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1964
Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society
195
GOWAN CONINGSBY CLARK (1888-1964) South African lepidopterists are mourning the loss of a popular naturalist and member of the Lepidopterists Society whose activities in the sphere of life-history studies of Lepidoptera are, to my knowledge, unequalled in the world.
As often happens, these activities were undertaken as a hobby, which perhaps accounts for the meticulous and unhurried care employed in recording and illustrating the life-histories of some 300 species of South African Lepidoptera.
Gowan Coningsby Clark was born in Port Elizabeth, Cape Province, on the 19th April 1888, son of Mr. Creswell Clark, Assistant General Manager of South African Railways.
He had his early education at Bishops, a well-known Cape Town public school, and went later to the London University where he ob­tained a degree in Civil and Electrical Engineering. He excelled in sports and was invited to take part in the All-England rugby trials against the Springboks. On his return to South Africa, Mr. Clark was appointed to the staff of the South African Railways where he attained
196
Gowan C. Clark (1888-1964)
Vol.18: no.3
the post of System Engineer for the Port Elizabeth area.
He retired in 1948 and was then able to give all his time to the prosecution of his hobbies, one of which was wood-carving, and he made use of this talent to prepare life-size models of a large number of marine fishes, including the famous Coelacanth, a fish over 5 feet long. These models were carefully painted to resemble freshly netted specimens, and are exhibited in the Port Elizabeth Museum.
However, Mr. Clarks' main hobby was the study of life-histories of Lepidoptera, especially butterflies, and he took great care to illustrate, in colour, every stage in the development of each species: egg, all larval instars, pupa and imago, together with strongly magnified structural details of these. His draftsmanship, acquired during many years of an engineering career, stood him in good stead, and particular attention was paid to the correct proportions of the illustrated parts.
The present writer was allowed to reproduce a number of Mr. Clark's life-history paintings in various parts of the monograph "Butterflies of Southern Africa", and hopes to make use of a further number in parts still to be published; but it may well happen that a large number of these masterpieces of painting will not see the light of day, unless the State acquires them and sponsors their reproduction.
In 1949, the South African Biological Society awarded Mr. Clark the Senior Captain Scott Medal in recognition of his; outstanding con­tributions to science. The South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research sponsored the publication of a number of Mr. Clark's life-history illustrations, and also awarded him several running expenses grants, without which the task of collecting material in the field would have been too expensive for a pensioner.
Mr. Clark carried on his self-imposed task of recording and illustrating life-histories until August 1963 when the first signs of something being radically wrong with his health appeared, and on January 26th, 1964, he passed away at the age of 75 years.
He is survived by his widow, Norah, and son, Douglas.
His achievements in the realm of natural history will remain an inspiration to specialists and amateurs alike.
G. van Son, Transvaal Museum, Pretoria, South Africa.