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 (ABC) evening current affairs program from 1967 to 1978. Founding When ''TDT'' premiered in 1967 it was the first regular nightly current affairs program on Australian TV, an ...

'' from 1967 to 1975.

Early life and education

Peach was born in 1935 in the

Riverina The Riverina is an agricultural region of south-western New South Wales, Australia. The Riverina is distinguished from other Australian regions by the combination of flat plains, warm to hot climate and an ample supply of water for irrigation ...

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 offices. At the 2016 census, Lockhart had a population of 818 people. History Lockhart was named after C.G.N. Lockhart ...

. He was educated at a 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), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's ...

, where he met his future wife, Shirley.

Media career

Peach joined the

Australian Broadcasting Commission 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-owned ...

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

British Broadcasting Corporation #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

(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, 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''.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'', Australia's most popular and longest-running comic strip, was created in the early 1920s by Jimmy Bancks. The strip follows the escapades of a red-haired prepubescent mischief-maker who lives in an inner suburban working-clas ...

'' 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 Order (distinction), honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarchy of Australia, Queen of Aus ...

(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 St Leonards. It serves as a teaching hospital for Sydney Medical School at the University of Sydney and has over 600 beds. It is the prin ...

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