John Langdon Bonython - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

This article is about Sir John Langdon Bonython (1848-1939)

His son was named Sir John Lavington Bonython
John Lavington Bonython
Sir John Lavington Bonython was a prominent public figure in Adelaide, known for his work in journalism, business and politics. In association with his father, he became involved in the management of newspapers including The Advertiser; he also served as editor of The Saturday Express and as a...

(1875-1960)

His grandson was named John Langdon Bonython (1905–1992)

Sir John Langdon Bonython KCMG

Order of St Michael and St George

The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....

(icon; 15 October 184822 October 1939), editor, newspaper proprietor, philanthropist, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

and journalist

Journalist

A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...

, was a Member of the First Australian Parliament, and was editor

Editing

Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...

of the Adelaide

Adelaide

Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...

daily morning broadsheet, The Advertiser, for 35 years.

Early life

Bonython was born in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

in 1848, the second son of George Langdon Bonython (a carpenter and builder) and Annie MacBain. The family migrated to South Australia

South Australia

South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...

in July 1854. There, Bonython was educated at the Brougham School in North Adelaide

North Adelaide

North Adelaide is a predominantly residential precinct of the City of Adelaide in South Australia, situated north of the River Torrens and within the Adelaide Park Lands.-History:...

. In 1870, he married Mary Louisa Fredericka Balthasar (Marie Louise Friedrike Balthasar); they had eight children of whom three daughters and three sons survived infancy.

Media career

When he was sixteen, Bonython took a job at The Advertiser, where he was well regarded as a hard worker. In 1879, he became a part proprietor of The Advertiser.

In 1894, Bonython became the sole proprietor and editor of The Advertiser, positions which he held for a further 35 years. During this time, the weekly Chronicle and the evening Express newspapers were added to The Advertiser.

He retired from his newspapers in 1929, after 65 years' service.

Political career

Throughout his career, Bonython had avoided local politics, but after Federation

Federation of Australia

The Federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate British self-governing colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia formed one nation...

in 1901 he was nominated to represent South Australia as a Protectionist

Protectionist Party

The Protectionist Party was an Australian political party, formally organised from 1889 until 1909, with policies centred on protectionism. It argued that Australia needed protective tariffs to allow Australian industry to grow and provide employment. It had its greatest strength in Victoria and in...

in the Australian House of Representatives

Australian House of Representatives

The House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia; it is the lower house; the upper house is the Senate. Members of Parliament serve for terms of approximately three years....

at the 1901 election. He ultimately finished second in the poll and was one of seven members elected (at that time, South Australia was a single electorate with multiple members).

At the 1903 election, Bonython was elected unopposed for the newly created Division of Barker

Division of Barker

The Division of Barker is an Australian Electoral Division in the south-east of South Australia.The division was created in 1903 and is named for Collet Barker, an early explorer of the region at the mouth of the Murray River...

. In 1904, he was a member of the Select Committee on old-age pension

Pension

In general, a pension is an arrangement to provide people with an income when they are no longer earning a regular income from employment. Pensions should not be confused with severance pay; the former is paid in regular installments, while the latter is paid in one lump sum.The terms retirement...

s, as well as the Royal Commission

Royal Commission

In Commonwealth realms and other monarchies a Royal Commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue. They have been held in various countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Saudi Arabia...

on the same subject in 1905-1906.

Bonython did not stand for reelection at the 1906 election, and retired from politics. In 1908 he was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) "In recognition of service to the Commonwealth of Australia".

Public service and philanthropy

In 1883, Bonython was elected chairman of the Adelaide School Advisory Board. In 1889 he became the president of the council for the South Australian School of Mines and Industries, a position he held until his death. He often assisted the school with his own money, and provided the funds for the chemical and metallurgical

Metallurgy

Metallurgy is a domain of materials science that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their intermetallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are called alloys. It is also the technology of metals: the way in which science is applied to their practical use...

laboratories

Laboratory

A laboratory is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. The title of laboratory is also used for certain other facilities where the processes or equipment used are similar to those in scientific laboratories...

there.

Bonython became chairman of the council of the agricultural

Agriculture

Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...

college

College

A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...

at Roseworthy

Roseworthy, South Australia

Roseworthy is a small town in South Australia, about 10 km north of Gawler. At the 2006 census, Roseworthy had a population of 668.Roseworthy has a large grain storage facility consisting of both storage silos and bunkers for grain grown in the surrounding areas, and grain is collected by rail to...

in 1895, and he held this position until 1902.

He was appointed one of fourteen trustees under the soldiers' repatriation programme of 1916, and one of seven commissioners under the Australian Soldiers Repatriation Act 1917. In 1919 he was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) "In recognition of service to the Commonwealth".

Bonython joined the council of the University of Adelaide

University of Adelaide

The University of Adelaide is a public university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third oldest university in Australia...

in 1916, and donated over £50,000 for the construction of a hall, and £20,000 to fund a Chair in law

Law

Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...

