Peter Hardwick (born 1958) is an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

food Food is any substance consumed by an organism for Nutrient, nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or Fungus, fungal origin and contains essential nutrients such as carbohydrates, fats, protein (nutrient), proteins, vitamins, ...

horticulturist Horticulture (from ) is the art and science of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, trees, shrubs and ornamental plants. Horticulture is commonly associated with the more professional and technical aspects of plant cultivation on a smaller and mo ...

and environmentalist, recognized as an early pioneer of the Australian

bushfood Bush tucker, also called bush food, is any food native to Australia and historically eaten by Indigenous Australians and Torres Strait Islander peoples, but it can also describe any native flora, fauna, or fungi used for culinary or medicinal ...

industry. He publicly challenged the established belief that native Australian food plants were not suitable for cropping; conceived the commercial strategy of processing strong flavored native food plants; and, developed the use of wild and seedling genetic diversity to overcome the lack of domesticated varieties previously considered a limitation with Australian native food plants. In 1977 Hardwick started researching native food plants for their

culinary Culinary arts are the cuisine arts of food preparation, cooking, and presentation of food, usually in the form of meals. People working in this field – especially in establishments such as restaurants – are commonly called chefs or ...

and cropping potential to highlight the economic importance of conserving

rainforest Rainforests are forests characterized by a closed and continuous tree Canopy (biology), canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforests can be generally classified as tropi ...

. In 1978, he studied at Ryde School Horticulture, and investigated potential crops like

Davidsonia ''Davidsonia'' is a genus containing three rainforest tree species native to Australia, commonly known as the Davidson plum or Davidson's plum. The fruits superficially resemble the European plum, but are not closely related. All species have an ...

riberry ''Syzygium luehmannii'' is a medium-sized coastal rainforest tree native to Australia. Common names include riberry, small leaved lilly pilly, cherry satinash, cherry alder, or clove lilli pilli. The habitat is Australian riverine, littoral, ...

, bunya nut and plum pine ( Illawarra plum). During the 1980s Hardwick worked for NSW Agriculture. In 1988 he founded Wilderness Foods Ltd, a

company which pioneered the selection and production of aromatic Australian spices; planted mixed species cultivation trials; and worked with local Aboriginal communities on developing native food enterprise. In cooperation with the Essential Oils Unit, Wollongbar Agricultural Institute, Hardwick screened native

essential oil An essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile (easily evaporated at normal temperatures) chemical compounds from plants. Essential oils are also known as volatile oils, ethereal oils, aetheroleum, or simply as the ...

plants for potential as Australian spices in the developing bushfood market. This included

lemon myrtle ''Backhousia citriodora'', commonly known as lemon myrtle, lemon scented myrtle or lemon scented ironwood, is a flowering plant in the family Myrtaceae. It is native to the subtropical rainforests of central and south-eastern Queensland, Austral ...

, aniseed myrtle, Cinnamon Myrtle, Lemon Ironbark, and

Dorrigo Pepper ''Tasmannia stipitata'', commonly known as northern pepperbush is a flowering plant in the family Winteraceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It has narrowly lance-shaped to narrowly elliptic leaves and male and female flowers on separate ...

. Hardwick has authored several papers on native food plants, and works as a wild food researcher and forager.Profile
/ref>

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Bruneteau, Jean-Paul,''Tukka, Real Australian Food'', 1996, .

External links

* "Bush Food Pioneering", ''TROPO's Organic Info Library'

* "Learn about bushfoods benefits", ''Northern Rivers Echo''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hardwick, Peter Australian agriculturalists Living people 1958 births