HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Alister Clark (1864–1949) was the best known and most influential
Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...
rose A rose is either a woody perennial plant, perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred Rose species, species and Garden roses, tens of thousands of cultivar ...
breeder A breeder is a person who selectively breeds carefully selected mates, normally of the same breed, to sexually reproduce offspring with specific, consistently replicable qualities and characteristics. This might be as a farmer, agriculturalist ...
. His roses were the most widely planted in
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
between the World Wars and made an enduring difference to the appearance of Australian cities. His experiments hybridising ''
Rosa gigantea ''Rosa gigantea'' is a species of rose native to northeast India, northern Myanmar and southwest China (Yunnan) in the foothills of the Himalaya at 1000–1500 m altitude. It is sometimes considered to be a variety of '' Rosa odorata'', as ' ...
'' were in world class and have never been surpassed.


Biography

Alister Clark was the son of an immigrant
Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...
tenant farmer who did well in Australia, leaving his family with several
outback The Outback is a remote, vast, sparsely populated area of Australia. The Outback is more remote than Australian bush, the bush. While often envisaged as being arid, the Outback regions extend from the northern to southern Australian coastli ...
cattle station In Australia and New Zealand, a cattle station is a large farm ( station is equivalent to the American ranch), the main activity of which is the rearing of cattle. The owner of a cattle station is called a '' grazier''. The largest cattle stati ...
s, as well as "Glenara", a big property in a valley at Bulla, north of
Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
. Clarke and his siblings received a genteel upbringing and knew Europe well: Clark was educated at
Loretto School Loretto School, founded in 1827, is an independent school (UK), independent boarding and day school for boys and girls aged 3 to 18. The campus occupies in Musselburgh, East Lothian, Scotland. History The school was founded by the Reverend Th ...
in Scotland and at
Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Jesus College was established in 1496 on the site of the twelfth-century Benedictine nunnery of St Radegund's Priory, Cambridge, St ...
. He married Edith Mary a New Zealander with a considerable fortune and never worked, giving himself over to the business of being a gentleman: huntsman, polo player, racehorse owner, golfer, photographer — and rose breeder. He began his rose breeding by ordering roses from Paul & Son in England; later they came from the Nabonnand nursery at
Golfe-Juan Golfe-Juan (; ) is a seaside resort on France's Côte d'Azur. The distinct local character of Golfe-Juan is indicated by the existence of a demonym, "Golfe-Juanais", which is applied to its inhabitants. Overview Golfe-Juan belongs to the commu ...
on the
French Riviera The French Riviera, known in French as the (; , ; ), is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France. There is no official boundary, but it is considered to be the coastal area of the Alpes-Maritimes department, extending fr ...
. Between 1912 and his death, Clark released about 150 roses, usually through the garden and sporting clubs to which he gave the royalties.


Daffodils

Clark was also a keen breeder of
daffodils ''Narcissus'' is a genus of predominantly spring flowering perennial plants of the amaryllis family, Amaryllidaceae. Various common names including daffodil,The word "daffodil" is also applied to related genera such as '' Sternbergia'', ''I ...
. In 1897 Clark had joined a syndicate, including
Thomas Hanbury Sir Thomas Hanbury (21 June 18329 March 1907) was an English businessman, gardener and philanthropist. He built the Giardini Botanici Hanbury, or Hanbury botanical gardens, at Mortola Inferiore, between Ventimiglia and Menton, on the coast of ...
(creator of the famous Riviera garden of
La Mortola Mortola Inferiore, often known as La Mortola, is a frazione of the comune of Ventimiglia, in the province of Imperia, in Liguria, Italy. It lies on the road from Ventimiglia to the French border. It is home to the Giardini Botanici Hanbury, o ...
) and
Ellen Willmott Ellen Ann Willmott (19 August 1858 – 27 September 1934) was an English horticulturist. She was an influential member of the Royal Horticultural Society, and a recipient of the first Victoria Medal of Honour, awarded to British horticulturists ...
(of Warley Place), which bought the stock of daffodil bulbs bred by Rev. G. H. Engleheart. He also bought half the stock of a bulb collection made by English Shakespearean actor, George Titheradge. According to Tommy Garnett, the best known of Clark's daffodils is probably 'Mabel Taylor', still in commerce and used for breeding.


