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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-03-22 Daily Xml
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Ministerial Statement

BONYTHON, MR H.R. (KYM)

The Hon. M.D. RANN (Ramsay—Premier, Minister for Economic Development, Minister for Social Inclusion, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Sustainability and Climate Change) (14:04): I seek leave to make a ministerial statement.

Leave granted.

The Hon. M.D. RANN: Last Saturday, 19 March 2011, Kym Bonython AC DFC AFC died aged 90. Kym was a great South Australian and, indeed, a great Australian. He was a remarkable man who amongst his many deeds and achievements served his country as a RAAF pilot in Europe, South-East Asia and New Guinea as well as in Darwin during the bombing in 1942. Kym Bonython was awarded the Air Force Cross and the Distinguished Flying Cross.

Kym Bonython lived life to the fullest, enriched by his passion for the arts, music and motorsport. He was an entrepreneur, a pioneer and an adventurer. As an arts aficionado, he ran galleries in Adelaide and Sydney. He played and promoted jazz through his ABC radio show. He brought to Australia's wider attention many visual artists such as Boyd, Nolan, Drysdale, Dobell and Whiteley, not to mention jazz artists Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Dave Brubeck, Ray Charles and Chuck Berry. He brought the jazz artists to Australia, and he brought Australian visual artists to the attention of a much wider audience around Australia.

His extensive collection of art pieces and jazz records—possibly one of the best collections in the state or even in the nation—was sadly lost to the ravages of the 1983 Ash Wednesday fires that razed his family home in the Adelaide Hills. I remember Prince Charles and the late Princess of Wales visiting Kym and Julie at the ruins of their home shortly after the fires. That remains a poignant memory for me and many others who were there.

As a daredevil, he survived a plane crash and a bull attack, and pushed racing cars, motorbikes and speedboats to their limits. He ran our iconic Rowley Park Speedway and was a driving force, alongside John Bannon, in securing the Australian Grand Prix for Adelaide in 1985.

As a committed, passionate citizen, he chaired the South Australia Jubilee 150 Board, which arranged a series of events, and also other spectacles, and of course there was a royal visit by The Queen at the time. He represented our state at the 1998 Constitutional Convention and championed causes as diverse as voluntary euthanasia, compulsory national service and, indeed, the monarchy. In 1987, he was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia—our nation's highest civilian honour.

Kym Bonython is survived by his wife, Julie, his five children, 15 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. His family has accepted the government's offer of a state funeral to be held at St Peter's Cathedral next Tuesday. Kym Bonython was a great South Australian whose contribution to our state was profound and his legacy will continue to endure. I have asked the Speaker to facilitate, on behalf of all of us, a condolence motion before question time tomorrow to allow the house to pay tribute to Kym.

Honourable members: Hear, hear!

The SPEAKER: Thank you, Premier, and yes, of course.

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