After a relatively brief battle with illness, the pest control industry lost one of its’ greatest and best known characters, when earlier in November this year, Peter Lamond passed away at the Calvary Hospice in Kogarah NSW. The number of industry stalwarts that attended his service, and the many who had travelled from interstate, paid testament to the reputation of this man, who truly was “Mr Pest Control”.
Having qualified with a degree in Biological Science, Peter began his career with WA Flick and earned his stripes actively completing service work in the field, before he realised the physical side of things, probably wasn’t his forte! Indeed, his real strengths were in the areas of training, education and quality assessments, where he flourished under the guidance of his mentor, Peter Meadows and other notable industry experts within the Flick organisation. Peter was always a career minded man, and if not for internal reorganisation within the business, this would surely have seen him complete his full working life at WA Flick.
As soon as the industry was made aware of Peter’s newfound status (being without employment), Rentokil immediately swooped on the opportunity and employed him as a Field Biologist in the early 1990’s where he worked alongside Richard Doyle, Andy Hamilton-Smith and John Cornish to name a few. Peter remained with the organisation until his retirement in 2011.
As well as devoting his working time to both these companies, Peter also began work with TAFE in 1984 and many of the qualified Pest Management Technicians currently operating throughout NSW and beyond, owe him a vote of thanks for guiding them through the minefield that was the licencing process. His characteristic dry sense of humour and penchant for the unusual, made him a brilliantly entertaining trainer and raconteur, and he will be well remembered for the many presentations he delivered at industry functions across Australia and New Zealand.
In his private life, Peter devoted much of his spare time to valuable work within his church, tending his garden, fishing, writing children’s books and supporting his mighty St George Dragons……his presence and influence will be greatly missed by his many friends within the industry.
REST IN PEACE PETER LAMOND……truly a Great Man!!!