1. Peter Donald Beauchamp Hitchener was born on 21 February 1946 and is an Australian television presenter with a 50-year career with the Nine Network and 58 years of news broadcasting experience.
16 Facts About Peter Hitchener
1. 2.
Peter Hitchener was chief news presenter of Nine News Melbourne from 1998 until 2023.
3.
Originally from Texas in rural Queensland, Hitchener began his media career in 1965 at the Brisbane radio station 4BH where he wrote, edited and presented news bulletins.
4.
Peter Hitchener then moved on to ABC Brisbane, where he undertook roles as a television news and radio presenter.
5.
Peter Hitchener moved to the Nine Network after one year at ABC Sydney, presenting National Nine News first in Sydney and then in Melbourne as the co-anchor of News Centre Nine, with Brian Henderson co-anchoring in Sydney.
6.
In 1977, Peter Hitchener began hosting the breakfast show on 3AW before moving to 3AK in 1979.
7.
At about this time, Peter Hitchener became chief weekend news presenter and understudy to chief weeknight news presenter Brian Naylor.
Related searches
Alicia Loxley 8.
When Brian Naylor retired in 1998, Peter Hitchener took over as presenter of Nine News Melbourne on weeknights.
9.
In 2008, Peter Hitchener celebrated 10 years as the weeknight news presenter.
10.
In July 2014, it was announced Peter Hitchener had signed a new contract to remain presenter of Nine News, believed to be for five years.
11.
On 29 March 2021, Peter Hitchener was reading the news bulletin when he suddenly fell ill and was unable to read the teleprompter, causing him to go home mid-broadcast.
12.
Peter Hitchener was revealed to have been suffering a migraine, and was replaced by Alicia Loxley for the following night's bulletin.
13.
In February 2022, Peter Hitchener was announced as a Moomba Monarch alongside Fifi Box.
14.
In 1998, Peter Hitchener became the patron and active supporter of Able Australia, an organisation supporting people with multiple disabilities.
15.
Peter Hitchener is an Ambassador for the Lort Smith Animal Hospital.
16.
Peter Hitchener was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in the 2017 Australia Day Honours list "For service to the broadcast media as a journalist and television presenter, and to the community".