26 May 1803, fined £40 and ordered to prison for 12 months. He died at Norfolk Island on 5 December 1804, his death attributed to heavy drinking.
* information from Mollie Gillen, The Founders of Australia: A Biographical Dictionary of the First Fleet (1989), p 72
Related Entries in NCB Sites
- Morton, Mary (partner)
- Hibbins, Ann (daughter)
- Clark, Lydia (daughter)
- Clark, William Henry (son)
- Hibbins, Thomas (son-in-law)
- Everingham, Matthew James (employee)
Citation details
'Clark, Zachariah (c. 1743–1804)', People Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au/biography/clark-zachariah-17443/text37578, accessed 20 April 2024.
Life Summary [details]
Alternative Names
- Clark, Zachary
Birth
c.
1743
Heponstall,
Yorkshire,
England
Death
5 December,
1804
(aged ~ 61)
Norfolk Island,
Australia
Cultural Heritage
Includes subject's nationality; their parents' nationality; the countries in which they spent a significant part of their childhood, and their self-identity.