James Reddy Clendon

James Reddy Clendon (1 October 1800 – 26 October 1872) was an early European settler in New Zealand, the first United States Consul to New Zealand, and he was a witness to the Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand and the Treaty of Waitangi (1840).

Early life Clendon was born in 1800 in Deal, Kent, England, the son of George Clendon and Elizabeth Chitty. He started business as a shipowner in London with his brother, John Chitty Clendon. He married Sarah Hill in Sydney on 2 October 1826 and their first child, James Stephenson Clendon, was born in London in January 1827.

Career

New Zealand In 1828, as captain of the City of Edinburgh, he transported female convicts to Sydney and then sailed to New Zealand to pick up spars. His wife Sarah Clendon was on the voyage, and in January 1829, at sea near Hokianga, she gave birth to their second child, Eliza. In 1830 he visited the Bay of Islands and bought of land from Pōmare II and Kiwikiwi, of Ngāti Manu, at Okiato, a few miles south of Kororareka. The Clendon family returned to London in 1830.

On 12 October 1838, Clendon was appointed United States Consul at the Bay of Islands, New Zealand. As a result, he gained most of the trade with American whaling and trading ships visiting the Bay of Islands. He remained consul until April 1841. Jane had an Irish father and a Maori mother. Clendon had six children with his first wife and eight with his second. In 1862, James and Jane settled at Rawene where he continued as magistrate until 1867.

Legacy

The Clendon family papers, including material written by his wives, were archived by Heritage New Zealand and Auckland Libraries. In 2022, this material was inscribed on the UNESCO Memory of the World Aotearoa New Zealand Ngā Mahara o te Ao register.