November 2011 – The Clark Walton Scholarship

The Clark Walton Pinnacle Scholarship for architecture, design and planning, or visual and creative arts, was the first named scholarship to be announced by The Pinnacle Foundation. Clark was an out and proud gay man from his early twenties until his death aged 61 in March 2011. He was an award-winning architect with many of his designs appearing in leading style magazines. In 2002, Clark was awarded the Energy Efficiency/ESD Architecture Award for the Interactive Learning Centre at Charles Sturt University. Clark was a member of the RAIA and the Master Builders.

Clark started painting when he was at high school, achieving a very high result in Art in his HSC. He continued to paint throughout his working life, something from which he derived great pleasure and recognition from friends, family and colleagues. In later years, Clark devoted more time to painting based on the land and seascape around Coledale, where he spent his retirement. Close friends of Clark’s, Ian Dickson AM and his partner Reg Holloway, said they created an endowment because it was the best way they could celebrate Clark’s life and contribution to urban planning and design.

Ian said: “Clark Walton was an out gay man in the seventies before homosexual acts had been legalised in NSW. He was lucky in that he had supportive and understanding family members who were proud of who he was and what he had achieved. His family understood the importance of education and encouraged his interest in architecture. He was also a great supporter of the LGBTIQ+ community. So, my partner Reg Holloway and I knew that Clark would be happy that his name was being linked to a scholarship to help those in the community who had not had his advantages. We think Clark would have been especially enthusiastic about the concept of each scholarship recipient having a mentor to advise and encourage them in their special field of interest. We are delighted that this scholarship can both assist those who might otherwise not have had the chance to make the most of their abilities and keep the memory of our dear friend alive.”