Jaye Walton

Joan Muriel Walton OAM (née Brewer; 27 December 1928 – 21 March 2017), better known as Jaye Walton, was an Australian media and journalism personality. She was a businesswoman, television personality and producer, and magazine publisher. Walton was the first South Australian woman to produce and host a television show, which by 1979 was the state's longest running show, was the first publisher of ''SA'' magazine, a documentary film maker, and raised awareness and funds for children's health and welfare charities in Australia and Thailand.

Biography

Born in Adelaide, South Australia, she was the daughter of British sea captain Frederick Henry Brewer and Muriel Beatrice Brewer (nee Barlow). Walton spent her early childhood in India and England, and when her family moved back to Adelaide she attended Methodist Ladies College (now Annesley). After leaving school she attended Miss Mann's Business College. Walton married John Hall Walton in 1950 at St Columba's Church, Hawthorn, and spent the next ten years raising their two children.

After her husband was injured in a car accident Walton returned to the workforce to become a model and attended modelling school. She opened ‘L’Elegance’ in 1962, a South Australian charm and grooming school. She worked in England giving classes to women on a Greek ship and went to Woomera to teach the wives of men working on the rocket range.

In 1968 she hosted and produced her own show, ''Touch of Elegance'' on SAS 10: it begun as a half-hour timeslot once a week, and after a year in production was so popular it became a daily show. The show later expanded to a one-hour timeslot each weekday. When Walton stepped down as the host in 1979, ''Touch of Elegance'' was the longest running television show in South Australian history. In 1992 Touch of Elegance was renamed AM Adelaide and this show continued until 2003 with hosts including Ann Wills, Richard Marsland and Jan Beasley. Walton interviewed local and international celebrities, politicians, authors, artists, make-up artists and hairdressers, actors, and musicians. During a 1976 episode, Sir Les Patterson crashed her segment and viewers were left both entertained and surprised.

From 1981 to 1987 she was the first publisher of ''SAM'' magazine.

On 4 June 1977 she was made a Royal Knight of the Hutt River Province by Prince Leonard and gained the title of Lady.

She wrote, produced and hosted a documentary on Israel in 1976, narrated a documentary film about the Seychelles in 1977 and a documentary about the Thai Royal family in 1979. In 1979 she was appointed SA and NT honorary consul to Thailand, a position she held until her death in 2017. In 1990 Walton moved to Thailand and co-hosted ''Morning Talk'' with Valerie McKenzie, and then her own show, ''Oz-Thai Talk'' until 2013. ''Thai-Oz'' aired in Australia in 2004 on Channel 31, at the time it reportedly had 12.5 million viewers in Thailand and neighbouring countries on Saturdays, and reached 168 countries via satellite.

In 1991, Thailand's then-King Bhumibol awarded her the medal of the Royal White Elephant for her services to charity.

Throughout her life in both Australia and Thailand she worked for children's health and welfare charities raising funds and awareness, primarily Thailand's National Cancer Institute and the International Peace Foundation. In 1980 she was awarded the Order of Australia for Community Service. Walton mentored South Australian newsreader Jane Reilly, and Reilly described Walton as a "TV trailblazer"

Television

* ''Touch of Elegance'' 1968 – 1979 SAS 10 Producer and host
* ''Morning Talk''
* ''Walton's World'' 1999– ACE TV Channel 6 Producer and host
* ''Thai Oz Talk'' 1990s–2013 Producer and host

Documentaries

* ''Portes Ouvertes En France / Open Doors of France'' 1977
* ''Seychelles - The Enchanted Islands'' 1977
* ''Jerusalem Now – Royal David's City'' 1977
* ''The Working Royals of Thailand,'' 1979
* ''A Question of Beauty'' 1978

References

People from Adelaide
Australian television presenters
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walton, Jaye
1928 births
2017 deaths