Background
George Robert Knight, born 17 June 1879 at Concord, New South Wales, was the son of John Knight, publican of the Horse and Jockey hotel, Homebush.
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George Knight
Edit ProfileCareer
He retains four of his roses in Australian public collections. George started work in a rose nursery at the age of 12. At 18 he started his own nursery, later known as George Knight & Sons, in Parramatta Road, Homebush.
The nursery eventually also had 40 acres of land in Meurants Lane, Parklea.
10 acres in Greenwood Road, Kellyville. And 10 acres in Old Windsor Road, Parklea.
Knight himself had three nurseryman sons, in order George John, Henry Frederick and Clifton Robert. George Knight bred seven known roses, listed below.
They were released for sale through his own nursery.
"Mother"s Day" is still sold in the United States. as was "Nigger Boy", though "this was regarded as an offensive title in America and the listing of the rose or even the mention of it in the daily press caused racial troubles in the States." The controversy was fanned by the rose"s American promoter, Roy Hennessey. The Australian registrar of roses and president of the National Rose Society of Victoria was Associate of Science Thomas. The 1967 edition of his Better Roses prints a list of eighty "highly prized cultivars" from Australia and New Zealand.
Twenty of them are roses by Alister Clark.
Seven are by Frank Riethmuller. Two are by George Knight: "Mother"s Day" and "Nigger Boy".
Sortable list of George Robert Knight roses
Where the roses can be seen
"Beauty of NSW" is in the rose gardens at Budatéteny in Hungary. "Mission Australia" is in Adelaide Botanic Gardens and at Europa-Rosarium at Sangerhausen in Germany.
"Mother"s Day" is commercially available in England, Canada and the United States. but extinct in Australia.
Articles written by Knight
George Robert Knight,"Tea roses in NSW", Australian Rose Annual, 1931, p. 10
George Robert Knight, "New roses in 1933", Australian Rose Annual, 1933, p.
