John Andrew Durrant Olle (28 December 194712 December 1995), always known as Andrew Olle, was a radio and

television presenter A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces, hosts television show, television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. Nowadays, it is common for ...

on the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...

, beginning his career in 1967 as a news cadet and, until his death, working in a wide variety of programs, including ''

The 7.30 Report ''The 7.30 Report'' is an Australian week-nightly television current affairs program, which was shown on ABC1 and ABC News 24 at from 1986 to 2011. In 2011, it evolved into ''7.30'', a revamped current affairs program. History ''The 7.30 Report ...

'', ABC Radio 2BL, Sydney, ''Nationwide'', ''

Four Corners The 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. The Four Corners area ...

'' and ''

A Big Country ''A Big Country'' (1968 - 1991) was an Australian television documentary series produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). History The series' purpose was to document life in rural Australia for the information of Australian city ...

''. It was also at 2BL that he met and worked with his long-time friend

Paul Lyneham Paul Lyneham (13 August 1945 – 24 November 2000) was an Australian journalist, commentator and television presenter. Lyneham was born in Melbourne

. Olle was born in

Hornsby, New South Wales Hornsby is a suburb in the Northern Sydney region, or Upper North Shore of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia, approximately north-west of the Sydney central business district. It is the administrative centre of the local ...

, the son of John Durrant Olle (1912–1975), and died in 1995 in Sydney from a brain tumour (

glioblastoma multiforme Glioblastoma, previously known as glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), is one of the most aggressive types of cancer that begin within the brain. Initially, signs and symptoms of glioblastoma are nonspecific. They may include headaches, personality ch ...

) which was not diagnosed until he was rushed to hospital following a massive

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

and collapse. He never regained consciousness and died within a week, on 12 December. He was survived by his wife, Annette, and children Nick Olle, Sam and Nina. On 13 December, in the NSW State Parliament, the

Premier of New South Wales The premier of New South Wales is the head of government in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Government of New South Wales follows the Westminster Parliamentary System, with a Parliament of New South Wales acting as the legislature. ...

Bob Carr Robert John Carr (born 28 September 1947) is an Australian retired politician and journalist who served as the 39th Premier of New South Wales from 1995 to 2005, as the leader of the NSW Branch of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). He later en ...

, himself a former ABC journalist, moved a formal condolence motion on Olle's death. For his Memorial Service in the

Sydney Town Hall The Sydney Town Hall is a late 19th-century heritage-listed town hall building in the city of Sydney, the capital city of New South Wales, Australia, housing the chambers of the Lord Mayor of Sydney, council offices, and venues for meetings and ...

on 22 December,

Peter Sculthorpe Peter Joshua Sculthorpe (29 April 1929 – 8 August 2014) was an Australian composer. Much of his music resulted from an interest in the music of countries neighboring Australia as well as from the impulse to bring together aspects of Aborigin ...

wrote a special arrangement for cello and piano of his 1947 work ''Parting'', dedicated to Olle, which was played by Nathan Waks and

Kathryn Selby Kathryn Shauna Selby Member of the Order of Australia, AM (born 1962) is an Australian Classical music, classical piano, pianist. She is often known as Kathy Selby. Biography She grew up in Sydney. She entered the Sydney Conservatorium of Music ...

.Australian Music Centre
/ref>

Legacy

The Andrew Olle Memorial Trust was established to raise money for brain cancer and neurosurgery research. The

Andrew Olle Media Lecture The Andrew Olle Media Lecture was established in 1996 by the presenters and staff at 702 ABC Sydney (formerly 2BL) to honour the memory of ABC Radio and television broadcaster Andrew Olle, who died in 1995 of a brain tumour. It focuses on the role ...

is an annual lecture held by the ABC in his honour.

Sources

* ''About Andrew Olle'', Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 15 October 200

* Helen Pitt, ''A cancer with still no cure in mind'', Sydney Morning Herald, 12 December 200

* Chris Masters, "Olle, John Andrew (1947–1995)", ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'', 201

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Olle, Andrew 1947 births 1995 deaths Australian television presenters ABC radio (Australia) journalists and presenters Deaths from brain tumor