Roses

Clark's main aim as a breeder was to produce roses that were hardy in the hot dry climate of southern Australia. To this end he made original use of crosses to ''
Rosa gigantea ''Rosa gigantea'' is a species of rose native to northeast India, northern Myanmar and southwest China (Yunnan) in the foothills of the Himalaya at 1000–1500 m altitude. It is sometimes considered to be a variety of '' Rosa odorata'', as ' ...
'', which produced in the second generation some of the toughest and most freely blooming roses ever bred: 'Lorraine Lee' of 1924 and 'Nancy Hayward' of 1937 have never lost public favour. 'Black Boy'Help Me Find 'Black Boy'
/ref> of 1919, 'Lady Huntingfield'Help Me Find 'Lady Huntingfield'
/ref> of 1937 (named after the State Governor's wife) and 'Squatter's Dream'Help Me Find 'Squatter's Dream'
/ref> of 1923 (named after a racehorse) are roses which have been unknown or underrated outside Australia. especially "Alister Clark" p. 97 and 'Lorraine Lee' p. 237.See also Peter Harkness, "Notable Rose Breeders", entry for Clark, Alister (Australia), p. 677 in Soon after the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, Clark's experiments with ''Rosa gigantea'' slowed down. He turned to creating what are essentially hybrid teas in a wide variety of forms: low shrubs ('Mab Grimwade'), high bushes ('Editor Stewart'),Help Me Find 'Editor Stewart'
/ref> rampant climbers ('Mrs Richard Turnbull'),Help Me Find 'Mrs Richard Turnbull'
/ref> pillar roses ('Princeps'),Help Me Find 'Princeps'
/ref> roses for hedges ('Sunny South'),Help Me Find 'Sunny South'
/ref> ramblers ('Gladsome')Help Me Find 'Gladsome'
/ref> and dwarves ('Borderer').Help Me Find 'Borderer'
/ref>Help Me Find list for Clark, Alister
/ref> He seems to have had no breeding plan beyond making as many crosses as possible at "Glenara" and seeing what came up. His grounds became "a vast nursery for the propagation of roses and daffodils." Roses should be tested in the climate they were meant for, he said. And he insisted that a seedling (like a yearling) takes three years to show what it can do. Perhaps it is surprising for a man who wore a bowler hat and wing collar to the races in 1920, but his roses have the bright pinks, creamy apricots and hard reds of between-the-wars taste. It was the great age of the single or near-single rose; he bred 'Nancy Hayward,' 'Cicely Lascelles'Help Me Find 'Cicely Lascelles'
/ref> and 'Squatter's Dream.' It is difficult to tell how his taste adjusted to the 1940s since 30 of the 40 roses he produced then have been lost, casualties of war. In any case, his roses of all periods have an irregularity which rose fanciers find endearing. Twenty years after his death in 1949 Alister Clark remained the most important Australian rose breeder. A. S. Thomas was the Australian registrar of roses and president of the National Rose Society of Victoria. The 1967 edition of his ''Better Roses'' prints a list of eighty "highly prized cultivars" from Australia and New Zealand. Twenty of them are roses by Alister Clark. Seven are by Frank Riethmuller. No other breeder rates more than two. 'Lorraine Lee,' 'Nancy Hayward' and 'Black Boy' have never left the nursery catalogues. Other Clark roses went out of fashion after his death. Still others were lost or never released. But many have been revived since the 1990s by such enthusiasts as the writer Susan Irvine and the nurseryman John Nieuwesteeg. A heading in Charles Quest-Ritson's authoritative ''Climbing Roses of the World'' says simply "Alister Clark: The Great Australian Rose Breeder."


Rose names and dedications

Most of Clark's roses are named after and for women he knew, more often than not from landed families ('Cicely Lascelles,' 'Kitty Kininmonth'). Most women in his own family and all wives of Victorian Governors and Australian Governors-General had roses named for them. Lady Gowrie already had one, so hers had to be called 'Zara Hore-Ruthven.' Very few men received roses, all of them rose people in one way or another. Far more are devoted to racehorses: 'Squatter's Dream,' 'Tonner's Fancy,'Help Me Find 'Tonner's Fancy'
/ref> 'Flying Colours'Help Me Find 'Flying Colours'
/ref> and so on. Trailing the field are descriptive titles: 'Sunny South,' 'Borderer' and 'Daydream.'Help Me Find 'Daydream'
/ref> 'Scorcher'Help Me Find 'Scorcher'
/ref> and 'Billy Boiler'Help Me Find 'Billy Boiler'
/ref> were slang for a hot day.


