William Norman Peach (15 May 1935 – 27 August 2013) known as Bill Peach, was an Australian television journalist who hosted the ABC current affairs program ''

This Day Tonight ''This Day Tonight'' (TDT) was an Australian Broadcasting Commission The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and ...

'' from 1967 to 1975.

Early life and education

Peach was born in 1935 in the

Riverina The Riverina () is an agricultural list of regions in Australia, region of south-western New South Wales, Australia. The Riverina is distinguished from other Australian regions by the combination of flat plains, a climate with significant seaso ...

town of

Lockhart, New South Wales Lockhart is a town in the Riverina Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the location of the Lockhart Shire Council. At the 2016 census, Lockhart had a population of 818 people. History Lockhart was named after C.G.N. Lockhart – a co ...

, his father was a stock agent, whilst his mum came from a family of graziers. He was educated at a Roman Catholic boarding school,

St Stanislaus College St Stanislaus College (often called Tullabeg College) was a Jesuit boys boarding school, novitiate and philosophy school, in Tullabeg, Rahan, County Offaly. St Carthage founded a monastery of 800 monks there in 595 before founding his monaste ...

in Bathurst, and then studied a master of arts degree at St John's College,

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

, where he met his future wife, Shirley.

Media career

Peach joined the

Australian Broadcasting Commission The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is a ...

(ABC) in 1958, as a specialist trainee in the talks department. In 1960, he joined the Sydney office of the

British Broadcasting Corporation The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public broadcasting, public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved in ...

(BBC) where he worked in program sales. In 1962, he and his wife moved to the United Kingdom, where he worked for three years for the BBC overseas service, based in London and later New York City. Returning to Australia in 1965, Peach joined

Network Ten Network 10 (commonly known as the 10 Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Paramount Global's Paramount Networks UK & Australia, UK & Australia division and is o ...

, where he co-produced and presented Australia's first current affairs program, ''Telescope'', with Tanya Halesworth. In 1966, he returned to the ABC as a reporter for ''

Four Corners Four Corners is a region of the Southwestern United States consisting of the southwestern corner of Colorado, southeastern corner of Utah, northeastern corner of Arizona, and northwestern corner of New Mexico. Most of the Four Corners regio ...

''.Bill Peach interviewed by Ann Turner (sound recording)
National Library of Australia, 1994. In 1967, he was appointed as the presenter of ABC's new evening current affairs series, ''

'', which he hosted for eight years. In 1975, Peach left ''This Day Tonight'' and was awarded a Logie in that year for Outstanding Contribution to Television in recognition of his eight years of service on the program. He then hosted a travel series called ''Peach's Australia'' and wrote two books in the ''

Ginger Meggs ''Ginger Meggs'', created in 1921 by Jimmy Bancks, is one of Australia's most popular and the longest-running comic strip. The strip follows the escapades of a red-haired prepubescent mischief-maker who lives in an inner suburban working-class ...

'' series. Bill Peach also wrote ''The Explorers'', published in 1984, dealing with the early European explorers of Australia during the colonial era and presented the eponymous TV show.Peach, Bill
''AustLit''.

Tourism career

After leaving the ABC, Peach started a travel and tourism company, Bill Peach Journeys. In the 1991 Queen's Birthday Honours, Peach was made a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

(AM) for service to the media and to tourism.PEACH, William Norman AM
''It's an Honour'', 10 June 1991.

Death

Peach died of cancer at the

Royal North Shore Hospital The Royal North Shore Hospital (RNSH) is a major public teaching hospital in Sydney, Australia, located in the suburb of St Leonards. It serves as a teaching hospital for Sydney Medical School at the University of Sydney, University of Technol ...

in Sydney in the early morning of 27 August 2013.

References

External links

Bill Peach Journeys website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Peach, Bill 1935 births 2013 deaths Australian television journalists Australian television presenters Australian travel writers Deaths from cancer in New South Wales Logie Award winners Members of the Order of Australia People from the Riverina University of Sydney alumni People educated at St Stanislaus' College (Bathurst)