Peter Cundall
Encyclopedia
Peter Cundall, AM
(born 1 April 1927 in Manchester
, United Kingdom
) is a horticulturalist, conservationist
, author, broadcaster 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. He was awarded a Membership of the Order of Australia
in 2007 "For service to the environment, particularly the protection of wilderness areas in Tasmania, and to horticulture as a presenter of gardening programs on television and radio."
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 a 2008 issue of Reader's Digest
, he came 8th in a poll of the 100 most trusted Australians. He is an environmentalist, pacifist and atheist.
, Cundall joined the British Army
's Parachute Regiment. He was stationed in various countries in post-war Europe
in France
, Austria
, Germany
, Italy
and Yugoslavia
and the Middle East
in Egypt
and the British Mandate for Palestine. During these travels he visited many private and public gardens and parks in order to add to his knowledge of plants and landscaping practices covering a wide range of climatic conditions. He was also stationed at a liberated Concentration Camp and has said that the things he saw and heard had a deep impact on him.
In 1946, Cundall was stationed in southeast Austria at Sankt Paul im Lavanttal
where he was guarding
captured Nazi Waffen-SS
troops. He 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, believing that he was enlisting for a non-combat role as a librarian
. However, he was immediately posted to Korea
with the Australian 3rd Battalion, and once again saw action overseas as a machine gunner during the Korean War
. During a year and a half based in Japan he studied Japanese garden design and rock garden construction. He also gained access to many famous gardens and bonsai
nurseries and regularly went to observe new gardens being created in Hiroshima
, which was being rebuilt after the atomic bombing in 1945
.
candidate for Tasmania 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). He also supports many left wing political and environmental groups by speaking at rallies and events. He is an ardent pacifist and 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. On 19 November 2009, Cundall was arrested by police after refusing to obey requests to move from Tasmanian state parliament's front steps. He was protesting against the Gunns' Bell Bay Pulp Mill
. On 3 February 2010, he pleaded not guilty to the charge of refusing to obey a police order to move away from Parliament House. After the court session, he accused Gunns and the politicians who approved the pulp mill of corruption. He was found guilty without conviction and was fined about A$47 in court costs on 11 February 2011. Despite the fine, he vowed to "continue to peacefully protest against Gunns' proposed Tasmanian pulp mill".
Cundall is a self-described atheist, stating that God and religion "never made sense. I regarded it as another fairy story". He has also said that all religious experiences are illusions, and if "religion is on the right, and atheism is on the left, I am on the far left."
After leaving the Australian Army
in 1956, Cundall moved to Tasmania
, where he started his own gardening and landscaping business designing and constructing gardens in Tasmania. During this period he specialised in landscaping a large number of schools, hospitals, universities, factories, hotels, shopping centres and private gardens in Tasmania and Victoria. He was also an active founding member of the Organic Gardening and Farming Society. In 1967, he started the world's first gardening talkback program on a Launceston
radio station. In 1969, he began presenting a television gardening program for Australia's national broadcaster, the Australian Broadcasting Commission
. Originally called It's Growing and then Landscape, it was another world-first which concentrated on the design and construction of new gardens in Tasmania. This show became one of the longest running, most iconic shows in Australia - Gardening Australia
.
In 1974 he was awarded a Churchill Fellowship
. This enabled him to travel through the United States, Britain and Africa to study organic gardening, landscaping methods, children's playground design and the presentation of television gardening programs in colour. With WGBH Boston and the British Broadcasting Corporation he studied the way television gardening programs were made for differing climatic conditions.
In December 2007, Cundall and the ABC announced that the 2008 series would be his last. On 18 June 2008 he filmed his last Gardening Australia episode at the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens. His last appearance was broadcast on ABC TV on 26 July 2008.
After his regular work on Gardening Australia, Cundall appeared for the "Help Wanted" segment on the ABC's programme Can We Help?
on 11 September 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.
