Mr Campbell died this morning on the Sunshine Coast. He was 79.

His long career at Fairfax Radio 4BC came to an end on New Year's Day this year, after announcing his plans to retire from his long-running weekend gardening show last October.

Mr Campbell was a Queensland presenter on the ABC's Gardening Australia program and also contributed to the show's magazine.

A former colleague of Mr Campbell’s at 4BC, Murray Shoring, said it was a ‘‘shock to everyone who worked with him’’.

‘‘Col was the sort of person you would never expect this to happen to. Col was going to be the sort of guy who was going to be here until he was 100 at least,’’ Mr Shoring said.

4BC news director Scott Mayman, who first worked with Mr Campbell in 1994, said the popular host always knew how to hold a conversation.

‘‘He loved to have a chat, not just about gardening but about social matters, current events, that sort of thing,’’ Mr Mayman said.

‘‘He enjoyed your company and you enjoyed his as well. He knew how to bring the best out of a chat, whether it was talkback radio or person-to-person.

‘‘He was an incredible soul.’’

At the time of Mr Campbell's retirement, 4BC general manager David McDonald said Mr Campbell's influence in the horticultural industry had been spread over five decades.

"He has had nothing but a positive influence on both the station and the gardening industry over many, many years," he said.

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