Robert Clark was known in Horsham as the owner of the Union Flour Mill and of the now-long-gone Victorian Gothic home at the northern end of Firebrace Street, 'Roseneath Hall', later named 'Lowestoft'.
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Robert Clark, a merchant, and his wife Janet (née Simpson), were from Glasgow, Scotland.
Both were born in 1830. They married in 1850 and had had four children, Robert, James, Agnes and Susan.
They decided to join Janet's school-teacher brother, James Simpson in Horsham, Victoria.
Tragically, during their journey, young Agnes died and was buried at sea.
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Arriving in Melbourne in March 1858, they travelled to Horsham where Robert built a store at 54-56 Hamilton Street.
After his store was destroyed by fire around 1859, he built the Union Store on the north-west corner of Wilson and Firebrace Streets.
About 1874 Robert sold the store and went on to build Horsham's second grain mill, the Union Flour Mill.
It was located on the eastern side of Darlot Street, between Pynsent and Wilson Street.
Always interested in furthering the interests of rural people, Robert Clark successfully stood for the Wimmera Shire Council in 1874.
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During his time there he was a prime mover in the establishment of the Horsham Hospital.
By 1876, he and Janet had had an additional 11 children, five of whom were to die in childhood.
The last death, in August 1889 of 13-year-old John Clark by horse accident, seemed to affect his father severely.
In 1877 Robert Clark was elected to the Victorian House of Representatives.
During his three-year term he used his position to advocate strongly for the interests of Wimmera farmers.
In 1882, seeing a need for better lighting and heating in Horsham, he formed the Horsham United Gas Company Ltd to bring gas to the townspeople.
The Borough of Horsham was created in 1883 to manage the township.
Robert Clark became a Councillor in 1886 and was Mayor in 1887-88.
He was also a Justice of the Peace.
With pen and speech Robert Clark advocated for the opening up of land for selection.
In the early 1870s, with his eldest son Robert Junior, he took up land from Vectis East, through Lower Norton extending east along Three Bridges Road.
He also had a 180-acre block at Quantong.
His probate documents indicate he owned in all 1780 acres of farmland.
From about 1888 he suffered greatly from a rheumatic condition.
He retired to his homestead 'Riversdale' on Three Bridges Road, Lower Norton where, beginning in 1882, he had gradually developed an irrigation scheme and an orchard.
He'd built a weir across the Wimmera River from which he pumped water to the highest point on his property. A channel ran down through the orchard with, here-and-there, a large hole dug into the sandy loam to allow the water to collect and soak into the soil.
An article in The Horsham Times (now The Wimmera Mail-Times) of January 18, 1889, states in part, "Situated at Riversdale, an estate of Mr Clark's about six miles south-west of Horsham, are irrigation works worthy of the name bestowed upon them, 'The Pride of the Wimmera'. Six years ago, Mr Clark embarked on his plucky enterprise and today he has an orchard of which he may well be proud."
The article went on to describe that in the 20 acres under cultivation, six-year-old apple and pear trees were all in fruit, the cherry trees were healthy, four-year-old apricot trees were heavy with fruit and a two-and-a-half-year-old orange and lemon plantation had "fine healthy fruit".
In 1889 Robert Clark entered his orchard for a prize offered by the Victorian Water Supply Department for the best irrigated garden, orchard or vineyard.
He and another irrigator tied for first place.
His sons Robert and Thomas continued to run the Union Flour Mill in Horsham.
On 12th February 1890, when Robert Senior was assisting at the mill, the pain became too much.
He went off to a small room where he shot himself. A note he left ended, "I part this world in the greatest of pain, from which I see no relief". He was 60 years old.
After his death, his entire estate was sold, apart from the beautiful Roseneath Hall in Firebrace Street. The estate was valued at £1,750, equivalent to about $1.6 million today.
In 1891 the Riversdale Homestead and 500 acres, including the orchard, was sold to Gready Bros, who continued to win awards for the fruit it produced.
Robert Clark's widow, Janet, moved to Sydney to live with her daughter's family.
She died in February 1920 at the age of 90.
Several of their children also moved to New South Wales. William moved to Perth.
James alone remained in the Wimmera at Vectis East, where he died in 1935.