He was a panellist on ABC's Q&A on 25 July 2011.
.
In 2007, he was awarded a Membership of the Order of Australia
in 2007 "For service to the environment, particularly the protection of wilderness areas in Tasmania, and to horticulture as a presenter of gardening programs on television and radio."
Also in 2007, he was awarded Organic Federation of Australia’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007.
In 1994 Cundall was appointed Envoy for the Save the Children Fund.
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
(born 1 April 1927 in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
) is a horticulturalist, conservationist
Conservationist
Conservationists are proponents or advocates of conservation. They advocate for the protection of all the species in an ecosystem with a strong focus on the natural environment...
, author, broadcaster and television personality in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. He currently lives in Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
's Tamar Valley
Tamar Valley, Tasmania
The Tamar Valley is a picturesque valley in Tasmania. It runs north-west from the northern city of Launceston to the coast either side of the Tamar River, a distance of approximately 50 km....
, and until the age of 81 continued to be a presenter of the ABC TV
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
program Gardening Australia
Gardening Australia
Gardening Australia is an Australian television program, originally hosted by Peter Cundall, an experienced gardener with a passion for growing plants using organic methods....
. 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. He was awarded a Membership of the Order of Australia
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
in 2007 "For service to the environment, particularly the protection of wilderness areas in Tasmania, and to horticulture as a presenter of gardening programs on television and radio."
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 a 2008 issue of Reader's Digest
Reader's Digest
Reader's Digest is a general interest family magazine, published ten times annually. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, its headquarters is now in New York City. It was founded in 1922, by DeWitt Wallace and Lila Bell Wallace...
, he came 8th in a poll of the 100 most trusted Australians. He is an environmentalist, pacifist and atheist.
Early life and military service
Peter Cundall was born into an impoverished home, "the poorest of the poor", in Manchester on 1 April 1927, as the second of six children. Two of his brothers died when he was young. His father was an alcoholic and battered his mother. This put Cundall off alcohol forever. He was sent to a Catholic school, but never believed the dogma he was taught. His Head Teacher called him a "steady lad who tries hard". He left school at age 12, but straight away had a love for knowledge, books and reading. He worked as a milk boy and a tram conductor. Near the end of World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Cundall joined the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
's Parachute Regiment. He was stationed in various countries in post-war Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
and the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
and the British Mandate for Palestine. During these travels he visited many private and public gardens and parks in order to add to his knowledge of plants and landscaping practices covering a wide range of climatic conditions. He was also stationed at a liberated Concentration Camp and has said that the things he saw and heard had a deep impact on him.
In 1946, Cundall was stationed in southeast Austria at Sankt Paul im Lavanttal
Sankt Paul im Lavanttal
Sankt Paul im Lavanttal is a municipality of the Wolfsberg discrict, Carinthia, Austria.-External links:*http://www.sanktpaul.at...
where he was guarding
Security guard
A security guard is a person who is paid to protect property, assets, or people. Security guards are usually privately and formally employed personnel...
captured Nazi Waffen-SS
Waffen-SS
The Waffen-SS was a multi-ethnic and multi-national military force of the Third Reich. It constituted the armed wing of the Schutzstaffel or SS, an organ of the Nazi Party. The Waffen-SS saw action throughout World War II and grew from three regiments to over 38 divisions, and served alongside...
troops. He was enticed across the border into Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
by a beautiful girl named Angela, and was arrested by Marshal Tito
Josip Broz Tito
Marshal Josip Broz Tito – 4 May 1980) was a Yugoslav revolutionary and statesman. While his presidency has been criticized as authoritarian, Tito was a popular public figure both in Yugoslavia and abroad, viewed as a unifying symbol for the nations of the Yugoslav federation...
