Peter Cook (antiques)

Lieutenant Colonel Peter Joseph Cook (21 July 1924 – 22 December 2003) was an Australian Army officer, antique dealer and writer, and ABC Television panelist on For Love or Money.

Peter Cook
Born(1924-07-21)21 July 1924
Melbourne
Died22 December 2003(2003-12-22) (aged 79)
Sydney
NationalityAustralian
EducationNewington College
Royal Military College, Duntroon
OccupationArmy officer and antique dealer
Spouse(s)Joan, née Beattie
Children2 sons, 1 daughter
Parent(s)Elsie, née Sheppard, and Major George Sydney Cook.

Family

Cook was born in Melbourne, the only child of Elsie, née Sheppard, and Major George Sydney "Syd" Cook.[1] His second given name, Joseph, was in honour of his grandfather, Sir Joseph Cook GCMG, the sixth Prime Minister of Australia. Elsie, a Red Cross nurse, and Syd, an architect, had served abroad during World War I[2] and were both mentioned in despatches.[3] In the six-part Australian television drama series ANZAC Girls, on ABC1, Laura Brent plays Elsie Cook and Todd Lasance plays Syd Cook.

Education

Syd Cook was appointed Director of the Commonwealth Department of Housing and Construction in Western Australia[4] and Peter was educated at Wesley College, in Perth, from 1936 until 1939. After his father's transfer to Sydney, Cook attended Newington College from 1940 until 1942.[5] He was the second of four generations of his family to be educated at Newington – his uncles, including The Hon. Mr Justice Cecil Cook, were amongst the first generation and his grandsons were amongst the fourth. His grandmother, Dame Mary Cook DBE, was the foundation president of the Newington College Parents' and Friends' Association.[6]

Military service

After graduating from the Royal Military College, Duntroon, in 1944,[7] Cook served in the Australian Army in World War II[8] and the Korean War. At the time of his retirement in 1960 he had achieved the rank of lieutenant colonel.[9]

Antiques

On retirement from the regular army Cook became proprietor of Grafton Galleries, in Double Bay, New South Wales, an antique business founded by his mother in 1945.[10] Cook was the consultant editor of The Antique Buyer's Handbook for Australia from 1979 until 1993.[11] He wrote a column, Collector's Corner, for The Australian Women's Weekly from 1975 until 1982.[12] In 1987, Cook became a panelist on the television series For Love or Money. The show ran for three years and The Sydney Morning Herald described him as "the viewers favourite antiques expert"[13] whilst The Canberra Times saw him as being the show's "most cerebral panellist".[14]

References
  1. "Military Wedding". The Tamworth Daily Observer. NSW: National Library of Australia. 3 October 1914. p. 3. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
  2. Google Books – Other Anzacs Retrieved 22 May 2013
  3. "Untitled". The Land. Sydney: National Library of Australia. 10 November 1916. p. 12. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
  4. Fifty Years of Construction Retrieved 22 May 2013
  5. Newington College Register of Past Students 1863–1998 (Sydney, 1999) pp 40
  6. Newington Across the Years, A History of Newington College, 1863 – 1998 (Sydney, 1999), pg. 79
  7. "Graduation Day at Royal Military College". The Australian Women's Weekly. National Library of Australia. 23 December 1944. p. 19. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
  8. World War II – Nominal Roll Retrieved 21 May 2013
  9. The Duntroon Society – Newsletter 1/2011 Archived 21 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 22 May 2013
  10. "Old money again shows its worth" Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 21 May 2013
  11. National Library of Australia – Catalogue Retrieved 21 May 2013
  12. "Collectors' corner". The Australian Women's Weekly. National Library of Australia. 13 August 1975. p. 141. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
  13. Sydney Morning Herald – New series sorts trash from treasure Retrieved 22 May 2013
  14. "Gewgaws and heirlooms for ABC show". The Canberra Times. National Library of Australia. 1 August 1988. p. 3. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
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