History

The history of our Clark family is very important to us. It's fascinating to learn more about where we have come from and the way our ancestors lived.

The Clark Family shield and tartan...

The motto "Kec Tamen Consumebatur" translates to
"And it was not consumed"
- in reference to the story of Moses and the burning bush from Exodus 3:1-15. This comes from the fact that the Clark name is derived from the Clergy or Cleric. In fact in early church records up until the 1800's our family name was actually recorded as Clerk.

'During the Middle Ages, the common pronunciation of -er was -ar, so the man who sold items was the merchant, and the man who kept the books was the Clark. Clerc was the origin, and designated a member of the clergy, hence cleric. At the time, the primary members of the literate class were the clergy, which in minor orders were allowed to marry and have families. The term clerk came to designate any literate man. Clarke, Clerk, Clerke are variations.'

The Family story...

We have traced our family starting from Robert Clark's marriage to Margaret Wilkie in 1763 in the village of Maxton in the Scottish borders. The next 100 or so years were spent in the Scottish Borders in the villages of Bowden and then Hawick. Two generations after Robert; Andrew and Isabella Clark made the decision to come to Australia in 1858. They came to Victoria seperately and in the first months moved to the Goldfields. They settled on a farm on the outskirts of the township of Tarnagulla. The next four generations were born in this area.

A full Clark Family History document has been put together with stories, photos, records and details of over 700 individuals that are associated with our family. The creation of this document was a great interest and a wonderful pastime. Let me know if you'd be interested in a copy.

The township of Tarnagulla, Victoria, Australia. I put this site together in order to show some of the township - it's past and present - as well as share some of the vast amounts of information that my grandfather has collected over his lifetime. As or family's history is closely linked with the town it is only fitting that it's history should also be important to us.

The town of Hawick, Roxburghshire, Scotland. This is the town where our family spent the last 50 years or so before they came out to Australia in 1858. This is where some of their family are buried and where many relatives continued living for some time.