Celebrity gardener Peter Cundall dies at the age of 94

Celebrity gardener and former ABC presenter Peter Cundall has died at the age of 94.

The broadcaster circulated a statement on Sunday afternoon confirming the death of the much-loved gardening guru following a short illness.

“On Sun 5th December 2021,Peter Cundall passed away peacefully after a short illness,surrounded by his family,” the statement said.

“Peter’s privacy,and the privacy of his family,is to be respected during this very sad time.

“Peter’s family does not wish to be contacted.

“While he was loved by many,as per Peter’s wishes,there will be a private cremation and no memorial services will be held. An obituary is to follow.”

According to the ABC,Cundall’s family requested no photo be used in the announcement of his death.

Cundall hosted the ABC’s popularGardening Australiaprogram for 19 years.

The program’s current host,Costa Georgiadis,paid tribute to his predecessor on social media.

“Called back to the earth he loved and nurtured for a lifetime on World Soils Day,” Georgiadis wrote.

“Your service&love of nature will continue to shine&be spread like seeds in the wind by those you’ve inspired for generations.”

Famous for his quips “and that’s your bloomin’ lot” and “it’s dead easy”,Cundall became a fixture at the national broadcaster as he shared his horticultural passion with millions of viewers.

His natural charisma and broadcasting ability took Cundall to the heights of his industry from an impoverished childhood in Manchester,in a family he described as “the poorest of the poor”.

Cundall served in the military during World War II,surviving six months of solitary confinement after he strayed over the border into Yugoslavia and became a prisoner of war.

Cundall emigrated to Australia in 1950 and – following a stint as a machine gunner in the Australian army – settled in northern Tasmania.

His broadcasting career began in the 1960s when he became the expert on one of the world’s first gardening talkback programs for a Launceston radio station.

By 1969 he had a weekly television show on the ABC,It’s Growing,then another,Landscape,and then,from 1990,his anchor role onGardening Australia.

He continued in the role until July 2008 when Cundall recorded his lastGardening Australia program.

“I never lost the passion right from the very beginning,” he said at the time.

Cundall’s experiences in the military led him to become a committed pacifist,and he marched to protest Australia’s involvement in the Iraq war. He was also involved in environmental activism,vigorously opposing a pulp mill development in Tasmania’s Tamar Valley.

He was awarded an Order of Australia for services to the environment in 2007 and in 2009 was named Tasmania of the Year.

Carrie Fellner is an investigative reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.

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