Inconsistency in use of "--bare" between init & clone

I've been getting ready to support my organization in a change-over to git from cvs, and I've found a strange issue when creating bare repositories. The placement of the "--bare" option changes:

git --bare clone <url> == "--bare" is silently ignored git --bare init == Creates an empty bare repo

git clone --bare  ==  Clones the url into a new bare repo
git init --bare  ==  Error:
        usage: git-init [-q | --quiet]
[--template=<template-directory>] [--shared]

I assume there a reason for the lack of symmetry, but I don't understand it.

Thanks, Joe

$ git version git version 1.5.3.7.1157.gbf82a