Tributes are flowing in from all four corners of the Australian media after it was announced this evening that veteran journalist, broadcaster, gentleman, husband and father, Peter Harvey, has passed away from pancreatic cancer at age sixty-eight.
Having worked for four decades covering every facet of politics, culture and society in both Australia and abroad, Harvey was a stalwart of Australian journalism and an anchor in the truest sense of the word. Harvey, or ‘Harves,’ was known as much for his versatility, his high standards, professionalism, humility and distinction as for his signature sign-off in which he delivered his name in a distinguishable baritone, punctured by a pregnant pause and followed by his location – often in Canberra, sometimes abroad, and always in a tenor likened to ‘the voice of God.’
Harvey began his career as a journalist at The Daily Telegraph in 1960 and at 19 won his first Walkley Award for his coverage of a gangland shooting in Randwick, 1964. He covered the Vietnam war as a war correspondent for Newsweek magazine before working in radio with 2UE and the BBC. He later moved to The Guardian, where he received the British Reporter of the Year award twice before returning to Australia.
In 1975 Harvey moved to Channel Nine, where he established himself for the remainder of his 36-year career at the network, covering everything from The Gulf War and Fashion Week to politics from the network’s Canberra Bureau, as news director and in the process earning the respect of those on whom he reported, including notoriously hard-to-please Prime Ministers from Whitlam, to Fraser and Howard. He later moved to 60 Minutes where he presented the Mailbag segment, covered extensively the Queensland floods, and became a reliable fixture on Sunday evenings in Australian living rooms.
Befitting his standing in the community, tributes have been made by everyone from Prime Minister Gillard (“A journalist of integrity and authority,”) to friends and colleagues (“He was a newsman’s newsman,” Paul Bongiorno; “One of the things I most admired about him was the way he mentored younger colleagues. Peter’s was a generous spirit. He’s a real loss to journalism.” Laurie Oakes).
In a statement published in January’s Women’s Weekly, Harvey wrote “I’m not kidding myself about how serious the threat from pancreatic cancer is.
It’s deadly serious, but I’m spending my time living in the day. Worrying about tomorrow is not only futile, it can steal today from me.”
The Sydney Morning Herald’s obit fittingly signs off with the following, also in Harvey’s words:
“Always run like you’re coming second, by refusing to ever accept that it’s down and out or anywhere near it. Keep the stories relevant and of value. Stay up-to-date and always run harder than the competition.”
A wonderfully kind and welcoming man, Peter is survived by his wife Anne, his children – both talented journalists in their own right – Claire Harvey, Deputy Editor of The Sunday Telegraph, Adam Harvey, a journalist with The 7:30 Report, and his grandson Rory.
Photo by Mike Flokis via Getty
