Sir Rupert Clarke, 3rd Baronet
Encyclopedia
Sir Rupert William John Clarke, 3rd Baronet, AM
, MBE
(5 November 1919 – 4 February 2005) was an Australia
n soldier, businessman and pastoralist. He achieved success in a number of fields, including horseracing, the military and as a corporate chairman.
, New South Wales
, the son of Rupert Clarke, 2nd Baronet (a prominent pastoralist and Member of Parliament) and Elsie Tucker (born in Melbourne
). His father purchased the Villa Les Abeilles in Monte Carlo
and the young Rupert attended a French
-speaking primary school. Upon his father's death on Christmas Day 1926, he succeeded as the Third Baronet of Rupertswood
; he was only seven years old.
His mother remarried (to the Fifth Marquess of Headfort
) and he moved to England
. Rupert became an accomplished athlete at Eton
and then later at Magdalen College, Oxford
. He excelled at shooting, swimming, fencing and rowing, sometimes simultaneously. Scholastically he excelled, particularly in languages. He spent a considerable amount of time travelling through Germany with friends who would soon be on the opposing side during World War II
.
and was commissioned in the Irish Guards
, as aide-de-camp
to Lieutenant-General Sir Harold Alexander. Clarke was present at various major turning points in the war, including the withdrawal from Burma, the North African Campaign
against the German Afrika Korps
and the Invasion of Sicily. As ADC to Alexander, he met Chiang Kai Shek and Pope Pius XII
.
In 2000, Sir Rupert wrote a book on his war adventures entitled With Alex at War – From the Irrawaddy to the Po 1941-1945.
In early 1951 Sir Rupert and Lady Clarke visited King Ranch
in Texas
. Sir Rupert, asked the late Robert J. Kleberg
, who had founded the breed in the US, if he would consider a partnership venture to ship cattle to Australia for stud purposes. This approach eventually led to the formation of King Ranch Australia with Peter Baillieu, Sam Hordern and Sir Rupert being the Australian partners recommended to Bob Kleberg by the famous WS Robinson.
Prior to the importation of King Ranch cattle Sir Rupert having sold his property "Kismet", he purchased Marlborough Station in central Queensland and subsequently Carsegowrie.
Forty-five King Ranch Santa Gertrudis bulls
arrived in Brisbane on 15 June 1952 but the remaining 27 bulls and 201 heifers were held up for more than nine weeks by a seaman's strike. They arrived in Melbourne around 27 August and after a month of quarantine at Goode Island, came to the family property "Bolinda Vale" to spend a further six weeks before being railed to Queensland. Five bulls, personally selected by Kleberg, were kept by Sir Rupert to establish his own studly herd.
Clarke became involved in horse racing
, and was on the Victoria Amateur Turf Club (now the Melbourne Racing Club
) for 40 years, nearly half that time as chairman.
By 1974 the emphasis on pastoral development waned and the balance of the King Ranch properties in Australia was finally sold to Bankers Trust
for around $100 million, towards the end of the 1980s.
He was also chairman of Cadbury Schweppes
Australia, and P&O Australia
, deputy chairman of the Distillers Group and the third generation of Clarke Baronets to sit on the board of the National Australia Bank
. He was also the Honorary Consul of Monaco.
Sir Rupert was engaged in a variety of charitable works, and was made a Member of the Order of Australia
in recognition of this.
He died in 2005 at the age of 85, leaving three children and his second wife, Gillian de Zoete. His eldest son, Rupert applied to succeed him as the Fourth Baronet of Rupertswood. The baronetcy (originally awarded to Sir William Clarke by Queen Victoria in 1882), is only one of two now extant of Australian territorial designation
, and the only such baronetcy held by an Australian-born citizen.
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
, MBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(5 November 1919 – 4 February 2005) was an Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n soldier, businessman and pastoralist. He achieved success in a number of fields, including horseracing, the military and as a corporate chairman.
Early life and baronetcy
Rupert was born in SydneySydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, the son of Rupert Clarke, 2nd Baronet (a prominent pastoralist and Member of Parliament) and Elsie Tucker (born in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
). His father purchased the Villa Les Abeilles in Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo is an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco....
and the young Rupert attended a French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
-speaking primary school. Upon his father's death on Christmas Day 1926, he succeeded as the Third Baronet of Rupertswood
Clarke Baronets
There have been five Baronetcies created for persons with the surname Clarke , two in the Baronetage of England and three in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom...
; he was only seven years old.
His mother remarried (to the Fifth Marquess of Headfort
Marquess of Headfort
Marquess of Headfort is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1800 for Thomas Taylor, 2nd Earl of Bective. Despite the official title, the family unfailingly use the alternative rendering Marquis of Headfort, and this is the spelling more commonly encountered in references to family...
) and he moved to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Rupert became an accomplished athlete at Eton
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
and then later at Magdalen College, Oxford
Magdalen College, Oxford
Magdalen College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. As of 2006 the college had an estimated financial endowment of £153 million. Magdalen is currently top of the Norrington Table after over half of its 2010 finalists received first-class degrees, a record...
. He excelled at shooting, swimming, fencing and rowing, sometimes simultaneously. Scholastically he excelled, particularly in languages. He spent a considerable amount of time travelling through Germany with friends who would soon be on the opposing side during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Military career
By 1941 he had enlisted in the British ArmyBritish Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
and was commissioned in the Irish Guards
Irish Guards
The Irish Guards , part of the Guards Division, is a Foot Guards regiment of the British Army.Along with the Royal Irish Regiment, it is one of the two Irish regiments remaining in the British Army. The Irish Guards recruit in Northern Ireland and the Irish neighbourhoods of major British cities...
