Francis Desmond Torley (28 February 1941 – 27 March 2016) was a New Zealand television reporter and producer, best known for his work on ''
Country Calendar
''Country Calendar'' is a New Zealand documentary television series focusing on rural life in New Zealand. It has been aired on TVNZ 1 since March 1966, making it New Zealand's longest-running television series. Since 2013 the show aired for a se ...
'' spanning almost 50 years.
Early life and family
Born in
Dunedin
Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...
on 28 February 1941, Torley was raised there and in Timaru and
Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
, where he was educated at Sacred Heart College. He was a farm worker for three years after leaving school, before joining
Wright Stephenson
Wright Stephenson was a stock and station agency founded in Dunedin, New Zealand, in 1861.
Foundation and development
The business was begun in 1861 as Wright, Robertson, & Co. by partners John T. Wright and Robert M. Robertson as a result of ...
as a stock and station agent. He married his wife, Jennifer Eva Torley, in 1966, and the couple went on to have two children.
Palmerston North
Palmerston North (; mi, Te Papa-i-Oea, known colloquially as Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatu Plains, the city is near the north bank of the ...
as a rural reporter covering central New Zealand, and made his first contribution to ''Country Calendar'' the following year. He continued working on radio and on ''Country Calendar'' until 1975, despite moving to
Christchurch
Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...
in 1970. Following the restructuring of the NZBC in 1975, Torley spent 18 months as a newsreader on television in Christchurch, and then became a reporter and director for ''Country Calendar'', based in
Wellington
Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...
. After training as a producer, he became the producer of ''Country Calendar'' and head of
TVNZ
, type = Crown entity
, industry = Broadcast television
, num_locations = New Zealand
, location = Auckland, New Zealand
, area_served = Nationally (New Zealand) and some Pacific Island nations such as the Cook Islands, Fiji, and the So ...
's rural programmes unit in 1981. As well as ''Country Calendar'', Torley produced ''
A Dog's Show
''A Dog's Show'' A Dog's Show NZ On Screen. is a
'', ''Agri-Tech 2000'', and the '' Young Farmer of the Year'' finale shows.
For a number of years in the 1980s, Torley was stood down from ''Country Calendar'' after he appeared in an advertisement for Wrightsons, which TVNZ deemed to be a conflict of interest. During this period he was producer of the broadcaster's religious programmes and co-presented '' Top Town'' with Craig Little.
Torley was named "agricultural communicator of the year" in 1989 by the New Zealand Guild of Agricultural Journalists and Communicators. In the
2003 New Year Honours
The 2003 New Year's Honours List is one of the annual New Year Honours, a part of the British monarch's honours system, where 1 January is marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of ot ...
, Torley was appointed a
Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit
The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ren ...
, for services to television.
In 2005, Torley was replaced by Julian O'Brien as producer of ''Country Country'', becoming the programme's executive producer, while continuing to report and direct items until 2014. He finally retired as the show's narrator in early 2016.
Death
Torley died of cancer in Wellington on 27 March 2016, shortly after ''Country Calendar'' celebrated its 50th anniversary on air.