Person
Clark, Alister (1864 - 1949)
- Born
- 26 January 1864
Brighton, Victoria, Australia - Died
- 20 January 1949
Glenara, Bulla, Victoria, Australia - Occupation
- Horticulturist
Summary
Alister Clark was a horticulturist widely known for breeding new varieties of roses and daffodils. He conducted his hybridising experiments at Glenara, the family property he acquired in 1892, near the township of Bulla. Clark's father Walter, a keen plantsman, had developed an extensive garden of over 1,000 acres around the house. In seeking to develop rose varieties suitable for Australian conditions, Clark successfully introduced c.200 varieties. In 1897 he joined his brother-in-law, New Zealander Heaton Rhodes, in a syndicate to purchase daffodil bulbs from English breeders. Both men successfully bred new varieties of Narcissus. In recognition of his success as a hybridiser, Clark was awarded the Dean Hole Memorial Award (National Rose Society of England) and the Peter Barr Memorial Cup (Royal Horticultural Society, United Kingdom). A keen sportsman, he played polo and was founding the Moonee Valley Racing Club. He was a Councillor for the Shire of Bulla for many years until 1910, several times being President.
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Details
Chronology
- 1885
- Career event - Called to the Bar, Middle Temple, London
- 1886
- Education - BA, University of Cambridge
- 1900
- Career event - Foundation Member, National Rose Society of Victoria
- 1910
- Career event - Foundation Chairman, Victorian Daffodil Society
- 1917
- Career event - Founder, Moonee Valley Racing Club
- 1936
- Award - Dean Hole Memorial Award, National Rose Society of England
- 1944 - 1949
- Career position - Vice-President, Royal Horticultural Society, United Kingdom
- 1948
- Award - Peter Barr Memorial Cup, Royal Horticultural Society, United Kingdom
Published resources
Books
- Garnett, T. R., Man of roses: Alister Clark of Glenara and his family (Kenthurst, N.S.W.: Kangaroo Press, 1990), 128 pp. Details
- Irvine, Susan, A hillside of roses: with a description and illustrated list of Alister Clark roses (South Yarra, Vic.: Hyland House, 1994), 135 pp. Details
Book Sections
- Rundle, H. E. 1981, 'Alister Clark (1864 - 1949), rosarian and sportsman' in Australian dictionary of biography, volume 8: 1891 - 1939 Cl-Gib, Bede, Nairn and Serle, Geoffrey, eds (Carlton, Vic.: Melbourne University Press, 1981), pp. 4-5, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/clark-alister-5659. Details
Journal Articles
- Gleeson, Clare, 'A trans-Tasman horticultural alliance: Alister Clark of Victoria, Australia, and Robert Heaton Rhodes of Canterbury, New Zealand', Victorian historical journal, 97 (1) (2026), 213-28. Details
See also
- Aitken, Richard and Looker, Michael eds, The Oxford Companion to Australian Gardens (Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 2002), 700 pp. pp. 142-3. Details
Helen Cohn
Created: 21 July 2026