Queen's Birthday Honours: Tony Bonne, former Whakatāne mayor

Tony and Linda Bonne at home in Ōhope. Photo / Samantha Olley

Ask Tony Bonne why he's stayed in Whakatāne his whole life and he'll say - "well look at it" - pointing out to the bush, beach and sea.

The former mayor - who admits he doesn't know how to say no - was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in this morning's Queen's Birthday Honours list, for services to local government and the community.

Tony Bonne ONZM "never expected" a Queen's Birthday mention but calls it "a real honour".

He got into local body politics because he "got good satisfaction out of seeing the community improve".

Bonne's award citation acknowledges he did just that - leading the district through the Māori Wards referendum, building closer relationships between council and iwi, developing youth partnerships and leading the 2017 Edgecumbe flood disaster response.

Tony Bonne as Whakatāne mayor in 1996. Photo / File

He was a councillor for the Ōhope Ward for a term from 1992 before being elected mayor for a term until 1998.

He then returned to the candidate list after a long break and was re-elected in his Ōhope Ward in 2007, before serving three terms as mayor between 2010 and 2019.

He chose to retire and not stand again last year, after also serving his last term as a Local Government New Zealand zone chairman.

Alongside all of this, Bonne has been a volunteer Coastguard radio operator since 2000.

His longest non-stop service, however, has been through Rotary.

From 1994 he was part of Rotary Whakatāne West from 1994 to 2014 before becoming president of Rotary Whakatāne Sunrise - a club Bonne co-established.

Both Tony and Linda Bonne are enthusiastic Rotarians.

Linda didn't initially share her husband's interest in local government roles, but "unless you join your partner in what they do - it's not going to work", she says.

"I don't know how many brochure drops I've done, and times spent talking to people, defending Tony and supporting Tony."

He admits there were times when his hours were "horrific".

Tony Bonne at the Edgecumbe Fire Station during the April 2017 flood. Photo / File

The Edgecumbe flood is just one example - and Linda spent days joining her husband at public meetings and making cups of tea outside of her teaching commitments.

She has grown more fond of local body politics over the years and now sits on the Whakatāne-Ōhope Community Board.

Tony Bonne's community work started in the Jaycees leadership programme in the early 1980s.

"I can go back to Jaycees for a lot of things I've done," he says.

The Covid-19 lockdown has literally "brought home" the "pretty crucial" importance of work-life balance, but Bonne is still working in real estate and recently signed up to be a business mentor - again.

"I would like to help - especially now with Covid-19."

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern accepting a gift from Tony Bonne - a landscape of Murupara where she lived as a child. Photo / File

Although his honour isn't focused on his business achievements, they have intertwined with his community service and local government roles.

Linda proudly lists off Tony's first money-making methods: "at 12 he mowed lawns, at 14 he delivered milk and he was the youngest mail delivery person".

"People wrote letters in protest ... he was delivering mail at age 17."

Tony Bonne then had a taxi before later going into health foods - helping found the Health 2000 chain and later purchased Sportsworld Whakatāne.

He was a director of the Rural Couriers Society and chairman of the Inland Mail Contractors Bay of Plenty/Waikato branch from 1980 to 1995.

He was a member of Te Mana Whakahaere Council of Te Whare Wananga o Awanuiarangi from 2010 to 2016.

He has also chaired the Vic David Memorial Trust and was chairman and treasurer of Whakatāne Intermediate Board between 2004 and 2016.