Clive was born in Ovingham, South Australia, the son of John Frederick Hambidge (c. 1863–1926) and his wife Cecile Aimee née Edlin (1863–1934).
Following his death, and that of the Engineer-in-Chief Hugh Thomas Moffitt Angwin (1888–1949) the previous year, both in their early 60s, some concern was expressed that senior public servants were being over-stressed, Hambidge having recently lost many valuable staff to private industry.
[2] He was praised by the Minister of Agriculture, Sir George Jenkins as "one of nature's gentlemen", and his death as "a severe loss to the State" by the Minister of Lands, Sir Cecil Hincks.
He was chairman of the Nomenclature Committee and president of the SA branch of the Royal Geographical Society from 1943-1947.
They had four daughters; They had a home at 21 William street Hawthorn.