# Alister Clark

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{{Short description|Australian rose breeder}}
{{about||the Scottish judge|Alistair Clark, Lord Clark|the Irish Olympic hurdler|Alister Clark (athlete)}}
{{EngvarB|date=December 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2017}}

'''Alister Clark''' (1864–1949) was the best known and most influential [Australian](/source/Australians) [rose](/source/rose) [breeder](/source/Plant_breeding). His roses were the most widely planted in [Australia](/source/Australia) between the World Wars and made an enduring difference to the appearance of Australian cities. His experiments [hybridising](/source/Hybrid_(biology)) ''[Rosa gigantea](/source/Rosa_gigantea)'' were in world class and have never been surpassed.<ref name=Climbing>{{cite book|last=Quest-Ritson|first=Charles|title=Climbing roses of the world|year=2003|publisher=Timber Press|location=Portland, Or.|isbn=0881925632|pages=[https://archive.org/details/climbingrosesofw0000ques/page/38 38–41]|url=https://archive.org/details/climbingrosesofw0000ques/page/38}}</ref>

==Biography==
thumb|1930 portrait by Reynolds
Alister Clark was the son of an immigrant [Scottish](/source/Scottish_people) tenant farmer who did well in Australia, leaving his family with several [outback](/source/outback) [cattle station](/source/cattle_station)s, as well as "Glenara", a big property in a valley at [Bulla](/source/Bulla%2C_Victoria), north of [Melbourne](/source/Melbourne).<ref name=Serville>{{cite book|last=Serville|first=Paul de|title=Pounds and pedigrees : the upper class in Victoria 1850–80|year=1991|publisher=Oxford Univ. Press Australia|location=Oxford u.a.|isbn=0195545176|pages=285–6 & 496|edition=1. publ.}}</ref> Clarke and his siblings received a genteel upbringing and knew Europe well: Clark was educated at [Loretto School](/source/Loretto_School) in Scotland and at [Jesus College, Cambridge](/source/Jesus_College%2C_Cambridge).<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1989268 |title="HIS HOURS OF EASE.". |newspaper=[The Argus](/source/The_Argus_(Melbourne)) |location=Melbourne |date=10 November 1923 |accessdate=2 January 2014 |page=10 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Man of Roses">{{cite book|last=Garnett|first=T.R.|title=Man of roses : Alister Clark of Glenara and his family|year=1990|publisher=Kangaroo Press|location=Kenthurst, N.S.W.|isbn=0-86417-332-6}}</ref> He began his rose breeding by ordering roses from Paul & Son in England; later they came from the Nabonnand nursery at [Golfe-Juan](/source/Golfe-Juan) on the [French Riviera](/source/French_Riviera).<ref>[http://www.helpmefind.com/gardening/l.php?l=7.6641 Gilbert Nabonnand on Help Me Find]</ref> Between 1912 and his death, Clark released about 150 roses, usually through the garden and sporting clubs to which he gave the royalties.<ref name=Cox>{{cite book|last=Cox|first=Peter|title=Australian roses : roses and rose breeders of Australia|year=1999|publisher=Bloomings Books|location=Hawthorn, Vic.|isbn=1-876473-02-9|pages=7–18}}</ref>

==Daffodils==
Clark was also a keen breeder of [daffodils](/source/Narcissus_(plant)). In 1897 Clark had joined a syndicate, including [Thomas Hanbury](/source/Thomas_Hanbury) (creator of the famous Riviera garden of [La Mortola](/source/Mortola_Inferiore)) and [Ellen Willmott](/source/Ellen_Willmott) (of Warley Place), which bought the stock of daffodil bulbs bred by Rev. G. H. Engleheart.<ref name="Oxford Companion"> {{cite book| title= Garnett, T. R., 'Clark, Alister'|editor-last=Aitken| editor-first=Richard| editor-first2= Michael | editor-last2=Looker |work=The Oxford companion to Australian gardens|year=2002|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=South Melbourne, Victoria|isbn=0-19-553644-4|pages=142–3}}</ref> He also bought half the stock of a bulb collection made by English Shakespearean actor, [George Titheradge](/source/George_Sutton_Titheradge). According to [Tommy Garnett](/source/Tommy_Garnett), the best known of Clark's daffodils is probably 'Mabel Taylor', still in commerce and used for breeding.<ref name="Oxford Companion" />

