Latest news with #JohnBond
News.com.au
14-07-2025
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
Australian socialite Eileen 'Red' Bond is farewelled during catholic requiem
Iconic Australian socialite Eileen 'Red' Bond has been remembered as 'wonderful, exuberant, loyal' mother and friend during a catholic requiem mass held in WA. The former wife of entrepreneur Alan Bond was celebrated on Monday morning in an 80-minute ceremony held at Fremantle's St Patrick's Basilica, her childhood church. Bond's casket, along with the church altar, was festooned with red roses and pink orchids, a dramatic and vibrant backdrop for the celebration of a similarly well-lived life. Bond's eldest son John, a West Australian businessman, said his devoutly catholic mother could be best summed up with a stream of 'F' words – faith, family, friends and fun. He spoke briefly of his father, the disgraced businessman Alan who built a property, brewing and media empire before it all came cashing down in the eighties while recalling the circumstances of his parent's introduction. Eileen Teresa Hughes had been all of 16 when she'd fallen for the motorbike-riding high school dropout at dancing lessons in Fremantle. Son John – and a wedding – Eileen's only marriage – would follow a year later in 1955. By age 21 Eileen had welcomed two more children, Craig and Susanne. Youngest child Jody (Fewster) would arrive years later after doctors informed Eileen she was unlikely to have any more children. Eileen's famously fiery temperament was referenced just once, by her son, when he recalled the unravelling of the Bond's four-decade-long marriage due to 'dad's behaviour'. That behaviour would spur Eileen to 'cut the legs off dad's suit pants and throw them out the window.' A keen swimmer, skier, horserider and dune-buggy driver during their marriage, life in the Bond household where Eileen was firmly at the tiller was a series of games, extraordinary parties and learning to party 'like the master', Eileen. 'The house was always open, the fun always on and the red wine and champagne flowing,' John Bond recalled. Not even school pick-up was permitted to be mundane with Eileen at the wheel of the family Bentley – and a miniature donkey in the back. During the Bond-backed 1983 triumphant America's Cup challenge and over four challenges, 'Red's' mothering extended as well to the yacht's crew. This was a woman who would win over America's snobbish yachting fraternity and be introduced to the sitting US president Ronald Reagan. So broad and diverse was Bond's circle of friends – 'exclusive was not a word (she) comprehended …' her eulogist offered – it would take three songs (Danny Boy, Take Me Home Country Roads, Somewhere Over the Rainbow) to screen a package of cherished family photographs to the St Patrick's congregation. In an attempt to explain the absence of a birth date on his mother's order of ceremonies booklet, Bond conceded Eileen's age had long been 'a closely guarded secret'. Even 'trusted staff were asked to leave the room' when his mother was required to give it. 'Red' would likely have cursed an online funeral register which gave it as June 4, 1937 – a date which made her 88 when she died on July 2 following a series of strokes. The faithful catholic never quite came to terms with a brother's vow of poverty after joining the seminary. She constantly attempted to fill brother Don's pockets with cash and hoped in vain to persuade him to pilfer a pair of 'good' shoes from their father's wardrobe. A second eulogist, a priest, recalled a woman who was an 'Australian icon' and 'like a red flame. Always radiant and warm, full of energy and passion to everyone around her, especially to her family and friends.' She was, he said: 'Humble, down to earth (with a) slightly larrikin nature who had a gift for getting along with anyone'. The priest reassured Eileen's surviving children, grandchildren and great-grand-children the family matriarch would now be ' … in heaven with God. Heaven help them.'
