John Stuart Yeates

John Stuart Yeates MBE (11 July 1900 – 24 August 1986[2]), also known as Jack Yeates,[3] was a New Zealand academic and botanist. The founding head of Agricultural Botany at Massey Agricultural College, he was also an accomplished breeder of azaleas, rhododendrons and lilies.

Jack Yeates

MBE
Born
John Stuart Yeates

11 July 1900
Died24 August 1986(1986-08-24) (aged 86)
Palmerston North, New Zealand
NationalityNew Zealand
Alma materPhDs from University of New Zealand and Cambridge University[1]
TitleDepartment head
Spouse(s)Ruth Lillian Young
ChildrenDuncan Robert Yeates, Gregor William Yeates
Scientific career
InstitutionsMassey Agricultural College

Early life and education

Born into a farming family in Waitara in the Taranaki, Yeates attended Stratford District High School, where he won an Entrance Scholarship (later called the University Entrance Scholarship), and then Victoria College (now Victoria University of Wellington, then part of the University of New Zealand) in Wellington. He completed a BSc and then a MSc in Botany with first class honours. He obtained a Jacob Joseph Scholarship.[4]

He then completed the first PhD from the University of New Zealand[5][6][7]

He was also an active member of the Victoria College Tramping Club, having Yeates Peak and Yeates track in the Tararua Range named after him.[8]

He left for Trinity College, Cambridge, where he studied chromosomal counts in plants, starting in 1925. He returned to New Zealand in July 1927 and was awarded his Trinity College PhD in 1931, having completed his research in parallel with his teaching commitments at the newly created Massey College (now Massey University, then also part of the University of New Zealand) outside Palmerston North.

Academic work

His early research was on New Zealand flax/Phormium tenax (Māori: harakeke),[1] which at the time was used extensively as fibre for ropes and cloths. One of the key centres for production was the delta of the Manawatu River, but Yeates travelled extensively looking for quality cultivars which he grew on the Turitea campus. Flax had long been used for textiles (see Māori traditional textiles) and it was correctly guessed that the best cultivars were to be found adjacent to historical sites of textile-making. The Great Depression of the 1930s caused serious damaged the commercial flax industry in New Zealand and it never recovered.

Some of the flax worked involved chromosome counting, which he had previously done in his thesis work. The flax Ngaro was found to have 32 rather than the normal 24 chromosomes.[9][10]

Later research involved "farm forestry", a movement to introduce trees onto farms for the benefit of livestock, pasture and crops and as a source of income.

He was the founding head of Agricultural Botany at Massey and this was his core teaching area. In 1954 he, with E. O. Campbell, published Agricultural Botany, a textbook based on this teaching.

Plant breeding

Yeates was a foundation member of the New Zealand Rhododendron Association in 1944 and also its some-time Secretary-Treasurer.[1] He was also crucial in the founding of the national garden of the association (now "Heritage Park") at Kimbolton (which is close to his home in Palmerston North, but has better soil and climate for rhododendron). He was also active in the introduction and breeding of azaleas, rhododendrons and Lilium hybrids.[1][11]

Lilies

Lilium auratum and Lilium speciosum were first crossed in the 1860s, but then not again until the 1950s by Yeates and Leslie Jury in New Zealand.[12]

The name Melford Hybrids was used for his lily crosses,[13][14] which he bred initially at his property on Long Melford Rd, in Palmerston North. His cultivars include:

  • auratum var. platyphyllum 'Goldie'[15]
  • auratum var. platyphyllum 'Little Gem'[15]
  • auratum var. rubrovittatum 'Alex'[16]
  • auratum var. rubrovittatum 'Apollo'[16]
  • auratum var. rubrovittatum 'Dainty'[16]
  • auratum 'Tom Thumb'[17]
  • 'Darkie'[18]
  • 'Dianne'[19]
  • 'Emberglow'[20]
  • 'Fairy'[21]
  • 'Golden Eclipse'[22]
  • 'Kimbolton Gold'[23]
  • × parkmanii 'Betty'[24]
  • × parkmanii‘Elaine'[25]
  • × parkmanii 'Elizabeth'[25]
  • × parkmanii 'Erebus'[26]
  • × parkmanii 'Excelsior'[26]
  • × parkmanii 'John Bull'[27]
  • × parkmanii 'Journey’s End'[27] (commercially successful[28][29])
  • × parkmanii 'Judas'[30]
  • × parkmanii 'Kimbolton Pink'[30]
  • × parkmanii‘Kimbolton Red'[30]
  • × parkmanii Lavender Lady Group[30]
  • × parkmanii 'Lavender Princess'[30]
  • × parkmanii 'Little Jane'[30]
  • × parkmanii 'Little Lavender'[30]
  • × parkmanii 'Little Robin'[30]
  • × parkmanii 'Melford Red'[31]
  • × parkmanii 'Peggy'[32] (named after his wife)
  • × parkmanii 'Pink Beauty'[32]
  • × parkmanii 'Pink Delight'[32]
  • × parkmanii 'Pink Journey'[33]
  • × parkmanii 'Pink Sensation'[33]
  • × parkmanii 'Red Ace'[33]
  • × parkmanii 'Red Gem'[33]
  • × parkmanii 'Red Trump'[34]
  • × parkmanii 'Ringatira'[34]
  • × parkmanii 'Rising Star'
  • × parkmanii 'Snowflakes'[35]
  • × parkmanii 'Snowy'[36]
  • × parkmanii 'Tetra Journey'[37]
  • × parkmanii 'Tiger Face'[37]
  • × parkmanii 'Trixie'[37]
  • 'Peach Bouquet'[38]
  • 'Penelope'[39]
  • Phillipa'[40]
  • 'Red Ruby'[41]
  • 'Swan Lake'[42]
  • 'Waireka'[43]
  • 'Walter Ward'[44]

