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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-03-23 Daily Xml
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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) (14:00): I move:

That the House of Assembly expresses its deep regret at the death of Kym Bonython AC DFC AFC, a distinguished South Australian who served his country in World War II, places on record its appreciation of his dedication and service to the state in civic life, the arts, music and motorsport, and places on record its appreciation of his contribution and service to our state; and that, as a mark of respect to his memory, the sitting of the house be suspended until the ringing of the bells.

As I informed the house yesterday I, like every member of this place, was saddened to learn last Saturday of the passing, at the age of 90, of Kym Bonython, a great South Australian whose renown and influence was recognised across the nation as well as overseas.

Kym was a decorated RAAF pilot who served our nation with extraordinary gallantry and extraordinary distinction. He was a passionate promoter of, and participant in, the world of motorsport, regularly pushing himself and the machines he piloted to the limits. He was a trailblazer in the world of art and music, and, as a dealer and collector, he introduced the world, and particularly Australia, to the talents of many great home-grown painters, particularly some of the greats that he introduced to South Australian arts lovers. His lifelong passion for jazz helped bring some of music's great names to Adelaide, and he remained active and prominent in the wider community, making an enduring contribution to committees and causes that was recognised in 1987 when he was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia, which is, of course, Australia's highest civilian honour.

Hugh Reskymer Bonython, known universally as Kym, was born in September 1920 into the heart of Adelaide's establishment and the heart of Adelaide's public life. His grandfather, John Langdon Bonython, was a member of Australia's first federal parliament. His father, Sir John Lavington Bonython, was a long-serving Adelaide city councillor and former lord mayor of Adelaide. Both his father and grandfather also served as editors of The Advertiser newspaper.

Kim was educated at Queen's College and then St Peter's College and upon leaving school briefly contemplated taking up a career in accountancy. But the outbreak of World War II led him to volunteer for the Royal Australian Air Force and changed his life's path irrevocably. He served in the Dutch East Indies (now, of course, Indonesia) and in New Guinea and was in Darwin when it was bombed by Japanese fighter planes in February 1942.

Kim was in the Darwin base hospital that day, having developed dengue fever, but was able to flee to safety shortly before a shell destroyed the ward in which he had been housed. Equally fortunate (he often claimed) was the fact that his beloved gramophone and collection of records, which were kept in the living quarters, survived the attack. Sadly, his extensive collection of art pieces, as well as probably the best collection of jazz records in the nation, were lost to the ravages of the 1983 Ash Wednesday bushfires.

Kym was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Australian Flying Cross for his wartime services. Following the war, he raised cattle on a property at Mount Pleasant where he was badly injured after being gored by a Jersey bull. He then decided he would be much safer racing speedway cars and motorbikes, and ran, as well as competed, at the popular Rowley Park Speedway for more than two decades.

During that time, he also pursued his passion for the arts, running galleries in Sydney and Adelaide, publishing a number of books and awakening Australia and the wider world to the talents of such celebrated artists as Sidney Nolan, Arthur Boyd and Brett Whiteley.

From the age of 17, Kym had hosted his own jazz music radio show on the ABC, a program that ran for a remarkable 38 years. During that time, he also organised numerous concerts of the world's jazz greats in Adelaide, as well as bringing the legendary Chuck Berry to Apollo Stadium in 1975. Kym later described his dealings with the rock and roll icon as 'the biggest nightmare of my entrepreneurial career'. I mentioned yesterday, he was also instrumental in bringing people like Louis Armstrong, Dave Brubeck, Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie and others to Australia.

These details, of course, chronicle but a small portion of Kym Bonython's rich full life and the enduring contribution he made to so many facets of South Australia's history. With John Bannon, he became a driving force in securing the Australian Formula One Grand Prix for Adelaide in 1985. Of course, as a result of that, we have built a culture of motor sport which we saw celebrated this last weekend with the Clipsal 500.

He served as board chairman for South Australia's 150th jubilee celebrations the following year and was a delegate to the 1998 Constitutional Convention. A staunchly outspoken monarchist, he was also a tireless champion for numerous other causes, including, in his latter years, voluntary euthanasia legislation. In 2008, his contribution to the arts was deservedly recognised when he received the Premier's Lifetime Achievement Award at our arts industry's prestigious annual Ruby Awards.

Kym's achievements were as many as they were varied and his legacy, along with his memory, will continue to endure. On behalf of all members on this side of the house, and I am sure everyone in the state, I extend my condolences to Kym's family and friends, particularly his wife, Julie, his five children, 15 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

As I told the house yesterday, Kym's family has accepted the government's offer of a state funeral which will be a terrific celebration of all facets of this extraordinarily rich and varied life. It will be held at St Peter's Cathedral at 11am on Tuesday.

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