For the ice hockey player, see Don Burke (ice hockey).
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Don Burke
Born
(1947-07-16) 16 July 1947 (age 65), New South Wales, Australia
Residence
Sydney, Australia
Occupation
television presenter, producer, author and landscaper
Donald William "Don" Burke OAM (born 16 July 1947) is an Australian television personality and author. He is best known as the longtime host of Burke's Backyard, a lifestyle program which ran for 17 years from 1987 to late 2004 on the Nine Network. It has returned several times over recent years with a number of Burke's Backyard Specials. The show has now returned again with several segments on Nine's A Current Affair.
Career:
Donald graduated from St Aloysius' College in 1965 under the headmaster of Fr Vincent Conway SJ.
Donald's television show launched or furthered the on-air careers of a number of Australian media personalities including Harry Cooper and Jamie Durie.
It also brought controversy: his "road tests" of varying dog breeds, his outspokenness about welfare problems in pedigree dog breeding and his support of designer dog breeding have all attracted both criticism and applause.
In 2004, Business Review Weekly listed Burke among its top 50 entertainers list, saying he earned A$8.5 million in 2003.
Burke is a former board member of Landcare Australia Limited and has been active in a number of other public roles. He has been an outspoken critic of numerous environmental advocacy groups. In July 2005, Burke became the Chair of the Australian Environment Foundation, a group that has links to the politically conservative Institute of Public Affairs.
Burke was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia on 26 January 2010 for service to conservation and the environment through advisory roles, to the horticultural industry, and to the media as a television presenter.