. From 1916 to 1926, Bonython was also the deputy chairman of the South Australian advisory council of education. He donated £100,000 towards the construction of Parliament House

Parliament House, Adelaide

Parliament House, on the corner of North Terrace and King William Road in Adelaide city centre, is the seat of the Parliament of South Australia. It was built to replace the adjacent and overcrowded Parliament House, now referred to as "Old Parliament House"...

in Adelaide.

Bonython Hall:

Parliament House:

Legacy

Bonython died in 1939, leaving an estate of over £4,000,000, which at the time was estimated to be one of the largest of any Australian. Beneficiaries under his will included the Pirie Street Methodist Church, where he always worshipped and of which he was a trustee; St Peter's Cathedral, to which he donated the cost of the canons' and choir stalls in 1925 in memory of his wife who had died the previous year; and the Salvation Army.

Children

On 24 December 1870 Bonython married Mary Louisa Fredericka Balthasar in Adelaide; they had eight children of whom three daughters and three sons survived infancy, and three daughters survived him.

His children included:

(1874-?) Mary Elsie Bonython, later Lady Parsons
Herbert Angas Parsons
Sir Herbert Angas Parsons KBE KC , was a Cornish Australian lawyer, politician and judge.Parsons was born in North Adelaide on 23 May 1872, the only son of Cornish born minister and politician, John Langdon Parsons and his wife Rose...

. (2 children)

(1875-1960) Sir John Lavington Bonython
John Lavington Bonython
Sir John Lavington Bonython was a prominent public figure in Adelaide, known for his work in journalism, business and politics. In association with his father, he became involved in the management of newspapers including The Advertiser; he also served as editor of The Saturday Express and as a...

who was a Lord Mayor of Adelaide. (2 marriages, 6 children)

(1877-?) Edith A. Bonython

(1879-1915) Hugh Trevarnon Bonython died 10 March 1915, only three weeks after his wife.

(?-?) Ada Bonython

Family name

Bonython was descended from an old Cornish

Cornwall

Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...

family, well-known in Tudor

Tudor period

The Tudor period usually refers to the period between 1485 and 1603, specifically in relation to the history of England. This coincides with the rule of the Tudor dynasty in England whose first monarch was Henry VII...

and Stuart

House of Stuart

The House of Stuart is a European royal house. Founded by Robert II of Scotland, the Stewarts first became monarchs of the Kingdom of Scotland during the late 14th century, and subsequently held the position of the Kings of Great Britain and Ireland...

times. Inspired by his grandmother, Bonython took an interest in his heritage. He had a fine library of books on Cornish history and was patron of the South Australian Cornish Association and a member of the Royal Institution of Cornwall

Royal Institution of Cornwall

The Royal Institution of Cornwall was founded in Truro, Cornwall, United Kingdom, in 1818 as the Cornwall Literary and Philosophical Institution. The Institution was one of the earliest of seven similar societies established in England and Wales. The RIC moved to its present site in River Street...

. Although he acquired some family relics, he deeply regretted that he could not buy back Bonython Manor

Bonython Manor

Bonython Manor near Cury, Cornwall, in the United Kingdom is an estate garden on the Lizard peninsula. Since 1999 the owners have been Mr & Mrs Richard Nathan-Location:...

, the family seat in Cornwall.

Bonython told The Literary Digest
Literary Digest
The Literary Digest was an influential general interest weekly magazine published by Funk & Wagnalls. Founded by Isaac Kaufmann Funk in 1890, it eventually merged with two similar weekly magazines, Public Opinion and Current Opinion.-History:...

: "It is a Cornish name and the accent is on the second syllable: Bon-y'thon, y as in spy. The ancient family located at Bonython in the Lizard

Lizard Point, Cornwall

Lizard Point in Cornwall is at the southern tip of the Lizard Peninsula. It is situated half-a-mile south of Lizard village in the civil parish of Landewednack and approximately 11 miles southeast of Helston....

district at a very early period. Existing deeds show that Stephen Bonython was in possession of the family lands in 1277."

Honours

Bonython was knight

Knight

A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....

ed in 1898. In 1908 he was made a Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George

Order of St Michael and St George

(CMG), and in 1919 was promoted to Knight Commander of that Order (KCMG).

In 1935, Bonython was made the first Australian bard

Bard

In medieval Gaelic and British culture a bard was a professional poet, employed by a patron, such as a monarch or nobleman, to commemorate the patron's ancestors and to praise the patron's own activities.Originally a specific class of poet, contrasting with another class known as fili in Ireland...

of the Cornish Gorseth Kernow

Gorsedd

A gorsedd plural gorseddau, is a community or coming together of modern-day bards. The word is of Welsh origin, meaning "throne". It is occasionally spelled gorsedh , or goursez in Brittany....

.

The Division of Bonython

Division of Bonython

The Division of Bonython was an Australian Electoral Division in South Australia. The division was created in 1955 and abolished in 2004. It was named for Sir Langdon Bonython, philanthropist, publisher, and federal MP. Bonython was based in the northern working-class suburbs of Adelaide and was a...

, an Australian Electoral Division in the northern suburbs of Adelaide, was named after Bonython. It was created in 1955 and abolished in 2004.