That left Dad’s father, Fred Clark, as the only surviving child in the family, as two other siblings had died very young. When my father reached school age, the public education system had not reached the then remote, back-country community where his family farmed. My grandparents valued education, and sent Dad and his older brother, Tom, to Auckland together to board at Mount Albert Grammar School. In 1987, Dad and Mum sold the family farm and moved to Waihī Beach. The gathering at the Waihī Beach RSA highlighted George Clark's experiences through significant historical events and his evolving political views, Helen Clark writes.
