Peter Cundall
Peter Cundall | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Occupation(s) | Soldier, horticulturalist, television presenter, conservationist |
| Years active | 1969-present |
| Spouse | Tina |
Peter Cundall AM (born 1st April 1927 in Manchester, England) 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 was recorded Wednesday, 11th of June, which aired on the 26th of 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.
Military career
Near the end of World War II, Cundall joined the British Army's Parachute Regiment, where he was stationed in various countries in post-war Europe (France, Austria, Germany, Italy and Yugoslavia) and the Middle East (Egypt and Israel).
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.
Eager to hasten his emigration to Australia, Cundall enlisted in the Australian Army in 1950. In interviews he has stated that he naïvely believed 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.
Political career
Cundall was a Tasmanian Senate candidate for the Communist Party of Australia. He also supports many left wing political and environmental groups by speaking at rallies and events. He is a keen environmentalist.
Gardening career
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 (now the Australian Broadcasting Corporation). This show, after several name and format changes, became what is now one of the longest running, most iconic shows in Australia - Gardening Australia. Cundall has presented the show since 1969 and it is still broadcast weekly by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
On Saturday March 31, 2007, an episode of Gardening Australia, was dedicated to Peter's 80th birthday, which showed many of his famous clips episodes and his catchphrase,"That's Your Bloomin' Lot". Later that year[1] Peter and the ABC announced that the 2008 series would be his last. On June 18, 2008 he filmed his last Gardening Australia episode at the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens. His last appearance is scheduled for broadcast on ABC TV on July 26, 2008.
Cundall's long service on Gardening Australia has made him into a major figure in Australian gardening as well as turning him into a person who is known of by most Australians, even those who are not gardeners.
Awards
In 2006, Cundall was named Australian Humanist of the Year.
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.
The Ronnie Johns Half Hour
Comedian, Dan Ilic, impersonates Cundall on the sketch comedy program The Ronnie Johns Half Hour. Ilic's Cundall finds himself in problem situations and uses his know-how of manure and compost to solve them. A similar characterisation was made several years earlier by Shaun Micallef.