Collection Holder Interviews - John Nieuwesteeg (Garden ...
gpcaa.typepad.com/settings/2011/02/alister-clark-roses.html

R. "Mrs. Maude Alston" was renamed to R. "Mrs. Alston's Rose" after Tid Alston informed us that had Alister named* the rose, he would have called it "Mrs. Tom Alston" and not "Mrs. Maude Alston" (reflecting protocols of his time). From Alston's came R. "Mrs. Harold Alston", a climber with flowers, much like R. "Sunny South" but with more petals and a bit larger. R. "Countess of Stradbroke" came from Tom Garnett's Garden of St. Erth in Blackwood, Victoria.

*This rose must have been developed shortly before Alister's death. It seems to have been named in 1938 (see foot of journal.)

N.B.The above article claims that Alister Clark had been a neighbour of the Alstons. This indicates that section 10, Bulla Bulla (now occupied by Balbethan- Melway 384 K11- and a quarry) and named Dunalister by Walter Clark after his son,Alister, had not been sold as part of the Glenara Estate, confirming a claim made in a City of Hume heritage Study (titled Balbethan,I think.) However the property was obviously occupied by others,according to the study. Thomas Alston, whose wife was obviously Maude, owned 1000 acres including the 640 acre Oaklands (Melway 385 B9) between Dunalister and Craigieburn Rd; the remaining 360 acres was probably to the east in the parish of Yuroke. Another rose was probably named after members of another local family,the Guthries, who were pioneers near Arundel Rd, Tullamarine then near Emu Creek and the Sunbury-Lancefield road.

Alister Clark fell in love with flowers as a youth when attending the Chelsea Flower Show in London. After he inherited Glenara near Bulla Village he planted roses galore and with the help of his gardener, William Peers, developed and nurtured many new strains of roses (and I think,daffodils as well.


In a recent issue of The Blackwood Times, Blackwood historian,Margot Hitchcock, wrote an article about Matthew Rogers, the first or early owner of the land on which the Garden of St Erth was developed. Matthew, whose huge angel-topped monument is easily the most prominent in the Blackwood cemetery, was born in St Erth, Cornwall.
The same issue (and article?),probably Oct-Nov 2014,discussed the Garnett family's tenure at the Garden of St Erth.

The following website unfortunately does not indicate when the Diggers' Club was established but informs readers that weddings cannot be conducted at the the Club's other base.

St Erth - The Diggers Club
www.diggers.com.au/gardens-cafes/gardens/st-erth.aspx
A wonderful garden featuring fruit trees, an espalier orchard, heirloom vegetables , perennials, daffodils, ... History. In 1854 Matthew Rogers, a Cornish stonemason, left Sydney in pursuit of gold discovered near Mount Blackwood in Victoria.

Weddings at St Erth
Enjoy the tranquil surrounds of the beautiful Garden of St Erth for a wedding to remember. Select your back-drop from our garden settings or historic St Erth cottage. Begin your day in a picturesque garden setting for your ceremony and photography. Follow with some light canapés and drinks in the garden surrounds and complete your occasion with a lovely reception in our new function room. Our menus utilise seasonal, regional produce from our gardens and the region.

Please note that we are not able to hold wedding functions at Heronswood in Dromana.

Margot Hitchcock will now be able to boast that Blackwood has contributed to the Alister Clark Rose Garden at Bulla! A small world isn't it! Another gem for Margot is that Tom Garnett had been writing a history of Alister and his roses.This is also from the interviews website at the start of the journal.

JOHN: Well, the revival of interest in Australia of Alister Clark ("AC") Roses started for me with Tom Garnett, a former patron of the GPCAA, who sadly passed away on the 22nd September, 2006. Tom was writing the book "Man of Roses - Alister Clark of Glenara and his family" and he suggested to Susan Irvine that somebody should hunt up and collect the Alister Clark Roses, saying that he was too old and she was not! Tom Garnett had been invited by Lady Johnstone to write a book on the life of her uncle, Alister Clark of Glenara. The book had been suggested to her in 1982 by Neil Robertson who was a bookseller at that time. Susan Irvine went to see Mrs. Eve Murray of "Langley Vale" in Kyneton, Miss Tid Alston of "Oaklands" at Oaklands Junction (the Alstons were neighbours of AC) and she also went to Glenara, AC's old property in Bulla, Victoria. From these three properties, Susan started the original Alister Clark Rose Collection... this must have been around 1983. As none of the roses at "Glenara" were named, a lot of mistakes were made! In the summer of 1986-1987 Susan Irvine asked me if I would be interested in budding and grafting a number of the Clark varieties - they were:

R. "Baxter Beauty" (Apricot sport of R. "Lorraine Lee")
R. "Borderer" (P. cop.amb., Poly. 1918, Everbl.)
R. "Cherub" (Salmon P. HT 1923, Cl.)
R. "Daydream" (Blush P, 1924, Cl.)
R. "Diana Allen" (P. 1939 Dwarf, Bed)
R. "Doris Downes" (P. HT 1932, Hedge)
R. "Ella Guthrie" (P. HT 1937, Scent. Everbl.)
R. "Glenara" (Rosy-P. 1952),
R. "Jessie Clark" (P. Single, Cl. 1915 Early)
R. “Kitty Kininmonth” (Carmine rose, HT 1922, Early cl.)
R. "Lady Huntingfield" (Golden, HT 1937, Everbl.)
R. "Marjorie Palmer" (Rose, 1936, Everbl.)
R. "Mrs. Maud Alston", R. "Restless" (Red, 1938)
R. "Ringlet" (P. white centre, 1922)
R. "Sunny South" (P. 1918, Everbl. Hedge)
R. "A.C. Cream",
R. "Pink Flori"
R. "Super Pink" (not the real names for the last three).