The Bathurst Giant - George Bonnor
Bathurst and Orange Inter District Cricket - BOIDC | November 21, 2024
The Bathurst Giant at one time could boast a man with a magnificent physique. He stood at six feet six inches (198 cm) high and weighed in at seventeen stone (108 kg), in fact one could almost say that with his golden flowing hair and trimmed beard he could have been mistaken as a reincarnation of one of the ‘gods’ of the Vikings.
George Bonnor, a popular and proud Bathurstian, operated a business as a produce merchant. He was assisted by his wife Sarah Ann, née Holmes. Our giant wasn’t George Bonner but his son, George John Bonnor who had been born in Bathurst in February, 1855.
He started playing club cricket in Sydney in the late 1870s and represented both Victoria and New South Wales at state level. Later he moved to Orange in 1887, where he was employed by Wright Heaton and Co. He resided with his brother, James Bonnor, at Strathroy in East Orange.
George went on to be a very confident cricketer and possibly the biggest hitter in cricket history, in one case over 155 meters. Before long he was referred to as ‘The Colonial Hercules’.
The famous Dr. W.G. Grace once wrote “he is of the grandest specimens of humanity that ever stepped onto a cricket field.”
In all, he played seventeen Test matches for Australia and was a member of the side that defeated England at The Oval in August 1882, initiating ‘The Ashes’ Test series. Bonnor was noted for his fielding, specifically his ability to throw a cricket ball a distance of over 100 yards, and was also considered the game’s biggest hitter, on one occasion in 1880 hitting the ball so high that he completed three runs before being caught out.
Duke and Son in England manufactured bats, balls and associated cricket needs. The popularity of the Duke balls not only saw them used in England but around the colonies - including the Great South Land. Duke’s products were to be successful at the exhibitions in Sydney in 1879, Melbourne in 1880 and in Adelaide in 1881, where they won medals constantly. A timber display board of their cricketing equipment was sent to Sydney for the 1879 Sydney International Exhibition, at which they would win a silver medal. They constantly won medals, both silver and copper, including the one on the right at the Colonial and Indian Exhibition medal in London in 1886.
George was presented with two of the Duke and Son cricket bats and as was standard practice it was branded “J. Duke, Penshurst.” George once stated he preferred the cricket balls made by the company. Duke’s cricket balls were made in a number of qualities – Duke’s Special “Royal Crown” balls with the name Royal Arms; Dukes No 1 Men’s “Best” treble Seam Match balls; Royal Arms Duke’s No 2 Men’s “Super” Treble Seam Match balls and Prince of Wales feather emblem Duke’s No 3 Men’s “Pkd” Treble Seam Match balls.
Playing in the Orange cricket competition in 1890 Bonnor lifted a ball out of Wade Park, which cleared Piesley Street and landed in a coal train headed for Bourke, where the ball was subsequently recovered.
He retired from first class cricket in 1891, having scored 4,820 runs at an average of 21.23. Unfortunately, George suffered from a heart condition in his later life, however he continued working as a produce merchant and buyer.
He never married and died at East Orange on 27th June,1912. There was a large turnout for the funeral and cortege out to the Baptist cemetery.
One obituary described him as “one of the most attractive figures seen on any cricket field in the world. For a man of such gigantic proportion his activity was astounding”.
Courtesy - Bathurst Historical Society
