if one compiles and installs util-linux as is required for 2.2 kernels, /sbin/hwclock is installed rc.sysinit then tries to start /sbin/hwclock with options for /sbin/clock hwclock doesn't seem to work unless /dev/rtc support is compiled into the kernel. So an easy fix would be to prefer /sbin/clock over /sbin/hwclock
We don't ship hwclock on the alpha.