The former ABC news presenter Richard Morecroft has been remembered as “one of the great broadcasters of his generation” and a “trusted presence” for Australians after his death at the age of 70. Morecroft presented ABC’s 7pm news bulletin for almost 20 years until 2002 and was a fixture on screens. He later hosted the SBS quiz show Letters and Numbers between 2010 and 2012 and was also known for his environmental advocacy.
A spokesperson for Morecroft released a statement saying he had died “at a time of his choosing” on the south coast of New South Wales. Nothing completed the picture so delightfully as the time we learned that he used to keep a baby flying fox safe and sound beneath the desk while he was presenting the news.” The fellow former ABC journalist Michael Rowland paid tribute to Morecroft on social media, saying: “Richard was a superb newsreader and a lovely man.” He told the ABC that Morecroft was one of his role models, calling him the “newsreader’s newsreader”. Sales said many people had grown up “with him there”.
The ABC’s managing director, Hugh Marks, called Morecroft “one of the great broadcasters of his generation”. David Astle, also a Letters and Numbers co-host, described Morecroft as “a dear mate, a quiet mentor, a bloody wonderful human” in a Bluesky tribute. SBS managing director Jane Palfreyman said in a statement that “Richard brought warmth, intelligence and a dry wit to SBS’s Letters and Numbers”, adding that the 450 episodes he helmed continued to be repeated, “reflecting Richard’s enduring appeal”.Kumi Taguchi, host of Insight on SBS, commented on the social media post announcing Morecroft’s death, that he was “the person I looked up to when I was growing up”.
Morecroft was born in 1956 and migrated from England to Adelaide with his family at the age of 10. After graduating from the University of Adelaide he began work as an announcer with the ABC, later presenting BTN, and the nightly television news bulletins in Adelaide, Canberra and Sydney. He was also a skilled landscape photographer, with work in the collection of Australian parliament house.
Morecroft was known as a passionate environmental advocate, working with WWF Australia, Wires, the Taronga Foundation and the Zoological Parks Board of New South Wales.
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