V. R. Clark

Vernon Raymond Clark

Vern was born in Christchurch and attended Papanui Technical College.

He joined the staff of Canterbury Agricultural College, now Lincoln University, in 1940 as a Technician in the Animal Husbandry Department.

The Second World War intervened. Vern served four years, first in the Army, then in the Air Force in the Pacific. He was re-appointed to the staff at Lincoln after the war.

He was the first New Zealander to qualify as an Associate of the Institute of Science and Technology, University of London.

Vern’s fine intellect and research ability saw him rise through the teaching and research ranks at Lincoln.

He had a close partnership in sheep research with Professor Ian Coop which led to the development of the Coopworth breed of sheep, the second most numerous breed in New Zealand.

He is a Life Member of the Coopworth Sheep Society of New Zealand and a Life Member of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production.

Vern retired from Lincoln University in 1981 as a Senior Lecturer in Animal Science.

In 1989 he was awarded Lincoln University’s top medal, the Bledisloe Medal, for distinguished services advancing New Zealand’s land-based interests.

In 2005 he was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) for services to agriculture and the community.

Vern’s community service has been immense. He was secretary-manager of the building project that gave Lincoln its first Community Centre in Gerald Street, where the library now stands, and it became a hub of the township.

He was closely involved in the formation and development of the Lincoln Golf Club. He has been a leading light in Rotary, the RSA, the Community Care Association, and numerous other organisations.

He has worked tirelessly for good relations between the University and the township, bridging a sense of separateness that once existed.

It is, therefore, very fitting that Vern’s name should now be associated with the Te Whariki development which physically links and brings together the University campus and the township.

It is a delight to have the main access road off Gerald Street named in his honour  -  Vernon Drive. Notes by the Lincoln University Heritage Writer, Ian Collins