Warren Bonython

Charles Warren Bonython, AO (11 September 1916 – 2 April 2012) was an Australian conservationist, explorer, author, and chemical engineer.

A keen bushwalker, he is perhaps best known for his role, spanning many years, of working towards the promotion, planning and eventual creation of the Heysen Trail.

His work in conservation has been across a range of issues, but especially those connected with South Australian arid landscapes.

Bonython was born in Adelaide, South Australia, to John Lavington Bonython (later Sir John), and Constance Jean, née Warren (Lady Jean Bonython).

His grandfather was Sir John Langdon Bonython.

He had one brother (Kym Bonython), one sister (Katherine Downer Verco), a half-brother (John Langdon Bonython) and two half-sisters (Lady Elizabeth (Betty) Hornabrook Wilson and Ada Bray Heath).

(See John Lavington Bonython for more detail.)

Bonython studied chemical engineering at Adelaide University.

Upon graduating with a Bachelor of Science, he accepted a position with ICI Australia Ltd.

There he conducted research and management in the solar salt industry, from 1940 to 1966, and served for 20 years as manager of the salt fields at Dry Creek in Adelaide.

He began bushwalking while living in Melbourne in the 1940s.

With his wife Cynthia, (known as Bunty), together they walked through the Dandenong and Cathedral Ranges.

With the birth of the first of their three children, (Simon, Veryan and Alice), Bunty decided against further bushwalking, but supported him in his subsequent walks.

After World War II, he returned with his family to Adelaide, and from this base continued to plan long walks, in outback South Australia and elsewhere.

His walks included: walking the length of the MacDonnell Ranges; the Larapinta Trail; Lake Eyre; Northern India to the border of Kashmir; the Sierra Club’s high trek in Nevada; climbing the mountains of Maui and walking through the craters; numerous visits to New Zealand; the Everest Trek; and the 463 km crossing of the Simpson Desert, described in his book "Walking the Simpson Desert".

Except for the period in Melbourne, the Bonythons lived their entire married life in "Romalo House", (located at 24 Romalo Avenue, Magill, South Australia), having bought the home and adjacent land from Bunty's parents.

He married Cynthia Eyres Young, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Young of Romalo Avenue Magill, on 12 April 1941 at the Church of the Epiphany at Crafers.

Bonython's lifetime interests in conservation and exploration were first publicly recognised by his appointment as President, Royal Geographical Society of Australasia, South Australian Branch, in 1959.

Bonython is credited with the conception of the Heysen Trail.

At the age of 50 he retired from his industrial career in 1966 in order to devote his time to his many other interests.

In 1973, he and friend Charles McCubbin walked 463 kilometres north-south across the Simpson Desert, pulling a 250-kilogram loaded trailer dubbed "the Comalco Camel", the trek lasting 32 days.

In 1982, he and companion walker Terry Kreig became the first white people to walk the 500 km around the shores of Lake Eyre.

At the age of 75, he climbed Mount Kilimanjaro.

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In his early years, Warren Bonython owned the first MG sports car in South Australia, and set the speed record on Sellicks Beach.

In 2000 it was announced: "The undeveloped allotment at 22 Romalo Avenue Magill, formerly owned by Warren and Bunty Bonython, is being amalgamated with the adjoining walkway to form a reserve to be known as Young Park. This has been made possible through the generosity of the Bonythons and assistance from the State Government Open Space Planning and Development Fund."

From an early age, Bunty Bonython has had a deep interest and love of history.

Her written works include a brief history of Beaumont House, and two books about St George's Church Magill, where she has been the honorary historian for many years.

A funeral service for Warren was conducted on 12 April 2012 in St Peters Cathedral.

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