Born to Scottish immigrants, Alister Clark (1864-1949), was Australia's most prolific rose breeder.
He worked first with daffodils before falling in love with roses after a trip to Europe.
He was born and lived at Glenara (Bulla - North of Melbourne, Australia), his goal was to breed roses adapted to the hot dry conditions found in Australia.
Alister Clark released 122 varieties between 1912 and 1949.
Most of the roses bred by Alister Clark were given to charities for fundraising or to his friends that  the roses were named after.

The success of Clark's roses was huge before the second world war.

 

In 1937 the results of the Argus' Rose Plebiscite Show saw 'Lorraine Lee' (1924) awarded  the most popular rose and 'Black Boy' (1919) the most popular climbing rose.

After Clark's death, the interest in his roses waned and many of them were gradually lost to cultivation over the years, although some of his famous roses such as Lorraine Lee, Blackboy and Nancy Hayward have remained popular.
Because Alister Clark did not commercially release  his roses, many were only grown in his friend's gardens or by member of local roses societies. These plant were usually unlabelled or given inaccurate descriptions.

As a result the private gardens changed hands and many of the roses were lost.

Alister Clark kept notes about his daffodil and rose breeding program in a black notebook. Unfortunately at the end of Clark's life the notebook was left out in the rain and destroyed, causing the loss of precious information.

During the past 25 years the interest in Alister Clark's roses has revived. A group of people around Susan Irvine and John Nieuwesteeg have re-discovered Alister Clark's roses in Glenara and other private gardens still owned by the original families to whom Clark had given his roses.

Occupying a space between the old council house and a bluestone church, the Alister Clark Memorial Rose Garden contains 60 of the 66 available Alister Clark roses.
The garden is remarkable not only for the quality of the collection, but also for the clarity of its signage and explanations. This is tribute to the city of Hume and the Garden Club of Bulla.
The garden is maintained by volunteers, who are doing fantastic work.

 

Open Hours and Location
The Alister Clark's Memorial Rose Garden is open every day of the year and is free.
The garden is located at the corner of Green Street and Bulla Road, Bulla, Australia. (Melway ref : Map 177 B8)

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