Construction on the house began in the late 1890s as the family home for Rice Owen Clark II, a wealthy owner of a nearby pottery business.

[1] The interior contains a curved staircase, stained glass windows, Art Nouveau dado panels, kauri wood features and decorative tiles.

[2] Clark initially made the pipes to drain his own property, then also to fill requests from other Hobsonville settlers.

[2][4] In 1876 Rice Owen Clark II, at the age of 21, began working alongside his father on the business.

[2] Due to the lack of clay and difficulty in transporting goods via the harbour, the operations at Limeburners Bay were closed in 1931.

[4] In 1950, the Crown purchased Clark House for £8,000 on behalf of the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF).

[2][6] The RNZAF used Clark House for Cold War meetings, hosting the South East Asia Treaty Organisation conference at the property in 1955.