's forces after she disappeared. He was sentenced (without trial) to four years imprisonment for espionage, but was released into Trieste
Trieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
after six months in solitary confinement
Solitary confinement
Solitary confinement is a special form of imprisonment in which a prisoner is isolated from any human contact, though often with the exception of members of prison staff. It is sometimes employed as a form of punishment beyond incarceration for a prisoner, and has been cited as an additional...
in a prison in Ljubljana
Ljubljana
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...
, after pressure from the British government led to his release.
Eager to hasten his emigration to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Cundall enlisted in the Australian Army
Australian Army
The Australian Army is Australia's military land force. It is part of the Australian Defence Force along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. While the Chief of Defence commands the Australian Defence Force , the Army is commanded by the Chief of Army...
in 1950, believing that he was enlisting for a non-combat role as a librarian
Librarian
A librarian is an information professional trained in library and information science, which is the organization and management of information services or materials for those with information needs...
. However, he was immediately posted to Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
with the Australian 3rd Battalion, and once again saw action overseas as a machine gunner during the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
. During a year and a half based in Japan he studied Japanese garden design and rock garden construction. He also gained access to many famous gardens and bonsai
Bonsai
is a Japanese art form using miniature trees grown in containers. Similar practices exist in other cultures, including the Chinese tradition of penjing from which the art originated, and the miniature living landscapes of Vietnamese hòn non bộ...
nurseries and regularly went to observe new gardens being created in Hiroshima
Hiroshima
is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture, and the largest city in the Chūgoku region of western Honshu, the largest island of Japan. It became best known as the first city in history to be destroyed by a nuclear weapon when the United States Army Air Forces dropped an atomic bomb on it at 8:15 A.M...
, which was being rebuilt after the atomic bombing in 1945
Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
During the final stages of World War II in 1945, the United States conducted two atomic bombings against the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan, the first on August 6, 1945, and the second on August 9, 1945. These two events are the only use of nuclear weapons in war to date.For six months...
.
Political career and activism
Cundall was a Federal SenateAustralian Senate
The Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives. Senators are popularly elected under a system of proportional representation. Senators are elected for a term that is usually six years; after a double dissolution, however,...
candidate for Tasmania for the Communist Party of Australia
Communist Party of Australia
The Communist Party of Australia was founded in 1920 and dissolved in 1991; it was succeeded by the Socialist Party of Australia, which then renamed itself, becoming the current Communist Party of Australia. The CPA achieved its greatest political strength in the 1940s and faced an attempted...
in the 1961 federal election
Australian federal election, 1961
Federal elections were held in Australia on 9 December 1961. All 122 seats in the House of Representatives, and 31 of the 60 seats in the Senate were up for election...
, and he claims to have recorded the lowest number of votes in a parliamentary election (he did not even vote for himself). He also supports many left wing political and environmental groups by speaking at rallies and events. He is an ardent pacifist and is a keen environmentalist
Environmentalist
An environmentalist broadly supports the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that seeks to improve and protect the quality of the natural environment through changes to environmentally harmful human activities"...
. He was the Chairman of the Tasmanian Wilderness Society during the battle to stop the building of the Franklin Dam
Franklin Dam
The Franklin Dam or Gordon-below-Franklin Dam project was a proposed dam on the Gordon River in Tasmania, Australia, that was never constructed. The movement that eventually led to the project's cancellation became one of most significant environmental campaigns in Australian history.The dam was...
. 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. On 19 November 2009, Cundall was arrested by police after refusing to obey requests to move from Tasmanian state parliament's front steps. He was protesting against the Gunns' Bell Bay Pulp Mill
Bell Bay Pulp Mill
The Bell Bay Pulp Mill, also known as the Tamar Valley Pulp Mill or Gunns Pulp Mill, is a proposed $2.3 billion pulp mill which Gunns Limited is planning to build in the Tamar Valley, near Launceston, Tasmania.-Proposed mill:...
