Frederic Bonney British landowner and photographer Country: Great Britain

Biography of Frederick Bonney

Frederick Bonney, the son of Reverend Thomas Bonney, the headmaster of Rugeley Classical School, was born in 1842 in Rugeley, Staffordshire. One of his brothers was the geologist Thomas George Bonney. In 1858, their Australian uncle Charles Bonney lived in England, and Frederick, along with his brother Edward Smith Bonney, became fascinated by their uncle's stories and decided to travel to Australia. Edward went first, and Frederick followed in 1865. They settled on a pastoral land known as Momba Station, in New South Wales, near Wilcannia. By the end of the 1860s, the brothers owned a total of 6,000 square kilometers of land.

Edward Dickens, the son of writer Charles Dickens, was sent by his father to work on Momba Station and arrived there a few days before his 16th birthday in 1868. He stayed and worked in Momba until 1872. While Frederick worked as a cattle farmer, he pursued his hobby of photography and anthropology. He took numerous photographs of the Pankatiyah group, who traditionally lived along the Paroo River. These people suffered greatly from epidemics and the influx of foreign immigrants. Bonnie aimed to show his respect for the Australian aborigines through his photographs and writings, as he was appalled by the racist views of others.

In 1879, Edward Bonney was diagnosed with terminal syphilis and returned home. Frederick continued with his anthropological research and photography while selling Momba Station. On his way back to Staffordshire in 1881, Frederick stopped in Hawaii and took remarkable photographs there for almost a month. After returning home, he purchased Colton House in Rugeley, where he established gardens and an arboretum. He continued to document events around him, supplementing his stories with photographs. Many of these photographs became part of the Colton House collection.

Frederick was the chairman of the parish council and helped organize pigeon exhibitions. He also took on the management of the local hospital and village reading room. Due to his unwavering enthusiasm, Frederick took many excellent photographs. Although some original images were lost, his works were enough to publish two books that included photographs of Australian indigenous people. At that time, it was not customary to sign photos, but Bonney made sure to include the names of the people he photographed on the back of the prints and in his notebooks. This information can help the descendants of the Pankatiyah group identify their relatives.

In 1924, significant manuscripts by Frederick, including a copy of his published article "On Some Customs of the Aboriginals of the Darling River," were donated to the Mitchell Library. Frederick Bonney passed away in Rugeley in 1921.