Awards

Bibliography

References
  1. Historical Notes About Two International Rhododendron Conference Speakers, Journal of the American Rhododendron Society.
  2. "Palmerston North – Cemetery warrant for JOHN STUART YEATES". pncc.govt.nz. 2011. Retrieved 7 June 2011.
  3. NZETC entity page
  4. "Papers Past — Evening Post — 13 September 1923 — VICTORIA COLLEGE COUNCIL". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 2011. Retrieved 24 October 2011.
  5. Letter from The Registar to G.W. Yeates, dated 2 August 1982.
  6. "Papers Past — Evening Post — 25 July 1927 — PERSONAL MATTERS". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 2014. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
  7. "THE SPIKE OR VICTORIA UNIVERSITY COLLEGE REVIEW JUNE 1925 — CONGRATULATIONS". nzetc.victoria.ac.nz. 2014. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
  8. "A Chronology of the Tararua and Rimutaka Ranges 5th edition, p18" (PDF). nzetc.victoria.ac.nz. 2006. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
  9. "Papers Past — Evening Post — 21 December 1929 — FLAX RESEARCH". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 2011. Retrieved 24 October 2011.
  10. "Papers Past — Evening Post — 8 December 1927 — FLAX GROWING". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 2011. Retrieved 24 October 2011.
  11. Maggy Wassilieff. Suburban front gardens, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, Ministry for Culture and Heritage. ISBN 978-0-478-18451-8. Updated 20 November 2008.
  12. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 24 August 2013. Retrieved 21 October 2013.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  13. The Lily Register lilyregister.com
  14. "International Lily Register and Checklist". 2007. p. 507.
  15. "International Lily Register and Checklist". 2007. p. 69.
  16. "International Lily Register and Checklist". 2007. p. 70.
  17. "International Lily Register and Checklist". 2007. p. 71.
  18. "International Lily Register and Checklist". 2007. p. 220.
  19. "International Lily Register and Checklist". 2007. p. 222.
  20. "International Lily Register and Checklist". 2007. p. 249.
  21. "International Lily Register and Checklist". 2007. p. 264.
  22. "International Lily Register and Checklist". 2007. p. 310.
  23. "International Lily Register and Checklist". 2007. p. 407.
  24. "International Lily Register and Checklist". 2007. p. 591.
  25. "International Lily Register and Checklist". 2007. p. 593.
  26. "International Lily Register and Checklist". 2007. p. 594.
  27. "International Lily Register and Checklist". 2007. p. 596.
  28. The Lily Register lilyregister.com
  29. Plant Breeding in New Zealand By G.S. Wratt and H.C. Smith. Page 174.
  30. "International Lily Register and Checklist". 2007. p. 597.
  31. "International Lily Register and Checklist". 2007. p. 598.
  32. "International Lily Register and Checklist". 2007. p. 599.
  33. "International Lily Register and Checklist". 2007. p. 600.
  34. "International Lily Register and Checklist". 2007. p. 601.
  35. "International Lily Register and Checklist". 2007. p. 602.
  36. "International Lily Register and Checklist". 2007. p. 603.
  37. "International Lily Register and Checklist". 2007. p. 604.
  38. "International Lily Register and Checklist". 2007. p. 612.
  39. "International Lily Register and Checklist". 2007. p. 616.
  40. "International Lily Register and Checklist". 2007. p. 622.
  41. "International Lily Register and Checklist". 2007. p. 679.
  42. "International Lily Register and Checklist". 2007. p. 815.
  43. "International Lily Register and Checklist". 2007. p. 882.
  44. "International Lily Register and Checklist". 2007. p. 883.
  45. Academic Record for John Stuart Yeates, dated 30 July 1982
  46. "No. 47420". The London Gazette (3rd supplement). 31 December 1977. p. 43.

Further reading
  • Who's who in New Zealand 3rd Edition (1932)
  • Who's who in New Zealand 6th Edition (1956)
  • Notable New Zealander's The Pictorial Who's Who 1st Edition (1976)
  • John Stuart Yeates by J.E.Godley, Biographical Notes (67) serialised in New Zealand Botanical Society Newsletter 90–92, 2007–2008.
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