CLIFFORD, SIR GEORGE HUGH (1847-1930) 2nd baronet, was the eldest son of the first baronet (Sir Charles, q.v.). Educated at Stonyhurst College, Lancashire, he was called to the bar in London and returned to New Zealand well equipped for public life, for which, however, he had no bent. He assumed the management of his father's estates, Flaxbourne and Stonyhurst, and took a keen interest in sheep breeding and in racing. About 1886 he commenced breeding at Stonyhurst halfbred Lincoln-Merinos, which soon achieved a high reputation, gaining prizes at many shows and becoming dispersed fairly widely over the type of country in which Stonyhurst was situated. He was chairman of the New Zealand Sheepbreeders' Association (South Island) from 1902 and president of the Canterbury Agricultural and Pastoral Association (1911), and was one of the founders of the Canterbury Frozen Meat Co. (of which he was a director from 1901 and chairman from 1902). He was chairman also of the New Zealand Shipping Co. for a term (before the merger with the P. and O. Co.), of the Christchurch Press Co. and the Gas Co. (from 1908), Hayward Brothers, the Blackball Coal Co. and Booth Macdonald and Co.

In public life Clifford took little part beyond being chairman of the Waipara county council for some years. He was, however, very prominent in the government of racing. He was life member of the Canterbury Jockey Club and the Wellington and Auckland Racing Clubs, and for 34 years president of the New Zealand Racing Conference. During this time he introduced many reforms in the government of the sport and the conditions of those connected with it. Clifford first raced at Burnham Water, Wellington, at the age of 11. He saw much of the sport while in England and established his own racing stud at Stonyhurst in the early eighties with horses purchased from Henry Redwood. Tiger Tim and Cruchfield were two of his earliest successes. Amongst the animals which he purchased for stud purposes were Aurifera, Maligner and Clanranald, and he bred many horses of the highest records. In 1903-04 for the first time he was at the head of the list of winning owners for the season. He won all the leading races in the Dominion and most of them on several occasions. The Clanranald stock were most famous in their day, but up to his death Clifford allowed no diminution in the quality of his stud and raced with uninterrupted success. Winning Hit won the two Derbies and created a record for the mile and a quarter for Australia and New Zealand which has stood for many years. All of Clifford's trainers were of the Cutts family. Edward Cutts trained for more than thirty years, his sons H. and A. Cutts succeeding him.

Clifford married first (1880) Mary, daughter of Sir John Lawson. She having died in the same year, he married (1884) Janet (d. 1885), daughter of James Burnett (Nelson). He had one son. In 1891 he married Helen Frances, daughter of the Rev James Dennis. He died on 17 Apr 1930.

Burke, Peerage; N.Z. Racing Calendar; Acland; Chadwick; The Press, 19 Apr 1930 (p).

Reference: Volume 1, page 99

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