News.com.au
14-07-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Son John delivers funeral eulogy for mum and Aussie icon Eileen ‘Red' Bond
Beloved Aussie socialite Eileen 'Red' Bond has been remembered for her commitment to 'faith, family, friends and fun' in a heartfelt service at Fremantle's St Patrick's Basilica. Ms Bond, the wife of entrepreneur Alan Bond, was farewelled before hundreds of mourners on Monday following her death from a stroke on July 2 aged 87. Son John, delivering the eulogy, said his devout Catholic mother loved St Patrick's and it was 'entirely fitting' to say goodbye to her there. 'This place gave her strength to get through the tough times in life of which she had a few, the most significant being the tragic death of her darling daughter Susan,' he said. 'In times like these, this church was her refuge.' Ms Bond sported a shock of red hair as a child and she became known as 'Red' to her friends and family. On family, John said Ms Bond was 'fiercely loyal'. 'To mum, family could do no wrong even when we obviously had,' he said. 'She would brook no criticism whatsoever of family members.' On friends, John praised his mother's 'incredible knack' of being able to 'befriend anybody, at any time, in any circumstances'. 'She was vitally interested in people's lives, and I think that was the key,' he said. Mr Bond converted from Anglicanism to Catholicism to marry Eileen, John said, after the pair met when Ms Bond was still a teenager. She and Mr Bond welcomed four children: John, Craig, Susanne and Jody. Mr Bond was a successful developer in the 1970s and 1980s and became a household name after he helped Australia win the 1983 America's Cup sailing competition. He also founded Queensland's Bond University. He went bankrupt in the early 1990s and was sent to prison on bankruptcy and fraud charges. Ms Bond travelled the world and lived a life of luxury, forming friendships in high society circles across the globe. 'Our mighty team won the America's Cup and mum won the American public,' John said. But all the time, 'Red never really changed', he said. 'Wonderful, exuberant, engaging and loyal to the end, she will be terribly missed,' John said. In a statement on her death, Bond University vice chancellor and president Tim Brailsford said Ms Bond was a 'great friend and fierce supporter of the university since its establishment'. 'She was a regular visitor to campus and attended many events, always bringing her own style and grace,' he said. 'The room was always brighter once Red had entered and her cheeky sense of humour entertained many a crowd.'
Sky News AU
08-07-2025
- Health
- Sky News AU
Legal action in Queensland over Covid restrictions following pandemic sackings can continue, judges rule
Queenslanders who refused to comply with the state's stringent COVID policies can continue to pursue legal action against the state government after a successful appeal. The group includes healthcare workers, small business owners, employees of Education Queensland, privately employed teachers and workers in the hospitality sector. Most of the group refused to take a COVID vaccine, while others launched legal action because they had to turn customers who were not vaccinated away from their businesses. Their applications were dismissed in 2023, before the matter reached the trial stage and the substantive legal and factual arguments could be made. The Supreme Court said the cases did not have legal standing as the health directives had been revoked by the state government. The applicants appealed that decision last year, and on Tuesday it was overturned. Three Court of Appeal judges found they did have legal standing and ordered that the appeals be allowed. When determining if there were any other grounds to dismiss the applications, Justice John Bond said there was "no other good reason to deny the applicants their day in court". "In an attempt to establish the merits of their claims for declaratory orders in relation to alleged past contraventions," he said. The decision to overturn the Supreme Court judgement comes 18 months after challenges to COVID vaccine mandates in Queensland were successful. In that case, a judge ruled that imposing the directives on Queensland Police and Queensland Ambulance Service was unlawful, finding the directives breached a section of the Human Rights Act.
ABC News
03-07-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Eileen Bond, ex-wife of controversial Perth businessman Alan Bond, dies aged 87
Eileen Bond, the former wife of controversial West Australian businessman Alan Bond, has died. Ms Bond's family has confirmed to the ABC the 87-year-old died on Wednesday night. Alan and Eileen Bond married in 1955 when they were both 17 and had four children together before divorcing in 1992. The Perth-based pair became a high-profile couple as Mr Bond's fortunes grew. They were together when his sailing team won the America's Cup in 1983, prompting massive national celebrations. But Alan Bond left a mixed legacy, with a very public corporate fall that ended with bankruptcy and a jail term. He died in 2015 after undergoing heart surgery. At the time Ms Bond, who had remained on good terms with her former husband, returned to Perth from London. "We've been in constant contact, but it's a very sad time," she told reporters at the time. John Bond, Eileen's son with Alan, also said at the time his parents had remained close to his mother after their divorce and described the pair as "great soul mates who never broke their connection".