Where Alister Clark roses can be seen

Alister Clark made an enormous and enduring difference to the appearance of Australia. Thousands of plants of 'Lorraine Lee' in particular, bred ninety years ago, can be seen in every temperate town and city. * Sixty-seven of his available roses are collected at the Alister Clark Memorial Rose Garden in Bulla, the township next to "Glenara." This collection should not be confused with that of the same name in the Botanic Gardens in St Kilda, a Melbourne suburb, which has about five Clark varieties, unlabelled. * The National Rose Collection created by David Ruston at
Renmark, South Australia Renmark is a town in South Australia's rural Riverland area, and is located northeast of Adelaide, on the banks of the River Murray. The Sturt Highway between Adelaide and Sydney runs through the town; Renmark is the last major town encountered ...
has nearly all known Clark climbers. * The Morwell Centenary Rose Garden in
Morwell, Victoria Morwell is a town in the Latrobe Valley area of Gippsland, in South-Eastern Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia approximately 152 km (94 mi) east of Melbourne. Morwell has a population of 14,389 people at the . It is both the ...
lists 38, including the often-confused 'Black Boy' and 'Countess of Stradbroke.' * In
Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...
the centre of the Rex Hazlewood Rose Garden at Old Parliament House has 26 Alister Clark roses, including such relative rarities as 'Mrs Albert Nash.' * The Victoria State Rose Garden at
Werribee Park Werribee Park is the estate of a historical building in Werribee, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. It includes Werribee Park Mansion, the Victoria State Rose Garden, formal gardens, the Werribee Park National Equestrian Centre, the Wer ...
has a large collection, especially of his ''gigantea'' climbers. * The
Geelong Botanic Gardens The Geelong Botanic Gardens is a botanical garden in the city of Geelong, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The gardens are located within Eastern Park on the eastern outskirts of the central business district. They were established in ...
have 'Borderer,' 'Lady Huntingfield,' Mrs Maud Alston,' 'Mrs Fred Danks' and 'Squatter's Dream.' * The Adelaide Botanical Garden has some, including 'Amy Johnson.' * The Kodja Place Roze Maze at Kojonup, Western Australia uses hedges of Australian roses, including 32 by Alister Clark.Kodja Place Roze Maze
/ref> Public gardens in suitable climates beyond Australia contain a tiny number of his roses. The
Monserrate Palace The Monserrate Palace () is a palatial villa located near Sintra, the traditional summer resort of the Portuguese court in the foothills overlooking the Atlantic Ocean north west of the capital, Lisbon. History According to legend, there was ...
garden at Sintra outside
Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...
has three.
Sangerhausen Sangerhausen () is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, central Germany, capital of the district of Mansfeld-Südharz. It is situated southeast of the Harz, approx. east of Nordhausen, and west of Halle (Saale). About 26,000 people live in Sangerhausen ( ...
in northern Germany has a small selection of Clark roses including two which would otherwise be
extinct Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...
. Many of his roses were popular in the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
between the wars and, after a long lapse, interest has revived. So far this is only partly shown in public collections. The
Descanso Gardens Descanso Gardens is a botanical garden located in La Cañada Flintridge, California, La Cañada Flintridge, Los Angeles County, California. It sits on the northern edge of the San Rafael Hills. Descanso Gardens features a wide area, mostly f ...
in
La Cañada Flintridge, California La Cañada Flintridge, commonly known as just , is a city in the foothills of the Verdugo Mountains in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located in the Crescenta Valley, in the western edge of the San Gabriel Valley, it is the l ...
have had 55 and are said to be restoring their collection. Roses Unlimited of Laurens, South Carolina has 18 Clark roses on its list. 'Borderer' is said to be the Clark rose most popular with American gardeners. Few European collectors of hybrid gigantea crosses have Clark examples in private gardens.


Gallery

File:Nancy Hayward 28 Dec 2008.jpg, 'Nancy Hayward.' Big single flowers on a six-metre climber.
Werribee Park Werribee Park is the estate of a historical building in Werribee, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. It includes Werribee Park Mansion, the Victoria State Rose Garden, formal gardens, the Werribee Park National Equestrian Centre, the Wer ...
. File:Sunlit just open.jpg, 'Sunlit' 1937. Intensely scented medium-size flowers on a low bush, flowering all year in a hot climate. Margaret Furness photo. File:Cicely O'Rorke.jpg, 'Cicely O'Rorke' 1926, released 1937. Big, lightly scented flowers on a tall climber. File:Billy Boiler.jpg, 'Billy Boiler' 1927, lost for many years. A strongly scented 3-metre climber.
Werribee Park Werribee Park is the estate of a historical building in Werribee, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. It includes Werribee Park Mansion, the Victoria State Rose Garden, formal gardens, the Werribee Park National Equestrian Centre, the Wer ...
File:Rosa Mrs Fred Danks.jpg, 'Mrs Fred Danks' 1951. Well scented 9-cm mauve–lilac–violet flowers on a two-metre bush; very recurrent.
Geelong Botanic Gardens The Geelong Botanic Gardens is a botanical garden in the city of Geelong, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The gardens are located within Eastern Park on the eastern outskirts of the central business district. They were established in ...
. File:Black Boy early spring.jpg, 'Black Boy ' in early spring. Richly scented, climbing to four metres. Margaret Furness photo. File:Lady Huntingfield110312 1.jpg, 'Lady Huntingfield.' Scented 10-cm flowers, very recurrent on a low bush. Werribee Park photo. File:Gladsome.JPG, alt=Alister Clark's rambler 'Gladsome' of 1937 at Werribee Park., The 1937 rambler 'Gladsome' at
Werribee Park Werribee Park is the estate of a historical building in Werribee, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. It includes Werribee Park Mansion, the Victoria State Rose Garden, formal gardens, the Werribee Park National Equestrian Centre, the Wer ...
.


See also

* List of Alister Clark roses * Alister Clark Memorial Rose Garden * Alister Clark Stakes


Further reading

*


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Alister 1864 births 1949 deaths People educated at Loretto School, Musselburgh Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge Rose breeders Australian horticulturists Australian people of Scottish descent