, as aide-de-camp
Aide-de-camp
An aide-de-camp is a personal assistant, secretary, or adjutant to a person of high rank, usually a senior military officer or a head of state...
to Lieutenant-General Sir Harold Alexander. Clarke was present at various major turning points in the war, including the withdrawal from Burma, the North African Campaign
North African campaign
During the Second World War, the North African Campaign took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943. It included campaigns fought in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts and in Morocco and Algeria and Tunisia .The campaign was fought between the Allies and Axis powers, many of whom had...
against the German Afrika Korps
Afrika Korps
The German Africa Corps , or the Afrika Korps as it was popularly called, was the German expeditionary force in Libya and Tunisia during the North African Campaign of World War II...
and the Invasion of Sicily. As ADC to Alexander, he met Chiang Kai Shek and Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII
The Venerable Pope Pius XII , born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli , reigned as Pope, head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City State, from 2 March 1939 until his death in 1958....
.
In 2000, Sir Rupert wrote a book on his war adventures entitled With Alex at War – From the Irrawaddy to the Po 1941-1945.
Business interests
Clarke returned to Australia and married Kathleen Grant Hay, daughter of a successful Melbourne brewery owner. Following his appointment as a Director (his first of many) of the Richmond Brewery in 1950, Sir Rupert returned to England seeking introductions to inspect breweries.In early 1951 Sir Rupert and Lady Clarke visited King Ranch
King Ranch
King Ranch, located in south Texas between Corpus Christi and Brownsville, is one of the world's largest ranches. The ranch, founded in 1853 by Captain Richard King and Gideon K. Lewis, includes portions of six Texas counties, including most of Kleberg County and much of Kenedy County, with...
in Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. Sir Rupert, asked the late Robert J. Kleberg
Robert J. Kleberg (King Ranch)
Robert Justus Kleberg, Jr. was born to Rose and Robert J. Kleberg in Texas and attended the University of Virginia. He served as legal counsel to Richard King and his King Ranch. When King died, Kleberg took over the management of the ranch in 1885. Under his tenure the ranch grew to encompass over...
, who had founded the breed in the US, if he would consider a partnership venture to ship cattle to Australia for stud purposes. This approach eventually led to the formation of King Ranch Australia with Peter Baillieu, Sam Hordern and Sir Rupert being the Australian partners recommended to Bob Kleberg by the famous WS Robinson.
Prior to the importation of King Ranch cattle Sir Rupert having sold his property "Kismet", he purchased Marlborough Station in central Queensland and subsequently Carsegowrie.
Forty-five King Ranch Santa Gertrudis bulls
Santa Gertrudis cattle
Santa Gertrudis cattle are a tropical beef breed of cattle developed in southern Texas on the King Ranch. They were named for the Spanish land grant where Captain Richard King originally established the King Ranch. This breed was officially recognized by the United States Department of...
arrived in Brisbane on 15 June 1952 but the remaining 27 bulls and 201 heifers were held up for more than nine weeks by a seaman's strike. They arrived in Melbourne around 27 August and after a month of quarantine at Goode Island, came to the family property "Bolinda Vale" to spend a further six weeks before being railed to Queensland. Five bulls, personally selected by Kleberg, were kept by Sir Rupert to establish his own studly herd.
Clarke became involved in horse racing
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
, and was on the Victoria Amateur Turf Club (now the Melbourne Racing Club
Melbourne Racing Club
The Melbourne Racing Club is one of three metropolitan horse racing clubs in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It began life as the Victoria Amateur Turf Club in 1875 with Mr. E.C. Moore as the Club's first Secretary. The Dowling Forest Racecourse in Ballarat was the location for the first VATC race...
) for 40 years, nearly half that time as chairman.
By 1974 the emphasis on pastoral development waned and the balance of the King Ranch properties in Australia was finally sold to Bankers Trust
Bankers Trust
Bankers Trust was an historic American banking organization. The bank merged with Alex. Brown & Sons before being acquired by Deutsche Bank in 1998.-History:A consortium of banks created Bankers Trust to perform trust company services for their clients....
for around $100 million, towards the end of the 1980s.
He was also chairman of Cadbury Schweppes
Cadbury Schweppes
Cadbury is a confectionery company owned by Kraft Foods and is the industry's second-largest globally after Mars, Incorporated. Headquartered in Uxbridge, London, United Kingdom, the company operates in more than 50 countries worldwide....
Australia, and P&O Australia
Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company
The Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company, which is usually known as P&O, is a British shipping and logistics company which dated from the early 19th century. Following its sale in March 2006 to Dubai Ports World for £3.9 billion, it became a subsidiary of DP World; however, the P&O...
, deputy chairman of the Distillers Group and the third generation of Clarke Baronets to sit on the board of the National Australia Bank
National Australia Bank
National Australia Bank is one of the four largest financial institutions in Australia in terms of market capitalisation and customers. NAB is ranked 17th largest bank in the world measured by market capitalisation...
. He was also the Honorary Consul of Monaco.
Sir Rupert was engaged in a variety of charitable works, and was made a Member of the Order of Australia
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
in recognition of this.
He died in 2005 at the age of 85, leaving three children and his second wife, Gillian de Zoete. His eldest son, Rupert applied to succeed him as the Fourth Baronet of Rupertswood. The baronetcy (originally awarded to Sir William Clarke by Queen Victoria in 1882), is only one of two now extant of Australian territorial designation
Territorial designation
A territorial designation follows modern peerage titles, linking them to a specific place or places. It is also an integral part of all baronetcies...
, and the only such baronetcy held by an Australian-born citizen.