At one point, in February 1790, he was asked by the governor to 'capture' two Aboriginal tribesmen who he had traded with earlier, but refused for fear their children would starve. Clark was also quite friendly with local Aboriginal tribes (specifically the Eora), particularly compared to some of his companions. He and the convicts' experiences were later the subject of a novel, The Playmaker, by Thomas Keneally, and a play, Our Country's Good, by Timberlake Wertenbaker. To provide some entertainment for the colony, Clark was asked by the governor, Arthur Phillip, to stage a play using convict actors, with The Recruiting Officer chosen as the play to be performed.

Clark established one such garden on a small island in Port Jackson, which would subsequently be known as Clark Island. To supplement their meagre rations, officers were allowed to keep vegetable gardens, which were tended by convicts. When not on duty, he went fishing and shooting, collecting a number of specimens which he sent back to England. ДЄrriving with the fleet in January 1788, Clark filled a number of roles in the colony, from guarding convicts to occasionally serving on the Criminal Court, which he heavily disliked. He was posted to the Friendship, which held mainly female convicts. In order to further his chances for promotion (and thus a higher salary), Clark volunteered to serve in the New South Wales Marine Corps, which accompanied the First Fleet, which was transporting convicts to a penal colony that was to be established in New South Wales. Having transferred to the 6th Company in 1783, he married Betsy Alicia Trevan, of Efford, Devon, on 23 June 1784, with a son, Ralph Stuart Clark, born on 23 August 1785. Clark saw service in the American Revolutionary War, and at the end of his service returned to live in London, although he was assigned to the Portsmouth division of the marines.

He enlisted as a second lieutenant in the 27th Company of the Royal Marines on 25 August 1779, having previously been in the 'Dutch service'. Clark's diaries, although never intended to be published, provide some of the most personal information about the early convict era in Australia, and are currently held by the State Library of New South Wales.Д¬lark was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, to Ann (nГ©e Man) and George Clark. After a period on the island, he returned to England aboard HMS Gorgon, arriving in June 1792, and was then posted to the West Indies to fight in the French Revolutionary Wars, dying in a battle off the coast of Hispaniola in June 1794. Having been temporarily promoted to the rank of first lieutenant, Clark was sent to Norfolk Island aboard HMS Sirius in March 1790, which was subsequently wrecked off the island's coast. Arriving in New South Wales in January 1788, he filled a number of roles in the newly established colony, including serving on picket duty, guarding convicts, and on the Criminal Court.

Lieutenant Ralph Clark (30 March 1755 or 1762 вЂ“ June 1794) was a British officer in the Royal Marines, best known for his diary spanning the early years of British settlement in Australia, including the voyage of the First Fleet.Д«orn in Edinburgh, Scotland, Clark saw service in the American Revolutionary War before volunteering for the voyage to Australia.

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