Clarke, Peter John   (1958 - 2014)

Born in 1958; died on 22 December 2014 in Armadale, NSW, aged 56.

Peter got his first opportunity in science in 1979 when he was employed as a lab technician with Dr Tony Martin, a palynologist in the Botany Department at the University of Sydney. His work involved preparation of teaching materials for Tony's course in plant evolution and palynology, and assisting with Tony's research and field work on Sphagnum bogs in the Koscuiszko area.

Peter had recently completed a TAFE certificate after leaving school, and the job fitted well with his interests in bushwalking and nature photography, which he pursued from a young age with encouragement from his parents.

He enrolled part time in a science degree that culminated in an Honours project on nitrogen pools in mangroves under the supervision of Bill Allaway.

By that stage, Peter's position with Tony Martin had finished and he was working with Associate Professor Roger Carolin as the department's plant collector.

Peter's research interests developed rapidly and he followed up his undergraduate training with a part-time PhD on mangrove demography under the supervision of Dr Peter Myerscough, again at Sydney University.

After finishing employment at Sydney University, Peter began to broaden his interests, taking on a consultancy at the NSW National Herbarium with Doug Benson to survey the vegetation of Dharug National Park.

A major survey of coastal dune vegetation across New South Wales for the Soil Conservation of New South Wales followed, and later he was employed with CSIRO to research saltmarsh ecology at Jervis Bay, where the government of the day was planning a major naval facility.

He submitted his PhD thesis after completing the work at Jervis Bay.

He then applied for a lectureship position at the University of New England. The application was successful and Peter moved to Armidale in 1993.

Peter maintained a close relationship with Tony Martin, persuading him to revisit his Kosciuszko research sites in the early 1990s to lay the foundations for a long term study of alpine mire vegetation change after cessation of grazing.

During his time at CSIRO Peter worked with Petrus Heyligers, and maintained a friendship for many subsequent years.

Another project with Roger Carolin produced an attractive and informative book on beach plants in 1991 that combined Peter's dune survey work with his nature photography and Roger's extensive botanical knowledge.

An academic position at UNE allowed Peter to diversify his research activities to a very wide range of ecological processes and ecosystems across the tropical and temperate latitudes of eastern Australia extending to the central deserts.

Source: Extracted from:
'Bulletin of the Ecological Society of Australia' Issue 1, Volume 45, March 2015
https://research.com/u/peter-j-clarke
https://jgpausas.blogs.uv.es/2016/07/08/fire-ecology-in-plant-ecology-homage-to-peter-clarke/
The Ryerson Index - CLARKE Peter John Funeral notice 22 DEC 2014 Death Age: 56
Portrait Photo: 2006, Otay Mountains (San Diego, southern California).[jgpausas.blog]

Collecting localities for 'Clarke, P.J.' from AVH (2025)

Data from 182 specimens