Colin "Col" Campbell (30 October 1933 – 23 August 2012) was a presenter on

Gardening Australia ''Gardening Australia'' is an Australian lifestyle television program which suggests and promotes organic and environmentally friendly ways of gardening. It is created by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and airs on ABC TV, in an hour- ...

, a TV show 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 ...

. He was also a presenter on Brisbane radio station

4BC 4BC is a radio station in Brisbane, Queensland on 882 kHz AM. 4BC is Brisbane's only commercial talkback station. While the station's broadcasting facility is at Cannon Hill, its transmitting tower is located alongside the Gateway Motorway ...

as the "Gardening Guru" of weekend mornings, in which he answered a wide range of questions from callers. Campbell began his radio career in 1983, television in 1985 and newspaper in 1991.

Early life

Campbell was born in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

in 1933. His post school years involved a number of different jobs: grocer's assistant in a small country town in New Zealand,

sales representative Sales are activities related to selling or the number of goods sold in a given targeted time period. The delivery of a service for a cost is also considered a sale. The seller, or the provider of the goods or services, completes a sale in r ...

, stock and station agent, and

auctioneer An auction is usually a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from the lowest bidder. Some exceptions to this definition exi ...

. Eventually employed by a fertiliser company, he gained experience with plants through his time spent conducting

fertiliser A fertilizer (American English) or fertiliser (British English; see spelling differences) is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from ...

trials and involvement with farmers' meetings. Throughout this period he studied as a

mature student An adult learner or, more commonly, a mature student, is a person who is older and is involved in forms of learning. Adult learners fall in a specific criterion of being experienced, and do not always have a high school diploma. Many of the adult ...

at Lincoln College, then part of the University of Canterbury, receiving a Diploma in

Horticulture Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...

. Subsequent studies included a Certificate in

Journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the " news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (pro ...

, a Diploma in

sales Sales are activities related to selling or the number of goods sold in a given targeted time period. The delivery of a service for a cost is also considered a sale. The seller, or the provider of the goods or services, completes a sale in ...

management Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a Government agency, government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includ ...

, and experience gained from a public speaking course.

"Gardening Australia"

A longtime presenter of

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

-specific plants and their gardening techniques, Colin Campbell was a most popular ''Gardening Australia'' celebrity. Colin typically reported on topics such as growing Anthuriums, heliconias,

cordyline ''Cordyline'' is a genus of about 15 species of woody monocotyledonous flowering plants in family Asparagaceae, subfamily Lomandroideae. The subfamily has previously been treated as a separate family Laxmanniaceae, or Lomandraceae. Other authors ...

grevillea ''Grevillea'', commonly known as spider flowers, is a genus of about 360 species of evergreen flowering plants in the family Proteaceae. Plants in the genus ''Grevillea'' are shrubs, rarely trees, with the leaves arranged alternately along the b ...

s, and drought resistant plants,Examples of drought-resistant plants
/ref> used a friendly and humorous style of presentation. Common questions usually involved worries about 'yellowing leaves' ( Nitrogen deficiency) or 'funny white fluffy stuff' ( mealybug). Colin's patience, humour, and down to earth explanations made his show very popular as its longevity shows; it had a loyal following in Southeast Queensland. He also regularly contributed to Brisbane printed media. Colin was a great advocate of gardeners' rights. Although this may seem ambiguous, there was a feeling amongst many gardeners in Australia that they are being wrongly targeted as the culprits behind Southeast Queensland's (and wider Australia's)

water shortage Water scarcity (closely related to water stress or water crisis) is the lack of fresh water resources to meet the standard water demand. There are two types of water scarcity: physical or economic water scarcity. Physical water scarcity is wher ...

problems. Colin was advocating the health benefits that gardening has to offer people of all ages, especially the elderly, and that there are "water wise"" ways to garden. Colin in particular took it upon himself to stand up for gardeners. His goal was to show the inequities of blaming gardeners for water shortages whilst allowing other members of society such as some irresponsible members of the

industrial Industrial may refer to: Industry * Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry * Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems * Industrial city, a city dominate ...

and

commercial Commercial may refer to: * a dose of advertising conveyed through media (such as - for example - radio or television) ** Radio advertisement ** Television advertisement * (adjective for:) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and s ...

sectors to get away with their continued abuses of the system. These views were expressed in many of his presentations and speeches and for this he was very popular with thousands of gardeners who feel vilified.

Awards and Accolades

* 1991 and 2002: Nursery and Garden Industry Association Certificate of Recognition for service to the Nursery Industry. * 1994: Appointed a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Horticulture. * 2004: Minister for Primary Industries Award for Continued Outstanding Service to an Industry Sector. * 2006: Meritorious Achievement Award for outstanding service and support to the Queensland Nursery Industry * 2006: Inducted into Hall of Fame by Landscape Queensland Inc, formerly Queensland Association of Landscape Industries. * 2007: Awarded the Order of Australia Medal (OAM) for service to horticulture, particularly as a contributor to a range of gardening related television and radio programmes and publications. * Varieties of

hibiscus ''Hibiscus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. The genus is quite large, comprising several hundred species that are native to warm temperate, subtropical and tropical regions throughout the world. Member species ...

daylily A daylily or day lily is a flowering plant in the genus ''Hemerocallis'' , a member of the family Asphodelaceae, subfamily Hemerocallidoideae. Despite the common name, it is not in fact a lily. Gardening enthusiasts and horticulturists have long ...

and

clivia ''Clivia'' is a genus of monocot flowering plants native to southern Africa. They are from the family Amaryllidaceae, subfamily Amaryllidoideae. Common names are Natal lily or bush lily. They are herbaceous or evergreen perennial plants, with g ...

have been named in his honour. * Patron of the Hibiscus Society of Queensland, the Queensland Herb Society, the Brisbane Daylily Society, the International Tropical Foliage and Garden Society, the Buderim Garden Club * Member of the Maleny Garden Club and the Royal Horticultural Society (Queensland). * Nominee for Queenslander of the Year and Australian of the Year.

The Brisbane Agricultural Exhibition

Colin attended the Brisbane Agricultural Exhibition (Ekka) every year as he presented from 4BC's booth in the Gardening Exhibition area. He was easily spotted in his trademark

Akubra Akubra is an Australian hat manufacturer. The company is associated with bush hats made of rabbit fur felt with wide brims that are worn in rural Australia. The term "Akubra" is sometimes used to refer to any hat of this kind, however the compa ...

hat and was very popular with many of the members of the various gardening clubs, having an excellent memory for people's names and their previous gardening enquiries.

Family

He was married with four sons from a previous marriage, Ian, James, Grant and Stuart. He was Grandfather to Stacy-Ann, Sara, Ashley, Grant and Helen. He died from cancer on 23 August 2012, aged 78.

References

External links

Interview

{{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, Col 2012 deaths Australian gardeners Lincoln University (New Zealand) alumni Gardening television 1933 births Australian horticulturists