Society & Culture Alan Bond dead

[rumply]

Herald Sun ‏@theheraldsun 33m33 minutes ago
Update: Business tycoon Alan Bond has died after complications from open-heart surgery http://trib.al/7nVIJlL




State funeral?...

 

[Rough_Edges]

No idea who Alan bond is

But like all the other people who died today who I don't no or aren't famous - thoughts go out to the family and friends.

 

[JUBJUB]

State funeral?...

 

[grouse mate]

Not fredworthy outside of W.A. Im sorry.

 

[Plugger35]

He was a hero in WA after we won The America's Cup in '83, a pity all his dodgy business dealings tainted his legacy but I think he did more good than bad.

 

[royboy2]

Now we'll never get used to, not living next door to Alan

 

[Mr_Bojangles]

An absolute piece of shit. Had no moral compass (like many from that era) and ruined many lives of the investors he bullshitted without one iota of regret. But now he's dead The West will have a 6 page feature on how much of a good bloke he was and Barnett will have a State Funeral.

At least he'll see his good mate Laurie Connell in hell. That's something.

Black armbands for Richmond tonight?

 

[DaVillaBlues]

He was a hero in WA after we won The America's Cup in '83, a pity all his dodgy business dealings tainted his legacy but I think he did more good than bad.

What bollocks ...
**** the America's Cup as well, Yachting is an overrated sport for wealthy toffs who have far too much money.

 

[Mr_Bojangles]

He painted the Dingo Flour sign you know. Another Bond myth. Maybe people think of this when driving past on the way to Fremantle Cemetery to put flowers at the grave of a loved one who committed suicide because Bond had ruined them financially.

 

[Plugger35]

What bollocks ...
**** the America's Cup as well, Yachting is an overrated sport for wealthy toffs who have far too much money.

I'm not a huge fan of yachting but winning The America's Cup in 1983 was one of Australia's greatest sporting achievements, it helped to put Perth on the map and did wonders for the WA economy as well as for Freo which was a run down dump before being spruced up for the 1987 America's Cup. None of that would have happened without Alan Bond's financial backing, determination and entrepreneurial skills.

I'm not denying he ripped a lot of people off with some shonky deals but unlike many other entrepreneurs he at least did some good with his money.

 

[waldino]

Kevin Bloody Wilsons song 'living next door to alan' is what i always knew alan bond from

 

[Quivorir]

Kevin Bloody Wilsons song 'living next door to alan' is what i always knew alan bond from

Same. No idea who is is or what he has done.

 

[Prestigerrycomo]

Now we'll never get used to, not living next door to Alan

I'll get another yacht....that'll f*** 'em

 

[Bumpswithagrin]

For some reason I thought he was already dead

 

[Spongebob]

I always loved the story rumor about Bondy and Red's house.

Built this enormous shack on the river, squillion acres etc., great views.

Rumour/story goes that the servants' quarters were built on the top floor because it was too much effort for the power people to walk up the stairs.

 

[Doc_]

For those of you that weren't alive in '83, it was probably the biggest sporting achievement in Australian sport. The New York Yacht club had held this trophy for 132 years. Never beaten, till that one morning in '83. The nation had many a sleepless night leading up to it. We set alarm clocks to get up in the wee hours of the morning only to have the racing called off due to lack of wind. It must of been 3 or 4 nights of no racing waiting for that final heat. Then..........finally..............we kicked their ass!!!!!! We grew as a sporting nation that morning, it was just awesome!!!!!!

 

[JUBJUB]

For those of you that weren't alive in '83, it was probably the biggest sporting achievement in Australian sport. The New York Yacht club had held this trophy for 132 years. Never beaten, till that one morning in '83. The nation had many a sleepless night leading up to it. We set alarm clocks to get up in the wee hours of the morning only to have the racing called off due to lack of wind. It must of been 3 or 4 nights of no racing waiting for that final heat. Then..........finally..............we kicked their ass!!!!!! We grew as a sporting nation that morning, it was just awesome!!!!!!

and now no Aussie could give a fat rats when the American Cup is on.In fact most don't even know that it's on while it's on.

 

[Taylor]

and now no Aussie could give a fat rats when the American Cup is on.In fact most don't even know that it's on while it's on.

To be fair, if you have a hundred million bucks you might.

 

[Bumpswithagrin]

and now no Aussie could give a fat rats when the American Cup is on.In fact most don't even know that it's on while it's on.

Interest would soon be rekindled if we were a serious chance of winning it again. Having said that the gloss has probably been taken off winning it a bit now that we have already won it. Believe me, as Doc_ said, it was a huge achievement at the time and certainly captivated the whole country.

 

[Scotland]

Same. No idea who is is or what he has done.

He's got his own Wiki page. He's not just famous in WA where Sharrod Wellingham passes for a celebrity.

Cliffs:

WA businessman (born UK), rose to prominence in the 80s (made his money the usual WA way, debt funded real estate and mining investments)
Previously Australian of the Year, Order of Australia member (since stripped)
Bankrolled 4 Americas Cup challenges including the successful 1983 campaign
Bought Channel 9 from Kerry Packer for $1b, sold it back to him for a fraction of that
Started Bond University in Qld
Built Bond Tower in Perth (Was Bankwest tower for many years, the most identifiable high rise in Perth still)
Used to own Swan, Tooheys, Castlemaine breweries
Was involved with shady WA high fliers and dodgy pollies
Declared bankrupt in the 90s, convicted of fraud (which cost millions of dollars of public money) and went to jail for 4 years

 

[Doc_]

and now no Aussie could give a fat rats when the American Cup is on.In fact most don't even know that it's on while it's on.

Its now been bastardised. No one gives a rats ass about it now. At the time though, the whole world was desperate to knock the yanks off. Many nations & famous people, including the Liptons, tried many a time to knock them off. We did it.
The rules changed, the class of yacht changed etc. It's nothing now, but the allure in 83 was HUGE!

 

[Teriyakicat]

For those of you that weren't alive in '83, it was probably the biggest sporting achievement in Australian sport. The New York Yacht club had held this trophy for 132 years. Never beaten, till that one morning in '83. The nation had many a sleepless night leading up to it. We set alarm clocks to get up in the wee hours of the morning only to have the racing called off due to lack of wind. It must of been 3 or 4 nights of no racing waiting for that final heat. Then..........finally..............we kicked their ass!!!!!! We grew as a sporting nation that morning, it was just awesome!!!!!!

Did your boss let you have the day off work or was he a bum??

 

[Scotland]

Sad for his family but state funeral is not warranted or appropriate.

 

[Doc_]

Did your boss let you have the day off work or was he a bum??

I went to work like most did. Hawke's remark did not hold any sway. It was funny though.

 

[Doc_]

It took ages to get back to the dock and then the celebrations broke out. Bond raising his arms to get her out the water and show the winged keel.....spine tingling.
The Americans pulled every trick in the book to keep the cup. They weren't above cheating for as long as I could remember and the history books suggest it was the norm.
We had shrouds on the keel while she was in dock. Reports of submarines trying to get a look at it not to mention choppers trying to get shots of the keel.
Ben Lexcen's winged keel was a revolutionary piece of design.