He survived the Ash Wednesday bushfires of 1983, but not the ravaging effects of cancer. Highly acclaimed journalist and broadcaster Murray Nicoll who worked with 3AW and the ABC as well as in television and in newspapers has died after losing his battle with leukaemia at the age of 66.

Nicoll is famous for one of the best known radio broadcasts of all time as he reported the burning down of his own house for Adelaide’s 5DN during the Ash Wednesday bushfires of 1983. Listen to two grabs of that report here: Clip 1. Clip 2.

A transcript of his report reads: “At the moment, I’m watching my house burn down. I’m sitting out on the road in front of my own house where I’ve lived for 13 or 14 years and it’s going down in front of me. And the flames are in the roof and — Oh, God damn it. It’s just beyond belief — my own house. And everything around it is black. There are fires burning all around me. All around me. ?And the front section of my house is blazing. The roof has fallen in. My water tanks are useless. There is absolutely nothing I can do about it.”

For his effort, he won what was perhaps the most bittersweet Walkley Award ever presented. He won a second Walkley for a daily broadcast over a six week period describing his climb of Mount Everest.

Murray Nicoll’s funeral will be on Thursday. Relatives have requested that it be kept private. He is survived by his wife Frankie and daughters Tia and Peta.