. On 3 February 2010, he pleaded not guilty to the charge of refusing to obey a police order to move away from Parliament House. After the court session, he accused Gunns and the politicians who approved the pulp mill of corruption. He was found guilty without conviction and was fined about A$47 in court costs on 11 February 2011. Despite the fine, he vowed to "continue to peacefully protest against Gunns' proposed Tasmanian pulp mill".
Cundall is a self-described atheist, stating that God and religion "never made sense. I regarded it as another fairy story". He has also said that all religious experiences are illusions, and if "religion is on the right, and atheism is on the left, I am on the far left."
Gardening and broadcasting
Australian Army
The Australian Army is Australia's military land force. It is part of the Australian Defence Force along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. While the Chief of Defence commands the Australian Defence Force , the Army is commanded by the Chief of Army...
in 1956, Cundall moved to Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
, where he started his own gardening and landscaping business designing and constructing gardens in Tasmania. During this period he specialised in landscaping a large number of schools, hospitals, universities, factories, hotels, shopping centres and private gardens in Tasmania and Victoria. He was also an active founding member of the Organic Gardening and Farming Society. In 1967, he started the world's first gardening talkback program on a Launceston
Launceston, Tasmania
Launceston is a city in the north of the state of Tasmania, Australia at the junction of the North Esk and South Esk rivers where they become the Tamar River. Launceston is the second largest city in Tasmania after the state capital Hobart...
radio station. In 1969, he began presenting a television gardening program for Australia's national broadcaster, the Australian Broadcasting Commission
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
. Originally called It's Growing and then Landscape, it was another world-first which concentrated on the design and construction of new gardens in Tasmania. This show became one of the longest running, most iconic shows in Australia - Gardening Australia
Gardening Australia
Gardening Australia is an Australian television program, originally hosted by Peter Cundall, an experienced gardener with a passion for growing plants using organic methods....
.
In 1974 he was awarded a Churchill Fellowship
Winston Churchill Memorial Trust
The Winston Churchill Memorial Trusts are three independent but related living memorials to Sir Winston Churchill. They are based in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. The Winston Churchill Memorial Trusts are three independent but related living memorials to Sir Winston Churchill. They are based...
. This enabled him to travel through the United States, Britain and Africa to study organic gardening, landscaping methods, children's playground design and the presentation of television gardening programs in colour. With WGBH Boston and the British Broadcasting Corporation he studied the way television gardening programs were made for differing climatic conditions.
In December 2007, Cundall and the ABC announced that the 2008 series would be his last. On 18 June 2008 he filmed his last Gardening Australia episode at the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens. His last appearance was broadcast on ABC TV on 26 July 2008.
After his regular work on Gardening Australia, Cundall appeared for the "Help Wanted" segment on the ABC's programme Can We Help?
Can We Help?
Can We Help? is a factual Australian television series hosted by Peter Rowsthorn.It is in its sixth season in 2011 and is broadcast on ABC1 at 6.00pm on Saturdays. The program is driven by viewer questions and requests for help in regards to a wide range of subjects...
on 11 September 2009 to help Adenocarcinoma
Adenocarcinoma
Adenocarcinoma is a cancer of an epithelium that originates in glandular tissue. Epithelial tissue includes, but is not limited to, the surface layer of skin, glands and a variety of other tissue that lines the cavities and organs of the body. Epithelium can be derived embryologically from...
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.
He was a panellist on ABC's Q&A on 25 July 2011.
Awards
In 2006, Cundall was named Australian Humanist of the YearCouncil of Australian Humanist Societies
The Council of Australian Humanist Societies is the national umbrella organisation for Australian humanists. It is affiliated with the International Humanist and Ethical Union...
.
In 2007, he was awarded a Membership of the Order of Australia
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
in 2007 "For service to the environment, particularly the protection of wilderness areas in Tasmania, and to horticulture as a presenter of gardening programs on television and radio."
Also in 2007, he was awarded Organic Federation of Australia’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007.
In 1994 Cundall was appointed Envoy for the Save the Children Fund.