THE CREATOR OF THE WORLD FAMOUS PINK LADY™
John Ernest Lane Cripps AO (1927–2022) was a British-born Australian horticulturalist best known for developing the apple cultivar ‘Cripps Pink’, marketed globally as Pink Lady®. After studying horticulture at the University of Reading in England, Cripps migrated to Western Australia in 1955 to work for the Western Australian Department of Agriculture. There he led long-term apple breeding programs aimed at producing high-quality apples suited to Australian growing conditions.
In the early 1970s, he crossed the Australian cultivar ‘Lady Williams’ with ‘Golden Delicious’, combining the excellent storage qualities of Lady Williams with the sweetness and texture of Golden Delicious. The resulting selection, later named ‘Cripps Pink’, became one of the most commercially successful apples in the world.
Cripps’ work transformed not only Australian apple breeding, but also global fruit marketing. Released commercially in 1991, Pink Lady® became one of the first internationally trademarked fresh fruit brands, with strict quality standards governing its sale. Cripps also bred related cultivars including ‘Cripps Red’ (marketed as Sundowner®), further cementing his influence on modern apple production.
His achievements were widely recognised: he was inducted into the Royal Agricultural Society of Western Australia Hall of Fame in 2010 and appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 2015 for distinguished service to horticulture and agriculture. Today, his breeding legacy continues through international research programs and scholarships established in his honour in Western Australia.
References incl:
Vale John Cripps
Horticulture scholarship to unlock Pink Lady mystery
Vale John Cripps: Father of the Pink Lady® apple
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