==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](/source/Rosa_gigantea)'', which produced in the second generation some of the toughest and most freely blooming roses ever bred: 'Lorraine Lee'<ref>[http://www.helpmefind.com/rose/l.php?l=2.3890.1 'Lorraine Lee' on the Help Me Find website]</ref> of 1924 and 'Nancy Hayward'<ref>[http://www.helpmefind.com/gardening/l.php?l=2.18815 Help Me Find 'Nancy Hayward']</ref> of 1937 have never lost public favour.<ref name=Climbing />  'Black Boy'<ref name="Black Boy">[http://www.helpmefind.com/rose/l.php?l=2.18858.1 Help Me Find 'Black Boy']</ref> of 1919, 'Lady Huntingfield'<ref name="Lady Huntingfield">[http://www.helpmefind.com/gardening/l.php?l=2.19118 Help Me Find 'Lady Huntingfield']</ref> of 1937 (named after the State Governor's wife) and  'Squatter's Dream'<ref name="Squatter's Dream">[http://www.helpmefind.com/gardening/l.php?l=2.18031 Help Me Find 'Squatter's Dream']</ref> of 1923 (named after a racehorse) are roses which have been unknown or underrated outside Australia.<ref name="Quest-Ritson Encyclopedia">{{cite book|last=Quest-Ritson|first=Charles & Brigid|title=The Royal Horticultural Society encyclopedia of roses|year=2003|publisher=Dorling Kindersley|location=London|isbn=978-1-4053-3511-9}} especially "Alister Clark" p. 97 and 'Lorraine Lee' p. 237.</ref><ref name=Botanica>See also Peter Harkness, "Notable Rose Breeders", entry for Clark, Alister (Australia), p. 677 in {{cite book|last=Beales|first=Peter|title=Botanica's Roses|year=1998|publisher=Random House|isbn=0-09-183592-5|display-authors=etal}}</ref>

Soon after the [First World War](/source/World_War_I), Clark's experiments with ''Rosa gigantea'' slowed down. He turned to creating what are essentially [hybrid teas](/source/hybrid_tea_rose) in a wide variety of forms: low shrubs ('Mab Grimwade'),<ref>[http://www.helpmefind.com/gardening/l.php?l=2.33417 Help Me Find 'Mab Grimwade']</ref> high bushes ('Editor Stewart'),<ref name="Editor Stewart">[http://www.helpmefind.com/gardening/l.php?l=2.17056 Help Me Find 'Editor Stewart']</ref> rampant climbers ('Mrs Richard Turnbull'),<ref name="Mrs Richard Turnbull">[http://www.helpmefind.com/gardening/l.php?l=2.29955 Help Me Find 'Mrs Richard Turnbull']</ref> pillar roses ('Princeps'),<ref name=Princeps>[http://www.helpmefind.com/gardening/l.php?l=2.26649 Help Me Find 'Princeps']</ref> roses for hedges ('Sunny South'),<ref name="Sunny South">[http://www.helpmefind.com/gardening/l.php?l=2.6048 Help Me Find 'Sunny South']</ref> ramblers ('Gladsome')<ref name=Gladsome>[http://www.helpmefind.com/gardening/l.php?l=2.33416 Help Me Find 'Gladsome']</ref> and dwarves ('Borderer').<ref name=Borderer>[http://www.helpmefind.com/gardening/l.php?l=2.19265 Help Me Find 'Borderer']</ref><ref name="HMF list">[http://www.helpmefind.com/gardening/l.php?l=7.6156&tab=21 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."<ref>H.E. Rundle on 'Clark, Alister (1864–1949),' ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' online at http://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biogs/A080004b.htm. Retrieved 28 April 2012</ref> 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.<ref name="Hybridization at Glenara">{{cite journal|last=Clark|first=Alister|title=Hybridization at 'Glenara'|journal=Australian Rose Annual|year=1928}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite book|last=Garnett|first=T.R.|title=Man of roses : Alister Clark of Glenara and his family|year=1990|publisher=Kangaroo Press|location=Kenthurst, N.S.W.|page=85|isbn=0-86417-332-6}}</ref> It was the great age of the single or near-single rose; he bred 'Nancy Hayward,' 'Cicely Lascelles'<ref name="Cicely Lascelles">[http://www.helpmefind.com/gardening/l.php?l=2.27243 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.<ref name=Cox /> In any case, his roses of all periods have an irregularity which rose fanciers find endearing.<ref name="Quest-Ritson Encyclopedia" />

