Peter Cullen’s writings
Professor Peter Cullen AO was a man who said what he thought — clearly, and with a solid backing of research and experience in freshwater ecology and water science.
This Land Our Water
The late Peter Cullen speaks again, through his book sponsored by the Peter Cullen Trust.
‘This Land Our Water: Water Challenges for the 21st Century’ is a beautifully presented volume that, for the first time, publishes Peter Cullen’s last writings and speeches. It also reminds us of the man, through vignettes by colleagues, friends and family. Cameos from well known writers include the Hon John Howard AC.
Professor Peter Cullen AO was a man who said what he thought — clearly, and with a solid backing of research and experience in freshwater ecology and water science. He was a gifted communicator and mentor in water policy and environmentally-sound river management, at federal level and at ground level, with influential roles in important government and advisory bodies.
He wrote: “We need to measure and manage the whole water cycle rather than selected bits of it and we need to engage with communities to take them along on the journey as we confront on-going water scarcity for rural Australia.
This Land Our Water: Water Challenges for the 21st Century was initiated by Peter’s wife, Reverend Vicki Cullen, and assembled with valuable assistance from Dr John Williams, the former NSW Natural Resources Commissioner, and former Chief of CSIRO Land & Water. The book spans Peter’s voluminous output from 1990 to 2008.

Read it. Do it. Get engaged again!
Dr John Williams, former NSW Natural Resources Commissioner
Watershed articles
Peter Cullen was a prolific writer. Below are articles Peter wrote for the magazine Watershed published by the CRC for Freshwater Ecology. Peter was instrumental in setting up the CRC in 1992-93, and he led it until June 2002 when he moved into other water-related roles.
- A National System of Heritage Rivers – July 2001
- Can We Really Measure River Health? – July 2000
- COAG Water Reforms and the Environment – Nov 1999
- Conflicts Over Water for NSW – March 1999
- Delivering Ecological Knowledge to the Water Industry – March 2001
- Getting a Better Bang for the Buck – April 2002
- Living on the Floodplains – Nov 2001
- Measuring River Health – June 2001
- National Water Quality Management Strategy – April 2000
- New Directions? – March 1998
- Research and the Australian Water Industry – Nov 2000
- Resolving Conflicts Over Water – Oct 1997
- Sustainable Urban Rivers ~ a Contradiction in Terms? – June 1997
- The Future of Agriculture – April 2001
- The Smart Regulator – May 2000
- The Ten Next Steps in Water Management – Sept 2001
- The World Water Crisis – April 1997
- Turbulence in the Water Industry – Dec 1996
- Where to now for COAG Water Reforms? – Oct 2000
- World Bank Examine Australian Water Industry – May 1998