John Lavington Bonython
Encyclopedia
- His father was named Sir John Langdon BonythonJohn Langdon Bonython-Early life:Bonython was born in London in 1848, the second son of George Langdon Bonython and Annie MacBain. The family migrated to South Australia in July 1854. There, Bonython was educated at the Brougham School in North Adelaide...
(1848-1939) - His son was named John Langdon Bonython (1905–1992)
Sir John Lavington Bonython (1875–1960) was a prominent public figure in 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...
, 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 journalist. After The Advertiser was sold in 1929 and converted to a public company, he became a director, and for a time vice-chairman; an association that continued until his death. In 1901 he began a long association with the Adelaide City Council, serving as Mayor of Adelaide (1911–1913) and later as Lord Mayor of Adelaide (1927–1930). He was knighted in 1935.
Biography
Born in Adelaide on 10 September 1875, John Lavington Bonython was the eldest son of Sir John Langdon BonythonJohn Langdon Bonython
-Early life:Bonython was born in London in 1848, the second son of George Langdon Bonython and Annie MacBain. The family migrated to South Australia in July 1854. There, Bonython was educated at the Brougham School in North Adelaide...
and his wife Mary Louise Fredericka, née Balthasar. He attended Prince Alfred College
Prince Alfred College
Prince Alfred College is an independent, day and boarding school for boys, located on Dequetteville Terrace, Kent Town, near the centre of Adelaide, South Australia...
in Adelaide, and joined The Advertiser in 1986. During his time with newspapers, he worked on The Advertiser, Chronicle and the Express, serving as the editor of the Saturday Express between 1912 and 1930.
Lavington Bonython became directly involved with the Adelaide City Council when he was elected as a councillor
Councillor
A councillor or councilor is a member of a local government council, such as a city council.Often in the United States, the title is councilman or councilwoman.-United Kingdom:...
in 1901. He became an alderman
Alderman
An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members themselves rather than by popular vote, or a council...
in 1907, served as Mayor (1912-1913), and as Lord Mayor (1928-1930). His appointment in 1912 made Bonython the youngest person to serve as Adelaide's Mayor, and during his time with the council he was noted for his focus on Adelaide's heritage. He was knighted
Knight Bachelor
The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...
in 1935.
Amongst his other activities were a number of positions on company boards, including the Royal Adelaide Hospital
Royal Adelaide Hospital
The Royal Adelaide Hospital is Adelaide's largest hospital, with 680 beds. Founded in 1840, the Royal Adelaide provides tertiary health care services for South Australia and provides secondary care clinical services to residents of Adelaide's city centre and inner suburbs.The hospital is situated...
, Municipal Tramways Trust
Municipal Tramways Trust
The Municipal Tramways Trust was established in 1907 to operate Adelaide's street tram network. The MTT ceased to exist in 1975 upon the establishment of the State Transport Authority Bus and Tram Division.-History:...
, and serving as a director and Vice-Chairman of The Advertiser. In particular, Lavington Bonython was a member of the inaugural board for Minda Inc
Minda Inc
Minda Incorporated, established in 1898, provides support to children and adults with intellectual disabilities in Adelaide, South Australia and is the largest non-Government disability support organisation in the state...
, remaining with the organisation for 62 years.
Lavington Bonython died on 6 November 1960.
Blanche Ada Bray
On 16 April 1904 he married Blanche Ada Bray, born on 10 November 1881 in Adelaide, only daughter of Sir John Cox BrayJohn Cox Bray
Sir John Cox Bray KCMG JP was a prominent South Australian politician and the first native-born Premier of South Australia .-Early life:...
and Alice Maude Hornabrook, by whom he had a son and two daughters (John, Elizabeth and Ada). She died in childbirth on 5 November 1908, aged 26.
John Langdon Bonython
John Langdon Bonython (1905-1992)
-Family:*Born into the "Old Adelaide Family" Bonython*Grandfather: John Langdon Bonython*Father: John Lavington Bonython*Mother: Blanche Ada Bray*Siblings: Two sisters, two half-brothers , one half-sister....
AO (1905-1992) was born on 13 January 1905 in 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...
. He studied at 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...
, and became a solicitor in 1930. On 18 March 1954, he became the founding Chairman of the first board of directors of Santos Ltd. Port Bonython
Port Bonython
Port Bonython is a deepwater port at the head of Spencer Gulf, 20 km eastnortheast of Whyalla. It is capable of taking Capesize ships. It was established in 1982 and named after John Bonython, the founding chairman of Santos Ltd.-Overview:...
was named in his honour. John Langdon Bonython married Minnie Hope Rutherford in 1926 and had three children.
Elizabeth (Betty) Hornabrook Bonython CBE
CBE
CBE and C.B.E. are abbreviations for "Commander of the Order of the British Empire", a grade in the Order of the British Empire.Other uses include:* Chemical and Biochemical Engineering...
(1907-2008) was born 25 January 1907 in Adelaide. In 1930 she married lawyer Keith Wilson
Keith Wilson (politician)
Sir Keith Cameron Wilson was a lawyer and Australian politician, sitting in both houses of federal parliament....
