Peter Cook (antiques)

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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
Occupation(s)Army officer
Antique dealer
SpouseJoan (née Beattie)
Children2 sons, 1 daughter
Parent(s)George Sydney Cook
Elsie Sheppard (née Sheppard)

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.

Family[edit]

Cook was born in Melbourne, the only child of Major George Sydney "Syd" Cook and Elsie Cook (née Sheppard)[1] His second given name, Joseph, was in honour of his paternal 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 dispatches.[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[edit]

Syd Cook was appointed Director of the Department of Housing and Construction in Western Australia[4] and Peter was educated at Wesley College, 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, Mary Turner Cook DBE, was the foundation president of the Newington College Parents' and Friends' Association.[6]

Military service[edit]

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[edit]

On retirement from the regular army Cook became proprietor of Grafton Galleries, in Double Bay, Sydney, 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] Hartley Cook is now the third generation of the Cook family to be the proprietor of Grafton Galleries and the business is now located on Boundary Street, Rushcutters Bay, New South Wales.[15][16]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Military Wedding". Tamworth Daily Observer. NSW. 3 October 1914. p. 3. Retrieved 22 May 2013 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. ^ Google Books – Other Anzacs Retrieved 22 May 2013
  3. ^ "Untitled". The Land. Sydney. 10 November 1916. p. 12. Retrieved 22 May 2013 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. ^ Fifty Years of Construction Archived 8 August 2014 at the Wayback Machine 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". Australian Women's Weekly. 23 December 1944. p. 19. Retrieved 21 May 2013 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. ^ World War II – Nominal Roll Archived 2 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine 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". Australian Women's Weekly. 13 August 1975. p. 141. Retrieved 21 May 2013 – via National Library of Australia.
  13. ^ Sydney Morning Herald – New series sorts trash from treasure Retrieved 22 May 2013
  14. ^ "Gewgaws and heirlooms for ABC show". Canberra Times. 1 August 1988. p. 3. Retrieved 22 May 2013 – via National Library of Australia.
  15. ^ Grafton Galleries Antiques. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  16. ^ Boyac Retrieved 14 July 2023.
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