Charles R. Bunning (1 March 1905 – 3 June 1994) was a West Australian businessman who played an early significant role in the development of major retailer

Bunnings Bunnings Group Limited, trading as Bunnings Warehouse or Bunnings, is an Australian household hardware chain. The chain has been owned by Wesfarmers since 1994, and has stores in Australia and New Zealand. Bunnings was founded in Perth, Wester ...

Biography

Charles was a son of

Robert Bunning Robert Bunning (13 December 1859 – 12 August 1936) was a Western Australian businessman involved in the construction, timber, and sawmill industries. He co-founded Bunning Bros, predecessor to the modern-day retailer Bunnings Warehouse. Early ...

, an English migrant who, with his brother Arthur, formed Bunning Brothers in 1886. The firm developed into one of Australia's largest timber companies. Charles and his brothers Joe and Tom enlarged the business after their father's death. They made bricks and during World War II joined the rival

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

group Millars at the request of the federal Ministry of Munitions. As

shipbuilder Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to befor ...

s they built the small snake boats used by Z force to land on Japanese-occupied land in Asia. Bunnings rode the post-War housing boom to become the largest logging operators in Australia. Charles was prominent in the Association of Sawmillers and Timber Merchants during the 1950s and, as president of the Employers Federation, championed the cause of greater national and international investment in West Australian industry. Charles was instrumental in the construction of the Donnelly River Mill, south-west of

Bridgetown Bridgetown (UN/LOCODE: BB BGI) is the capital and largest city of Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Island ...

, and the Gascoyne River Bridge, 13 km north-east of Carnarvon. Both structures are on the

Heritage Council of Western Australia The Heritage Council of Western Australia is the Government of Western Australia agency created to identify, conserve and promote places of cultural heritage significance in the state. Prior to its creation, considerable variance in policy and ...

's register of heritage places. In 1931 Charles married noted WA artist Elizabeth Blair Barber (1909–2001) in Melbourne, who portrayed scenes of the south-west timber industry.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bunning, Charles 1905 births 1994 deaths Australian businesspeople in retailing People from Western Australia