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](/source/Frank_Riethmuller). No other breeder rates more than two.<ref name="Better Roses">{{cite book|last=Thomas|first=A.S.|title=Better roses|year=1969|publisher=Angus and Robertson|location=Sydney|pages=90–91|edition=fifth}}</ref>

'Lorraine Lee,' 'Nancy Hayward' and 'Black Boy' have never left the nursery catalogues.<ref name="HMF list" /> Other Clark roses went out of fashion after his death. Still others were lost or never released.<ref name=Cox /> But many have been revived since the 1990s by such enthusiasts as the writer [Susan Irvine](/source/Susan_Irvine) and the nurseryman John Nieuwesteeg.<ref name="Irvine Hillside">{{cite book|last=Irvine|first=Susan|title=A hillside of roses : with a description and illustrated list of Alister Clark roses|year=1994|publisher=Hyland House|location=South Yarra, Vic.|pages=77–79 & 118–23|isbn=1-875657-37-1}}</ref> A heading in Charles Quest-Ritson's authoritative ''Climbing Roses of the World'' says simply "Alister Clark: The Great Australian Rose Breeder."<ref name="Quest-Ritson Climbing">{{cite book|last=Quest-Ritson|first=Charles|title=Climbing roses of the world|date=2003|publisher=Timber Press|location=Portland, Or.|isbn=0881925632|pages=[https://archive.org/details/climbingrosesofw0000ques/page/38 38–41]|url=https://archive.org/details/climbingrosesofw0000ques/page/38}}</ref>

