Terry Clark born Terrance John Clark in Gisborne

Gisborne, New Zealand

-Economy:The harbour was host to many ships in the past and had developed as a river port to provide a more secure location for shipping compared with the open roadstead of Poverty Bay which can be exposed to southerly swells. A meat works was sited beside the harbour and meat and wool was shipped...

, New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 was also known as Terry Sinclair, Tony Bennetti and Mr Big, was a head of the "Mr Asia" drug syndicate

Illegal drug trade

The illegal drug trade is a global black market, dedicated to cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of those substances which are subject to drug prohibition laws. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs by drug prohibition laws.A UN report said the...

 which imported heroin into New Zealand, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 and the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 in the 1970s.

Career

Clark was well known for his womanizing, and had a reputation for extreme violence. He met his first wife Sally Raynell in his early years and she was mother to his first three children. After his divorce from Raynell, Clark entered into a relationship with heroin addict Norma Fleet, who later died in mysterious circumstances. It was at this time he met his second wife, Maria, with whom he fathered his fourth child.

Clark travelled to the Golden Triangle

Golden Triangle (Southeast Asia)

The Golden Triangle is one of Asia's two main illicit opium-producing areas. It is an area of around that overlaps the mountains of four countries of Southeast Asia: Burma, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand. Along with Afghanistan in the Golden Crescent and Pakistan, it has been one of the most...

 and allegedly dealt directly with the "Opium King" Khun Sa

Khun Sa

Khun Sa , also known as Chang Chi-fu was a Burmese warlord. He was born in Loi Maw of Mongyai. He was also dubbed the "Opium King" due to his opium trading in the so-called Golden Triangle. He was also the leader of the Shan United Army and the Mong Tai Army.- Biography :Khun Sa was born to a...

. Clark was also allegedly a gambler, spending thousands of dollars gambling in casinos.

Murder trial and death

In October 1979, Clark's friend and associate Marty Johnstone

Marty Johnstone

Christopher Martin "Marty" Johnstone was a New Zealand drug trafficker. The former Takapuna Grammar pupil was dubbed "Mr Asia" by the Auckland Star newspaper in August 1978 in a series of articles by Pat Booth.-Murder:...

 (Mr Asia) was lured to Britain on the pretext of a drug deal to take place in Scotland. Johnstone was murdered by Andy Maher (under the orders of Terry Clark) and his toothless, handless body was dumped in Eccleston Delph

Eccleston Quarry

Eccleston Quarry is a mile south of Eccleston, Lancashire. It is also called Eccleston Delph and Eccy Delph . It is an old stone quarry that flooded. It is a popular site for scuba diving. Visibility is generally very poor and ropes have been strung between each underwater 'feature' to aid...

, Lancashire

Lancashire

Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...

, mutilated in a hasty but failed attempt to foil identification by the police. Clark was arrested in bed with lawyer girlfriend Karen Soich.
Clark was convicted of the contract murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. His trial at the time was the most heavily guarded in British history.

Clark suffered a heart attack in 1983 and died in prison on the Isle of Wight.

In fiction

Terry Clark is the main character in the 2009 Nine Network

Nine Network

The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...

 television series Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities

Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities

Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities is a 13-part Australian television mini-series loosely based on real events that stemmed from the marijuana trade centred around the New South Wales town of Griffith. The timeline of the series is the years between 1976 and 1987. Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities...

. The character is played by Matthew Newton

Matthew Newton

Matthew Newton is an Australian stage and screen actor. Born in Melbourne, he is the son of television personalities, Bert and Patti Newton, brother of Lauren Newton, brother-in-law of Matt Welsh and uncle to Sam Albert and Eva Eunice Newton Welsh.-Acting:Newton has performed in Australia and...

.

External links

• New Zealand Herald retrospective
• Story from the "Lancashire Evening Post"