Journalist and author James Clarke, who died aged 90 on Friday, has been honoured for his long career, commitment to conservation and his sense of humour.
The South African National Editors’ Forum said he had developed complications after an earlier stroke.
Peter Sullivan, retired Star Newspaper editor described Clarke as a “humorous columnist, a fine conservationist, and one of South Africa’s first environmental activists”.
Born in London and educated in Staffordshire, he started his career as a tea boy on a Birmingham daily newspaper. There he broke so many cups they made him a reporter, according to Clarke in his humorous blog.
Clarke came to South Africa in 1955 as a reporter for The Star in Johannesburg. In 1961 he covered the Sharpeville Massacre and got into trouble with the police. He fled with his family to New Zealand where he became news editor of that country’s largest newspaper, NZ Truth. He became homesick for South Africa and returned. He became the news editor of The Star.
He became famous for his longest-lived newspaper humour column, Stoep Talk.
He later became interested in natural history, geology, energy and cultural history authoring several books in those areas.
He authored more than 20 books, from the 1968 best-seller Man is the Prey — a personal investigation into the methods and motives of man-eaters and man-killers — to taking editors cycling each year on the “Tour de Farce” and authoring a book called Blazing Saddles — The Truth Behind the Tours de Farce.
Clarke also cofounded the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT).
Sullivan said: “With The Star’s help he created sufficient public protest to stop the National Party government from mining the Kruger Park and putting a railway through it. He was much loved and he will be sorely missed.”
Clarke also developed a particular interest in environmental matters, palaeoanthropology — the study of man’s origins — and accompanied on field expeditions with some of the great names in palaeoanthropology — Raymond Dart, Phillip Tobias, Richard Leakey, James Kitching and Washington University’s Glenn Conroy.
Hopewell Radebe, former student of Clarke, said: “As an Argus School of Journalism cadet in 1994, Clarke was the first senior journalist to predict that environmental and climate change reporting would be a niche craft for journalism at the turn of the century.”
“He talked about water shortage and prolonged droughts. He also warned that while journalists will cover a natural disaster at least once in their lifetime, our generation will soon frequently report depressing environmental disaster-related stories on climate change,” Radebe said, adding that Clarke was an insightful and knowledgeable journalist.
TimesLIVE
Columnist James Clarke praised as one of SA's first environmental activists
Image: James Clarke/Facebook
Journalist and author James Clarke, who died aged 90 on Friday, has been honoured for his long career, commitment to conservation and his sense of humour.
The South African National Editors’ Forum said he had developed complications after an earlier stroke.
Peter Sullivan, retired Star Newspaper editor described Clarke as a “humorous columnist, a fine conservationist, and one of South Africa’s first environmental activists”.
Born in London and educated in Staffordshire, he started his career as a tea boy on a Birmingham daily newspaper. There he broke so many cups they made him a reporter, according to Clarke in his humorous blog.
Clarke came to South Africa in 1955 as a reporter for The Star in Johannesburg. In 1961 he covered the Sharpeville Massacre and got into trouble with the police. He fled with his family to New Zealand where he became news editor of that country’s largest newspaper, NZ Truth. He became homesick for South Africa and returned. He became the news editor of The Star.
He became famous for his longest-lived newspaper humour column, Stoep Talk.
He later became interested in natural history, geology, energy and cultural history authoring several books in those areas.
He authored more than 20 books, from the 1968 best-seller Man is the Prey — a personal investigation into the methods and motives of man-eaters and man-killers — to taking editors cycling each year on the “Tour de Farce” and authoring a book called Blazing Saddles — The Truth Behind the Tours de Farce.
Clarke also cofounded the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT).
Sullivan said: “With The Star’s help he created sufficient public protest to stop the National Party government from mining the Kruger Park and putting a railway through it. He was much loved and he will be sorely missed.”
Clarke also developed a particular interest in environmental matters, palaeoanthropology — the study of man’s origins — and accompanied on field expeditions with some of the great names in palaeoanthropology — Raymond Dart, Phillip Tobias, Richard Leakey, James Kitching and Washington University’s Glenn Conroy.
Hopewell Radebe, former student of Clarke, said: “As an Argus School of Journalism cadet in 1994, Clarke was the first senior journalist to predict that environmental and climate change reporting would be a niche craft for journalism at the turn of the century.”
“He talked about water shortage and prolonged droughts. He also warned that while journalists will cover a natural disaster at least once in their lifetime, our generation will soon frequently report depressing environmental disaster-related stories on climate change,” Radebe said, adding that Clarke was an insightful and knowledgeable journalist.
TimesLIVE
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