Oldest resident mystery

Harold Clark's family will never know if he was the oldest living New Zealander, or even how close he was to the remarkable milestone.

Clark, 107 - a resident of Lady Elizabeth Home and Hospital in Takanini, South Auckland, died on Monday.

But his family's efforts to determine where their father stood on the longevity list were fruitless.

Births Deaths and Marriages doesn't have a database and the law prevents Statistics New Zealand divulging information gathered from its census.

Clark's daughter Marjory was philosophical about not knowing how her father ranked and put his age down to good living and a happy family life.