Having been involved with Vision Australia Radio in Geelong for more than a decade, Peter knows all too well how important the service is to the local community.
“People out there rely on our programs,” says Peter, who stresses that if Vision Australia Radio wasn’t around, a lot of people in the Bellarine region and beyond would miss out on important local news.
“The only local news that would be read out in the national news would be something big,” Peter says, noting that “small things” like local sports and events often don’t get a look in from mainstream radio stations and news networks.
“On Vision Australia Radio, we read the news reports from all the different sports in the area. Football, cricket, baseball, basketball and anything else that's in the the local paper, we read it out. I don't know where else our listeners could get that news, unless they got someone to bring them a newspaper and sit down and read it to them.
“It's a vital service. The other bits and pieces we do are interesting, [but the local news] really keeps our listeners involved and connected with their locality.”
These other “bits and pieces” include a whole range of programs dedicated to promoting local businesses, events and activities. There’s Friday Arts, which highlights all the movies, exhibitions and programs going on in the Geelong region, and an historical show that explores publications from the Geelong Historical Society.
And then there’s Vine to Wine, a fun series hosted by Peter that showcases the people and vintages of the Bellarine Peninsula and south-west Victoria.
“I don't come from a background of wine, [but] I'm a fully qualified wine drinker,” says Peter with a laugh. “I've just got an interest in it. I've learned a lot from this program; it’s been an eye opener about all the different wines out there. And since I'm an amateur, I can ask questions that maybe the non-wine person might want to know as well.”
The show has certainly been a success, with more than 100 episodes already produced. But if all this wasn’t enough to keep Peter busy, he’s also an avid artist whose work is featured in Vision Australia’s 2025 calendar.
“It all just keeps me going,” Peter laughs. “I like my art, and I do two different art classes a week.
“I submitted a piece last year [to Vision Australia’s artist’s calendar competition] and it was accepted – I'm Mr July! – and I’ve submitted another one this year, so I’ll see how it goes. It's good to feel that someone else might appreciate the work that goes into my pieces, because some of them take me forever – I work with soft pastel and I don't see the painting completely well and I can't see all of it at the same time either. And so it takes me a while, but I really enjoy it, even when I'm grumpy at it because it's not working!
“I can't wait for the calendar page to turn over this month – come on July!”
The thing Peter is most passionate about though is ensuring his local blind and low vision community is kept properly informed on local happenings on a daily basis.
“I think it's an important task,” says Peter, who has been a member of Vision Australia Radio’s advisory committee since 2013, where he uses his lived experience to help ensure the programs the sighted members of the radio team put together are exactly what those with low vision want and need.
“I feel there are people at home who just need a nudge [to get out and about],” says Peter. “We let them know about things that are happening, and hopefully listening to our programs might connect these people more to their community, and they might want to go and see a show or go to an art exhibition or something.
“I think it's an essential service.”
If you’re interested in contributing to Vision Australia Radio’s EOFY appeal to help keep us on the air, please visit this webpage.
Image caption: Vision Australia Radio volunteer Peter
