Peter Cundall

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Peter Cundall
Peter Cundall.jpg
Born 1 April 1927 (1927-04-01) (age 82)
Manchester, United Kingdom
 United Kingdom
Occupation Soldier, horticulturalist, television presenter, conservationist
Years active 1969-2008


Peter Cundall AM (born 1 April 1927 in Manchester, United Kingdom) is a horticulturalist and television personality in Australia. He currently lives in Tasmania's Tamar Valley, and until the age of 81 continued to be a presenter of the ABC TV program Gardening Australia. His last show aired on 26 July 2008. He will continue his radio show from Tasmania, his appearances at the Gardening Australia Expos and continue work on his autobiography.

Amongst the gardeners of Australia, Peter Cundall has become a household name. The TV show and magazine Gardening Australia Peter represents has a devoted audience of both younger and older gardeners and admirers. At Gardening Australia Live shows (gardening exhibitions in Australian capital cities) Peter Cundall's presentations attract many viewers. In an issue of Reader's Digest, he came 8th in a poll of the 100 most trusted Australians (he was beaten by The Wiggles and Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark).[1]

Contents

[edit] Early life and military career

Peter Cundall was born in Manchester on 1 April 1927, one of six children. He was sent to a Catholic school, but never believed the dogma he was taught. He left school at age 12. Near the end of World War II, Cundall joined the British Army's Parachute Regiment, and he was stationed in various countries in post-war Europe (France, Austria, Germany, Italy and Yugoslavia) and the Middle East (Egypt and Israel).[2][3]

In 1946, Cundall was enticed across the border into Yugoslavia by a beautiful girl named Angela, and was arrested by Marshal Tito's forces after she disappeared. He was sentenced (without trial) to four years imprisonment for espionage, but was released into Trieste, Italy after six months in solitary confinement in a prison in Ljubljana, after pressure from the British government led to his release.[2]

Eager to hasten his emigration to Australia, Cundall enlisted in the Australian Army in 1950, believing that he was enlisting for a non-combat role as a librarian. However, he was immediately posted to Korea, and once again saw action overseas as a machine gunner during the Korean War.[4]

[edit] Political career and activism

Cundall was a Tasmanian Senate candidate for the Communist Party of Australia in the 1961 federal election, and he claims to have recorded the lowest number of votes in a parliamentary election (he did not even vote for himself).[1][5] He also supports many left wing political and environmental groups by speaking at rallies and events. He is a keen environmentalist. He was the Chairman of the Tasmanian Wilderness Society during the battle to stop the building of the Franklin Dam. He has been campaigning for three years against the construction of Gunns' pulp mill in the Tamar Valley. In 2003 Cundall also marched, with thousands of other Australians, in protest against Australia's involvement in the Iraq war.[6]

On 19 November 2009 Cundall was arrested by police after refusing requests to move from Tasmanian state parliament's front steps. He was protesting the against Gunns' Tamar Valley pulp mill.[7]

[edit] Gardening career

Peter Cundall's vegetable garden used in Gardening Australia

After leaving the Australian Army in 1956, Cundall moved to Tasmania, where he started his own gardening and landscaping business. In 1967, he started a gardening talkback program on a Launceston radio station. In 1969, he began presenting a studio-based garden advice program for Australia's national broadcaster, the Australian Broadcasting Commission. This show, after several name and format changes, became one of the longest running, most iconic shows in Australia - Gardening Australia.[6]

In 1974 he studied organic gardening and landscaping overseas, thanks to a Churchill Fellowship.[1]

In December 2007, Peter and the ABC announced that the 2008 series would be his last.[8] On June 18, 2008 he filmed his last Gardening Australia episode at the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens. His last appearance was broadcast on ABC TV on July 26, 2008.[9]

After his regular work on Gardening Australia, Cundall appeared for the "Help Wanted" segment on the ABC's programme Can We Help? on September 11, 2009 to help Adenocarcinoma sufferer Michael Carson and his wife Dympna with rebuilding a vegetable garden in their backyard. About a month after the segment had been filmed, Carson died from his illness.[10]

[edit] Awards

In 2006, Cundall was named Australian Humanist of the Year.[11] Cundall is a self-described atheist, stating that God and religion "never made sense. I regarded it as another fairy story".[2]

In 2007, Cundall was made a Member (AM) of the Order of Australia in the Australia Day Honours list for services to the environment and horticulture.[12][13]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c Gadd, Denise (5 July 2008). "An Earthly Delight". The Age. http://www.theage.com.au/news/tv--radio/an-earthly-delight/2008/07/03/1214950948104.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1. Retrieved 30 August 2009. 
  2. ^ a b c "Peter Cundall". Wisdom Interviews. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 1 August 2004. http://www.abc.net.au/rn/bigidea/stories/s1149441.htm. Retrieved 30 August 2009. 
  3. ^ "Peter Cundall". Talking Heads. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 26 March 2007. http://www.abc.net.au/talkingheads/txt/s1884342.htm. Retrieved 30 August 2009. 
  4. ^ "Peter Cundall". Enough Rope. ABC Television. 13 June 2005. Transcript. Retrieved on 30 August 2009.
  5. ^ Kermond, Clare (15 July 2004). "Seeds of sanity". The Age. http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/07/14/1089694412847.html. Retrieved 30 August 2009. 
  6. ^ a b Schmidt, Lucinda (28 March 2006). "Profile: Peter Cundall". The Sydney Morning Herald. http://www.smh.com.au/news/money/profile-peter-cundall/2006/03/27/1143441084679.html. Retrieved 30 August 2009. 
  7. ^ "Peter Cundall arrested at pulp mill protest". ABC News. 19 November 2009. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/11/19/2747585.htm. Retrieved 19 November 2009. 
  8. ^ "Gardening expert Cundall to retire". ABC News. 13 December 2007. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/12/13/2118452.htm. Retrieved 30 August 2009. 
  9. ^ "Late bloomer". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 17 July 2008. http://www.abc.net.au/corp/communications/you/stories/s2303039.htm. Retrieved 30 August 2009. 
  10. ^ "Help Wanted - Episode 31 (2009)". Can We Help?. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 11 September 2009. http://www.abc.net.au/tv/canwehelp/txt/s2683296.htm. Retrieved 11 September 2009. 
  11. ^ "Australian Humanists Of The Year". Humanist Society of Victoria. http://home.vicnet.net.au/~humanist/resources/aushumanists.html. Retrieved 30 August 2009. 
  12. ^ "Full list of 2007 Australia Day Honours". The Australian. 26 January 2007. http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21120985-601,00.html. Retrieved 30 August 2009. 
  13. ^ "Name: CUNDALL, Peter". www.itsanhonour.gov.au. http://www.itsanhonour.gov.au/honours/honour_roll/search.cfm?aus_award_id=1133744&search_type=quick&showInd=true. Retrieved 20 November 2009. 
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