For future readers who might come across this thread while researching the Nodder or Slark family, here is a quote from this website which I recently stumbled across. It adds a bit more detail about the Slark(s) 'family'.
https://www.familytreecircles.com/u/ngairedith/?&next=505"John Slakes married Lucy Clark on 21 July 1833 at Brenchley, Kent. They had a daughter, Sarah Jane 'Sal' Slarks (1834-1899). They had a son John Slarkes in 1837. On the 8 Jan 1841 they sailed from London on the Lord William Bentinck, arriving in Port Nicholson 19 May 1841
* Daughter Sarah married Joseph Hilborne James in St Peter's, Wellington 23 Sep 1865. In Jan 1871 Sarah James, alias Sal Slarks was charged for drunkenness for the 31st time and again sent to prison with hard labor. At times, she & her father were charged together. In Jan 1873 Sarah was sentenced to 3 months hard labor. She died of a stroke aged 64 & buried Karori
* Son John married Martha Burkett (1839-1882). In Feb 1866, his wife Martha, with whom he was not living, and Thomas Nodder, were charged with having committed an assault upon John. He said he had occasion to correct one of their children, when his wife came in and pulled him to the ground and struck him several times on the head with a gutter spike. Nodder came in, knelt down and commenced punching him under the ribs. One night in Aug 1866 Martha was in Mrs Dixon's house in the Wairarapa
Wellington Independent, 11 March 1865 John and Lucy Slarks, an aged couple (52 & 49), were charged with keeping a brothel. The jury returned a verdict of 'Guilty' and his honor's sentence was that John Slarks be imprisoned for two years with hard labor and Lucy Slarks for eighteen months with hard labor. A few days after release Lucy was in front of the judge charged with drunkenness
In June 1872 at about midnight, John was lying dead drunk on the floor of his cottage at Kaiwarra when his neighbour, having been shaken awake by his children, broke into his house through a window to find him lying in the middle of smoke and flames.
NZ Mail, 20 Dec 1873 The other day an old woman (57) named Lucy Slarks came to a sad and untimely end, after a long course of hopeless dissipation. Some men passing along the Hutt road at an early hour in the morning found what at first sight might have been mistaken for a bundle of dirty rags lying on the road side, but on nearer inspection it proved to be the lifeless corpse of a woman, by whose side lay an unfinished bottle of beer. Facts subsequently disclosed show that the unfortunate creature had dissipated her husband's weekly wages in a drunken carouse, had staggered about the road, trying in vain to walk along the Hutt Road to Ngahauranga, every now and then falling, at last falling and striking her head against a stone, never becoming conscious and was found the next morning having died in a fit of apoplexy.
.. 3 weeks later ..
Evening Post, 15 Jan 1874 The body of a man named Slarks was washed ashore at Kaiwarra. The clothes of the unfortunate man have been recognised as belonging to John Slarks, husband of Lucy Slarks, who a few weeks back was picked up dead near the same place. The clothes were identified by a daughter of the deceased. The cause was ruled a suicide probably borne down by grief, consequent upon the melancholy circumstances of the death of his wife. "