, who became a prominent South Australian politician. (Wilson was senator for South Australia (1938-1944) and federal member for Sturt
Division of Sturt
The Division of Sturt is an Australian Electoral Division in South Australia.First proclaimed for the 1949 election, Sturt was named for Captain Charles Sturt, nineteenth century explorer and the first European to discover the Murray River...
(1949-1954, 1955-1966). He was knighted on 1 January 1966.) Their son Ian
Ian Wilson (politician)
Ian Bonython Cameron Wilson , solicitor, company director and Australian politician, was born in Adelaide, South Australia, the son of Sir Keith Wilson, a prominent United Australia Party and Liberal Party politician...
followed in his father's footsteps, becoming a lawyer, and then member for Sturt for 20 years. Betty was very active in community affairs, and served on the boards of a number of organisations. In recognition of her activities she was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE
MBE
MBE can stand for:* Mail Boxes Etc.* Management by exception* Master of Bioethics* Master of Bioscience Enterprise* Master of Business Engineering* Master of Business Economics* Mean Biased Error...
) in 1946, and a Commander of the Order (CBE
CBE
CBE and C.B.E. are abbreviations for "Commander of the Order of the British Empire", a grade in the Order of the British Empire.Other uses include:* Chemical and Biochemical Engineering...
) in 1959. She turned 100 years old on 25 January 2007, and died on 25 September 2008, aged 101.
Ada Bray Bonython (1908-1965) married Denis Heath in 1930 and the couple moved to England. Ada briefly visited Adelaide in 1951, bringing Jannette, then aged 17, the eldest of her three children. She had two younger children, a boy and a girl.
Lady (Jean) Bonython
Four years later, on 11 December 1912, Lavington Bonython married 21-year-old Constance Jean Warren, (later Lady Bonython OBE), with whom he had three children, Warren, Katherine and Kym. Lavington was Mayor of Adelaide at the time, and Jean was widely referred to as "the Baby Mayoress". She was amazingly active and on dozens of committees too numerous to mention here. She had a major stroke in 1970, and in the period between then and her death in 1977, her son Warren wrote her biography: "I'm no lady : the reminiscences of Constance Jean, Lady Bonython, O.B.E. 1891-1977", edited by C. Warren Bonython, Issued in progressive chapter-instalments 1976-1981.Charles Warren Bonython
Warren Bonython
Charles Warren Bonython AO is an Australian conservationist, explorer, author and chemical engineer. A keen bushwalker, he is perhaps best known for his role, spanning many years, working towards the promotion, planning and eventual creation of the Heysen Trail...
AO (b.1916) is a conservationist, author and, before he retired from business in 1966, a chemical engineer. He is best known for his role in the creation of the Heysen Trail
Heysen Trail
The Heysen Trail is a long distance walking trail in South Australia. It runs from Parachilna Gorge, in the Flinders Ranges via the Adelaide Hills to Cape Jervis on the Fleurieu Peninsula and is approximately 1200 km in length....
, but has made many significant contributions to the conservation of the arid regions of South Australia.
Katherine Downer Bonython (b. 1918) married Colin Clark Verco in 1940, with the couple presenting Lavington Bonython with three granddaughters.
Hugh Reskymer (Kym) Bonython
Kym Bonython
Hugh Reskymer "Kym" Bonython, AC, DFC, AFC was a prominent and active member of Adelaide society in Australia, with a very wide range of interests, activities and achievements in the fields of business, the arts, entertainment and public service.His occupations included radio broadcaster, pilot,...
AC DFC AFC (KStJ) (15 September 192019 March 2011) lived an active and varied life, fulfilling a wide range of roles, including working as an ABC Radio broadcaster (1937-1938), RAAF pilot during the Second World War (DFC
Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)
The Distinguished Flying Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and other services, and formerly to officers of other Commonwealth countries, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying in active operations against...
and AFC
Air Force Cross (United Kingdom)
The Air Force Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the United Kingdom Armed Forces, and formerly also to officers of the other Commonwealth countries, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying, though not in active operations against the enemy"...
), running art galleries in both Sydney and Adelaide, being a strong advocate for the monarchy (representing South Australia as a delegate at the 1998 Constitutional Convention), and serving as a company director and board member on numerous boards. He was also an art dealer, an author of numerous art books and a novel, a jazz and speedway entrepreneur, proprietor of a number of record shops, and a concert promoter. In the last role he brought many of the "jazz greats" to Adelaide, and played a major role in negotiating the addition of Adelaide to The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
1964 tour of Australia.
See also
- John Langdon Bonython#Family name - contains information about the family name and its history
- BonythonBonython-People:* Blanche Ada Bonython, née Blanche Ada Bray , first wife of Lavington Bonython* Charles Bonython , Member of Parliament for Westminster...
External links
- John Lavington Bonython, Mayor of Adelaide, a painting by the English born artist George A.J. Webb. ca. 1913 Aged 12, 1887
- "Eurilla", Mount Lofty, ca. 1890 - the residence of Sir William Milne at Mount Lofty. Later the property of Sir Lavington Bonython, and later still, of Kym Bonython. 1905 1890