Peter Cundall
3413362
225996084
2008-07-16T11:05:12Z
59.167.51.8
/* Gardening career */
{{Infobox Actor
|name = Peter Cundall
|image = Peter Cundall.jpg
|birthdate = {{Birth date and age|1927|04|1|df=yes}}
|location = [[Manchester]], [[England]]<br>{{GBR}}
|occupation = [[Soldier]], [[horticulturalist]], [[television presenter]], [[conservationist]]
|yearsactive = 1969-present
|spouse = Tina
}}
'''Peter Cundall''' [[Order of Australia|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 [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation|ABC TV]] program ''[[Gardening Australia]]''. Last show recorded Wednesday, 11th of June, which will air on the 26th of July. 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 (United Kingdom)|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 [[Josip Broz Tito|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==
[[Image:Peter Cundalls garden.jpg|thumb|250px|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, Tasmania|Launceston]] radio station. In [[1969]], he began a long working relationship with Australia's national broadcaster, the [[Australian Broadcasting Commission]] (now 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". It was shown on the [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation|ABC]] (Australian) Channel. Later that year<ref>Dec 13, 2007 http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/12/13/2118452.htm</ref> Peter 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.
==Awards==
In 2006, Cundall was named [[Council of Australian Humanist Societies|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]].
==External links and references==
*[http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/stories/s731070.htm Peter Cundall on Gardening Australia] (ABC TV website)
*[http://www.abc.net.au/tv/enoughrope/transcripts/s1391016.htm Interview transcript: Peter Cundall] ''[[Enough Rope]] with [[Andrew Denton]]'', [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation|ABC TV]], [[13 June]] [[2005]]
*[http://www.abc.net.au/tv/talkingheads/ Interview on ABC television's ''Talking Heads'' March 2007]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cundall, Peter}}
[[Category:1927 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from Manchester]]
[[Category:Australian communists]]
[[Category:Australian television personalities]]
[[Category:Australian gardeners]]
[[Category:British Parachute Regiment soldiers]]
[[Category:Australian Army soldiers]]
[[Category:Australian military personnel of the Korean War]]
[[Category:Members of the Order of Australia]]