The Guardian
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘I'm still not tired of it': the best books to read aloud to kids, according to parents
New research has shown a decline in the number of parents reading aloud to young children, with only 41% of 0 to four-year-olds now being read to regularly, down from 64% in 2012. The survey, conducted by publisher HarperCollins and book data company Nielsen, also found that less than half of parents find reading to kids fun. With this in mind, we asked parents to share recommendations of books they enjoy reading aloud. Add your own suggestions to the list in the comments below. Eve Sutton and Lynley Dodd My Cat Likes to Hide in Boxes is fantastic for children who might not like sitting still for long. We started reading the story to my daughter from when she was about 18 months old. Each cat in the book does something the child can copy, from playing the violin to flying an aeroplane and getting stuck in a doorway. When she was four, my daughter had a pyjama party with some nursery friends for her birthday, and all the children loved joining in when we read it. Rebecca, Birmingham John Bond Mini Rabbit: Not Lost by John Bond was such a favourite for my first child when they were two. The character of Mini Rabbit jumps off the page, and makes it so easy to come up with an appropriate voice and rhythm that adds so much energy to the book. The final page sting, where Mini Rabbit has lost interest in the very thing he has been questing for is a perfect way to end the book and gets a laugh every time in its abruptness. Bond has given a real gift to parents who may struggle with comedic timing (often necessary in the funniest kids books) by making it flow so naturally from the writing and matching art style. He has also given my family many giggling fits over the years. Matthew, 39, Liverpool Benjamin Zephaniah and Nila Aye My daughter Iris, two, loves Nature Trail by Benjamin Zephaniah, illustrated by Nila Aye. It's about the wonderful world of gardens and green spaces, from creepy-crawlies to snails and owls, animals big and small. It appreciates the beauty of the everyday, and it rhymes. Even on my most tired nights, I can remember it by heart, and read it as the light dims. Miranda, 40, Newcastle upon Tyne Huw Aaron I'm a primary school teacher with two children under three at home. As a reception teacher I spend a lot of time reading children's books out loud. With my own children I like a book that is calm and gives me something as well as them. Sleep Tight, Disgusting Blob by Huw Aaron is my new favourite: Lovely, relaxed rhymes with a touch of sci-fi and horror thrown in. Children who can read or appreciate the pictures love the idea of a 'scary' bedtime story, and those who can't, get the rhythm and time with a happy, giggling parent. Patrick Clark, Leeds Cressida Cowell The How to Train your Dragon books by Cressida Cowell get better and better for both the child and adult reader, and finish with the most perfect, satisfying ending. The characters are brilliant, especially Hiccup , the unlikely hero, and Toothless. It was my younger daughter who first got into them when she was five and we finished them when she was eight-and-a-half (about 24 hours after the last book was published). These books meant we kept reading together for longer than we might have done as even my older child, aged 11, was captivated. Kathy, East Lothian Sign up to Bookmarks Discover new books and learn more about your favourite authors with our expert reviews, interviews and news stories. Literary delights delivered direct to you after newsletter promotion BJ Novak The Book With No Pictures is a great book to read aloud with kids aged about three to six. I've used it while teaching in a classroom and at bedtime with my son and it has always been a hit. The point of the book is that the adult reading is forced to read the words in the book 'no matter what'. Therefore, they are 'forced' to say silly things such as: 'My head is made of blueberry pizza.' The more drama and faux-reluctance the reader can bring the better in my opinion! Helen Black, Hastings Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler The Gruffalo is by far one of the best books to be read aloud to children. It's such a dynamic read and as the parent you don't have to think about how you're going to get around it. It has been done for you. Just let yourself be carried by the words. I have probably read it more than 200 times and unlike other books, I'm still not tired of it and neither is my son. Clementine, 38, London Jonny Duddle I have two small children who are two and five. We found a book called The Pirates Next Door by Jonny Duddle and both of my children have separately fallen in love with it. The premise is that a pirate boy named Jim Lad and his family move next door to Matilda in a charming seaside town. Their strange ways annoy the neighbours – fixing their ship on the driveway, eating horrible food, turning up to school without uniform. They are nice but misunderstood, and Matilda makes friends with Jim. It's incredibly fun to read for parents as each neighbour has their own voice. Jack, 38, Clonakilty, Ireland Tao Nyeu Wonder Bear by Tao Nyeu might be a bit of an odd choice considering that it has no words. But as we found with our children when they were three and five, that is what made it so great. The first time I 'read' it, they could see there wasn't any writing. They stared quizzically back and forth from the book to my face as they realised that I was making up the story. Each time we read it, which was often, I continued to hit on the primary narrative points that I had established from that first reading, but I added just a bit more here and there. There is enough going on in the beautiful illustrations to do so. The author cleverly includes enough connections between pages to carry a plot, but also leaves many possibilities for you to interpret and develop the story yourself. Jed, 49, Seattle, the US Compiled by Alfie Packham