==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').<ref>{{cite book|last=Govanstone|first=Tilley & Andrew|title=The women behind the roses : an introduction to Alister Clark's rose-namesakes 1915–1952|year=2010|publisher=Rosenberg|location=Kenthurst, N.S.W.|isbn=9781877058936|edition=1st}}</ref>{{page needed|date=August 2016}} Most women in his own family and all wives of Victorian Governors and Australian Governors-General had roses named for them. [Lady Gowrie](/source/Zara_Hore-Ruthven%2C_Countess_of_Gowrie) already had one, so hers had to be called 'Zara Hore-Ruthven.'<ref>{{cite book|last=Govanstone|first=Tilley & Andrew|title=The women behind the roses : an introduction to Alister Clark's rose-namesakes 1915–1952|year=2010|publisher=Rosenberg|location=Kenthurst, N.S.W.|isbn=978-1-877058-93-6|edition=first}}</ref>{{page needed|date=August 2016}} Very few men received roses, all of them rose people in one way or another. Far more are devoted to racehorses: 'Squatter's Dream,'<ref name="Squatter's Dream" />  'Tonner's Fancy,'<ref name="Tonner's Fancy">[http://www.helpmefind.com/gardening/l.php?l=2.26622 Help Me Find 'Tonner's Fancy']</ref> 'Flying Colours'<ref name="Flying Colours">[http://www.helpmefind.com/gardening/l.php?l=2.17988 Help Me Find 'Flying Colours']</ref> and so on. Trailing the field are descriptive titles: 'Sunny South,' 'Borderer' and 'Daydream.'<ref name="Irvine Hillside" /><ref name=Daydream>[http://www.helpmefind.com/rose/l.php?l=2.33379 Help Me Find 'Daydream']</ref>  'Scorcher'<ref name=Scorcher>[http://www.helpmefind.com/gardening/l.php?l=2.17137 Help Me Find 'Scorcher']</ref> and 'Billy Boiler'<ref name="Billy Boiler">[http://www.helpmefind.com/gardening/l.php?l=2.32559 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](/source/Alister_Clark_Memorial_Rose_Garden)<ref name="Alister Clark Memorial Rose Garden">{{cite web|title=Alister Clark Memorial Rose Garden|url=http://www.hume.vic.gov.au/Leisure_Tourism/Tourism/Explore_Hume/Alister_Clark_Rose_Garden|publisher=Hume City Council|accessdate=16 November 2013|archive-url=https://archive.today/20131116041216/http://www.hume.vic.gov.au/Leisure_Tourism/Tourism/Explore_Hume/Alister_Clark_Rose_Garden|archive-date=16 November 2013|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref> in [Bulla](/source/Bulla%2C_Victoria), the township next to "Glenara."<ref name="Alister Clark Memorial Rose Garden"/> This collection should not be confused with that of the same name in the [Botanic Gardens in St Kilda](/source/St_Kilda_Botanic_Gardens), a Melbourne suburb, which has about five Clark varieties, unlabelled.
* The National Rose Collection created by David Ruston at [Renmark, South Australia](/source/Renmark%2C_South_Australia) has nearly all known Clark climbers.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.rustonsroses.com/ |title=National Rose Collection of Australia |access-date=3 July 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100706104652/http://www.rustonsroses.com/ |archive-date=6 July 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* The Morwell Centenary Rose Garden in [Morwell, Victoria](/source/Morwell) lists 38, including the often-confused 'Black Boy' and 'Countess of Stradbroke.'<ref>[http://www.morwellrosegarden.com.au/ Morwell Centenary Rose Garden]</ref>
* In [Canberra](/source/Canberra) 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.'<ref>{{cite web| url =https://www.nca.gov.au/attractions/senate-gardens | title =  The Rex Hazlewood Rose Garden}}</ref>
* The Victoria State Rose Garden at [Werribee Park](/source/Werribee_Park) has a large collection, especially of his ''gigantea'' climbers.
* The [Geelong Botanic Gardens](/source/Geelong_Botanic_Gardens) have 'Borderer,' 'Lady Huntingfield,' Mrs Maud Alston,' 'Mrs Fred Danks' and 'Squatter's Dream.'
* The [Adelaide Botanical Garden](/source/Adelaide_Botanic_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.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.kodjaplace.net.au/maze.html |title=Kodja Place Roze Maze |access-date=3 July 2010 |archive-date=19 January 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100119084158/http://www.kodjaplace.net.au/maze.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Public gardens in suitable climates beyond Australia contain a tiny number of his roses. The [Monserrate Palace](/source/Monserrate_Palace) garden at Sintra outside [Lisbon](/source/Lisbon) has three. [Sangerhausen](/source/Europa-Rosarium) in northern Germany has a small selection of Clark roses including two which would otherwise be [extinct](/source/Extinction). Many of his roses were popular in the [United States](/source/United_States) between the wars and, after a long lapse, interest has revived.<ref name=Waering /> So far this is only partly shown in public collections. The [Descanso Gardens](/source/Descanso_Gardens) in [La Cañada Flintridge, California](/source/La_Ca%C3%B1ada_Flintridge%2C_California) 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.<ref name=Waering>{{cite journal|last=Waering|first=Gene|title=Alister Clark roses in America|journal=Heritage Roses|date=August 2007|volume=31|issue=6|pages=3–8}}</ref>  Few European collectors of hybrid gigantea crosses have Clark examples in private gardens.

==Gallery==
<gallery style="margin: auto;">
File:Nancy Hayward 28 Dec 2008.jpg| 'Nancy Hayward.' Big single flowers on a six-metre climber. [Werribee Park](/source/Werribee_Park).
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](/source/Werribee_Park)

File:Rosa Mrs Fred Danks.jpg| ['Mrs Fred Danks'](/source/Rosa_'Mrs_Fred_Danks') 1951. Well scented 9-cm mauve–lilac–violet flowers on a two-metre bush; very recurrent. [Geelong Botanic Gardens](/source/Geelong_Botanic_Gardens).
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](/source/Werribee_Park).
</gallery>

==See also==
* [List of Alister Clark roses](/source/List_of_Alister_Clark_roses)
* [Alister Clark Memorial Rose Garden](/source/Alister_Clark_Memorial_Rose_Garden)
* [Alister Clark Stakes](/source/Alister_Clark_Stakes)

==Further reading==
* {{cite book|editor-last=Aitken|editor-first=Richard|editor-last2=Looker|editor-first2=Michael |work=The Oxford companion to Australian gardens|date=2002|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=South Melbourne, Victoria [u.a.]|isbn=0-1955364-4-4|title=Alister Clark}}

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

{{Authority control}}

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

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Alister Clark](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alister_Clark) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alister_Clark?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.