Don Burke once declared that a misogynistic saying which claimed beating women made them ‘better’ was ‘the greatest of all English truisms’.
The shocking line – found in Burke’s famous book ‘The Lazy Gardener’ – takes on new meaning as the television icon fights countless allegations of sexual harassment.
In chapter six of his gardening handbook, Burke quotes a poem which reads: ‘A woman, a dog, a walnut tree. The more you beat them, the better they be.’
The saying comes from a fable written by Aesop, an Ancient Greek storyteller.
Don Burke once declared that a misogynistic saying which claimed beating women made them ‘better’ was ‘the greatest of all English truisms’. The shocking line can be found in Burke’s famous book ‘The Lazy Gardener’
The saying comes from a fable written by Aesop, an Ancient Greek storyteller
Burke, 70, continues by offering his own take on the widely criticised one-liner, writing: ‘The above greatest of all English truisms…’.
He then describes how walnut trees need a ‘jolly good hiding’ in order to bruise their bark and create ‘hormones which produce flowering,’ the ABC reports.
‘A strange state of affairs that punishing a tree should promote its sexual activity but common decency and a Catholic sense of what is right and proper prevents me from delving into the obvious parallel with the species Homo sapiens,’ Burke writes.
Daily Mail Australia is not suggesting, nor has any woman alleged, that Burke has ever been violent against women.
Dozens of women have accused Burke of sexual harassment, indecent assault and making lewd comments – with their complaints spanning across several decades. Burke strenuously denies all the allegations.
It has since been revealed that the federal government was forced to pull a domestic violence campaign in 1993 featuring Burke as an ambassador after a number of women made complaints about his alleged behaviour.
Burke was joined by swimmer Kieren Perkins, ironman Darren Mercer and singer James Blundell as the faces for the campaign – which was featured on television, billboards and posters across the country.
‘Many people suffer stress, get drunk, lose their jobs, get angry or jealous without resorting to violence. There is never an excuse for a man to be violent towards a woman,’ Burke was quoted as saying alongside a photograph of him with his family in a campaign advert.
It has since been revealed that the federal government was forced to pull a domestic violence campaign in 1993 featuring Burke (top left, with family) as an ambassador
According to the Canberra Times, the advert faced immediate backlash and ‘several women’ demanded that Burke be pulled from the campaign.
‘As soon as his face appeared in ads, we were contacted by several women saying that he was not appropriate for the campaign because he himself was an abuser,’ a former government employee involved in the campaign told the publication.
Burke was reportedly contacted and asked to withdraw himself from the campaign, but refused to do so. Eventually the campaign was pulled.
Burke is accused of grabbing women’s breasts and poking one woman’s bottom, and telling an aspiring actress she could audition if she showed up topless.
He also allegedly tried to take off her bra and top on bus and made her watch a video of a woman having sex with a donkey.
A former crew member also claimed Burke bragged about touching a teenage girl’s nipple three times while showing her how to hold a puppy.
Burke has strenuously denied all the allegations and described his accusers as ‘malcontents’ who ‘bear grudges against me’.
In an interview with A Current Affair he doubled down on his denials, admitting to an extraordinary list of personal failings but denying all sexual harassment allegations.
Dozens of women have accused Burke of sexual harassment, indecent assault and making lewd comments. he has strenuously denied all of the allegations