Clendon House

In 1832, James Reddy Clendon, an English sea captain, settled in the Bay of Islands and set up a trading post at Okiato, near Kororāreka (now known as Russell), where he had acquired some land on a previous visit to the area. He became well known in the community, serving as United States consul from 1838 to 1841 and later became police magistrate at the Bay of Islands. In 1862 he and his family moved to the township of Rawene, in the Hokianga Harbour, where he was the magistrate of the Native Circuit Court.^[1]

After a few years at Rawene, known at the time as Herd's Point, Clendon arranged for the construction of what was to become known as Clendon House in 1866. He retired from his public service duties the year afterwards and reverted to his mercantile career. While the family moved into the house around 1869, additions were subsequently made to the house. By 1872 it was completed.^[2][3]

Built out of Kauri timber and roofed with wood shingles, Clendon House has elements of both Georgian and Gothic Revival architectural styles, with a gable roof and gabled dormers. It had four rooms on the ground floor arranged about a central hallway, with two further rooms upstairs. A detached kitchen building, which may have predated the main dwelling, was subsequently integrated into Clendon House when later modifications extended the northern verandah to include an additional bedroom that was built up against the kitchen building. The original roof was replaced with corrugated iron in 1910.^[4][5]

Although Clendon died in October 1872, his wife and eight childen continued to live in the property. He had left the family with several debts but his wife, Jane Cochrane who was part-Māori, was able to retrieve the situation with careful management. She resided in the property until her death in 1919. The house remained in the ownership of the Clendon family until 1972, when it, and its contents, was purchased by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust (NZHPT).^[2][3] Repair work was undertaken in 1974.^[5]