Peter Antony Leonard (21 February 1942 – 23 September 2008) was an Australian

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

and newsreader.

Biography

He was born in

Yass, New South Wales Yass () is a town in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia in Yass Valley Council. The name appears to have been derived from an Aboriginal word, "Yarrh" (or "Yharr"), said to mean 'running water'. Yass is located 280 km s ...

, the son of a Greek immigrant father who died when Peter was 17. He was educated at Yass Primary School then at Canberra Grammar School as a boarder. The family moved to

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

in 1956. Leonard had a number of jobs over his 45-year career history, commencing it at Canberra radio station

2CA 2CA is an Australian commercial radio station on the AM band serving Canberra. It is jointly owned by the Capital Radio Network and Grant Broadcasters. The station broadcasts on AM Stereo 1053 kHz and on DAB. 2CA was Canberra's first radi ...

in 1962, initially as a cadet copywriter and later as an announcer and newsreader. He moved to

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

Canberra in 1982 as a radio newsreader and later television newsreader and weather presenter. However, in his most recognisable role, Leonard presented

WIN News ''WIN News'' is a local television news service in parts of regional Australia, produced by WIN Television. 12 regional bulletins and news update services are presented from WIN's headquarters in Wollongong, and until 2021 included production ...

in Canberra from 1991 until 20 July 2007. From 1970 to 1988 he was also the media director for the

National Capital Development Commission The National Capital Authority (NCA) is a statutory authority of the Australian Government that was established to manage the Commonwealth's interest in the planning and development of Canberra as the capital city of Australia. Timeline of the ...

. From 1993 to 2003 he was head of national communications for the Pharmacy Guild. He was an active participant in several charitable organisations. From 1989 to 1998 he was on the board of the ACT Cancer Council and also served on the board of the ACT Multiple Sclerosis Society. He became Honorary Ambassador for Canberra and the Canberra Citizen of the Year for 1991 in recognition of his community service and charity work. In December 2007 he won the Chief Minister-Public Relations Institute of Australia (ACT Division) Award for Community Media. He was the first individual to receive the award. Leonard was diagnosed with

mesothelioma Mesothelioma is a type of cancer that develops from the thin layer of tissue that covers many of the internal organs (known as the mesothelium). The most common area affected is the lining of the lungs and chest wall. Less commonly the lining ...

in January 2008 and died on 23 September 2008, aged 66. He was survived by his wife Gwen, children Matthew, Natasha and Nathan and grandchildren, Rachel, Phoebe, Sarah, Madeline, Nicholas and Thomas. The funeral service for Peter Leonard was held on 29 September 2008, at All Saints Church of England, Ainslie. Family, friends and colleagues were among those in attendance. It was announced (at the funeral service) in September 2008 that a journalism scholarship funded by the ACT Government and WIN-TV would be named in his honour.

Peter Leonard Scholarship

The Peter Leonard Scholarship aims to recognise the extraordinary talents of some

University of Canberra The University of Canberra (UC) is a public research university with its main campus located in Bruce, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. The campus is within walking distance of Westfield Belconnen, and from Canberra's Civic Centre. UC ...

Journalism students each year. Winners receive $5000 and a two-week internship at

WIN Television WIN Television is an Australian television network owned by WIN Corporation that is based in Wollongong, New South Wales. WIN commenced transmissions on 18 March 1962 as a single television station covering the Wollongong region. The WIN Netwo ...

in Canberra. At least two runners-up each receive $1000 and a one-week internship at WIN.

Winners

2009 - Lisa Mosley
2010 - Philip Prior
2011 - Gabrielle Adams
2012 - Ashley Leal
2013 - Katarina Slavich
2014 - Alkira Reinfrank
2015 - Alison Hattley
2016 - Naomi Avery
2018 - Lewis Haskew
2019 - Laura Gale
2021 - Brooke Roff

Runners-Up

2009 – Andrew Day, Kevin Room and Rahima Saikal
2010 – Ewan Gilbert and Lucy Zelic
2011 – Grace Keyworth and Alana Shegog
2012 – Dion Pretorius and Olivia Neethyrajah
2013 – Charlene Broad

References

External links

ABC News: Hundreds pay tribute to newsreader Leonard

YouTube: Peter Leonard — WIN News Farewell - Final Bulletin
(20 July 2007)
YouTube: Peter Leonard — WIN News Tribute - Opener and Feature Story
(24 September 2008)
YouTube: Peter Leonard — WIN News Tribute - Closer
(24 September 2008)
YouTube: Peter Leonard — WIN News Tribute - Funeral Coverage
(29 September 2008) {{DEFAULTSORT:Leonard, Peter Australian radio journalists Australian television journalists 1942 births 2008 deaths Deaths from mesothelioma People from Canberra Deaths from cancer in the Australian Capital Territory People educated at Canberra Grammar School People from Yass Australian people of Greek descent