PETER Walker was born in Melbourne and with his family moved to Rutherglen in 1988. He headed to the town to take up work in research and development (R&D) at Best Foods – the forerunner of Uncle Toby's located in nearby Wahgunyah.

What do you do workwise?

I retired seven years ago from Uncle Toby's after 28 years working in both R&D and production roles, and am now involved in volunteer work in the local community.

In my early career, after undertaking a science degree I started at Kraft in Port Melbourne where I worked for four years. I resigned to travel through Europe in a combi with mates, where I met my future wife in Venice and travelled with her for the next 18 months.

After returning to Australia, I worked at Ardmona in Mooroopna for four years and in the late 80s joined Best Foods.

What brought you to your role/career?

While at Ardmona Fruit Products, I gained experience developing fruit products which proved a perfect fit for a product Uncle Toby's wanted to develop and launch – Fruit Roll Ups. That's why I came to Rutherglen, and their R&D centre was in the building where De Bortoli wines are now.

What do you do in the community?

I joined the local Rotary Club, and Destination Rutherglen – a volunteer group dedicated to improving and maintaining tourism in and around Rutherglen. Both offer two features that I find are central to some of the things I enjoy doing – mixing with people and helping others.

What do you love about your volunteer work?

Meeting people is the main reason, but Destination Rutherglen is in the early stages of setting up a Busking Festival which is being held on May 13. We encourage people to come along, listen to music while enjoying Rutherglen wines with the event being a hoot.

Is there an important community issue that you think needs addressing?

Working with Destination Rutherglen, I've been able to see how much small businesses are struggling – particularly with a lack of staff. Fixing this issue is not simple, but a remedy would certainly help small towns like Rutherglen.

What do you see as one of the most important current world issues?

I just have an uneasy feeling about the conflict in Ukraine. The Russians won't go quietly and the results are already being felt back here in Australia. If per chance there is a positive outcome, then the next issue would be climate change.

If the person you would most like to meet came to Indigo Shire, who would that be, what would you show them, and why?

I love cycling, and this area has some of the best road and off–road cycling in the shire. So, I'd take former professional racing cyclist Cadel Evans AM for a trip around the wineries of Rutherglen sampling some great reds and fortifieds, followed by a detour through the paths around Chiltern. As long as he kept a reasonable speed of course!

What book are you reading?

John Le Carre's 'Our Kind of Traitor' but a great read. A Christmas pressie read was 'Dreamers and Schemers' by Frank Bongiorno. It gave some great insights into how we have ended up where we are today in Australian politics.