He was named Herbert Ross Reid after his mother’s brother and his father’s mate who fought together in France and Belgium during the First World War. Herbert Walker didn’t make it home.

Bon’s father Alex was a Scotsman and he declared that his boy was a wee Bonnie Beren so somehow the name Bonnie stuck and as he grew it was shortened to Bon. Very few people knew him as Herbert.

In 1930 Alex Reid decided to move his family to the country and as he had worked in Moree refitting shop fronts after the great fire almost wiped out the main street he decided to make a new life in Moree NSW.

Alex set up a joinery and glazing business, Bon and his sister Dorothy (Jamieson) started school and Millie, Bon’s mother ran a boarding house which catered for the many people who came to visit the artesian hot baths in Moree.

Bon always had a way of making money so for extra pocket money he trapped rabbits and sold them at the railway station for six pence a pai. He also provided a good many rabbits for stew at the boarding house.

His sister Margaret Butler was born in Moree.

In 1940 at the tender age of 16 he and a few of his mates went to an Armesters day ceremony and their heads were filled with the adventure of joining the army and going to fight the Krauts and save the world.

Bon knew he was too young so he lied about his age and used his sister Dorothy's birthday to get the papers to sign up. His mother and father refused to sign them so he locked himself in his room and refused to come out until they agreed to sign.

He joined the Light Horse Brigade but was later changed to Engineers after missing out on the paratroopers. Bon got his 15 minutes of fame when stationed at Anna Bay during his training with the Light Horse. They were filming the movie 40 Thousand Horsemen and he was one of the 40 thousand charging down the sand hills at Anna Bay.

Bon saw service in Borneo, Labuan Island, Brunei and New Guinea. He returned home after the war and wanted to join the occupation forces in Japan but his father’s business was struggling and he had to stay home and help out.

He completed his apprenticeship with his father as a joiner and cabinet maker and worked with his father in the business.

On July 19, 1950 he married Lois McKechnie.

Over the years the business grew under the leadership of Bon; his father handed over the reins and it went from strength to strength. After many years as a tradesman Bon decided to add retail hardware, starting with a shipment of paint.

Alex Reid and Son became one of the largest country suppliers of Dulux and British paints.

The craft of joinery and cabinet making was becoming obsolete due to the prefabricated products on the market so Bon, after many years of training so many men in Moree from apprentice to tradesman decided to change the goal posts and instead of building timber windows and doors he changed to manufacturing aluminium windows and doors. He did a deal with Haddad’s transport who did haulage interstate and got them a contract to haul Trimview Aluminium Product from Melbourne to Brisbane and of course than enabled him to get his products on a regular basis as they had to pass through Moree on their route to Brisbane.

Bon and Lois had two children Rosalie (1953) and Kathleen (Kate, 1955). Both were educated in Moree and at boarding School in Armidale and Sydney.

Bon was a keen member of the Moree Diggers Fishing Club, Diggers Golf Club and Diggers Swimming Club.

He was in Apex until the age of 40 and then continued a very strong membership in Moree Rotary Club, he held many positions in his Rotary Club and was the first recipient in the Moree club of a Paul Harris Fellow which is the highest honour for a Rotarian. It was presented to him by the Moree Rotaract Club for his excellent service to the Youth of Rotary.

Business in Moree was good but after breaking his leg badly in 1979 Bon planned his early retirement. A short time later the hardware store was sold and five years later Barwon Timbers was sold.

A huge party was put on by the citizens of Moree as a farewell to Bon and Lois and it was at this party they were both presented with the Australia Medal for service to the community and especially their 30 years of service to SES.

Lois was reluctant to leave all her friends and family in Moree but a new house was underway at Mountain Creek Mooloolaba.

Bon Joined Mooloolaba Rotary Club, played a lot of golf and was a member of the Fraser Follies Golfing group which also had a couple of fishing trips a year to Fraser Island.

Sadly after two years at Mooloolaba Lois passed away in 1992 and Bon was on his own which was not where he wanted to be.

Bon married Barbara Mudie at the age of 73. He had some wonderful years of travelling the globe with Barbara but things did not work out and they divorced after seven years. They became members of Friendship Force and U3A, many of the trips overseas were with groups from these organisations. Bon and Barbara remained friends until his death.

By this time he had sold up at Mountain Creek and had built another couple of houses at Twin Waters where he caught many fish in the canal and mud crabs were plentiful.

Bon’s back was not in good shape so he sold the house in Twin Waters and went into Bellflower Retirement Resort which he loved. When he needed a little more care he sold his unit and moved into a nursing home .

Bon’s last move was to Seasons at Golden Beach where he could live in an independent unit but still have care.

He still loved rugby league and watch every televised game.

We are thankful that he went in his sleep just the way he wanted with no major illness just a worn out body and a very sharp mind up to the last.

Bon passed away on December 14, 2017 and was cremated. His memorial service will be held at Twin Waters Golf Club, Ocean Drive Mudjimba QLD at 11am on January 21, 2018. Anyone wishing to attend can call Rosalie on (07) 5476 6641 or Kate on 0418 711 190, all welcome.