Eileen Bond, first wife of late tycoon Alan Bond, dies at 87 in Perth

Eileen Bond, ‘Red’, as she was affectionately known, died in Perth after suffering what is believed to be a stroke last weekend.

Eileen Bond at a fundraising dinner in 2022. Picture: Jonathan Ng

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Eileen Bond, first wife of the late Australian business tycoon Alan Bond, has died in Perth.

“Red”, as she was affectionately known, was 87, and a larger-than-life presence in her own right in business, sporting and charity circles in Western Australia and around the country.

Park Avenue had their society “swans” but Red was the personification of her home town emblem – a black swan who glided around the harbour scene of Monaco, Flemington’s famous Birdcage and the grandstands at her beloved South Fremantle Football Club with grace, aplomb and an incomparable style whether it be her hot pink Balenciaga sweaters or oversized, bedazzled Gucci sunglasses.

Everyone in her orbit was always greeted with a smile, an air kiss and a “my sweet!”

Alan and Eileen Bond at the Fremantle celebrations after the America’s Cup win in 1983.

It is understood she suffered a stroke at the weekend and died peacefully, surrounded by her loved ones, on Wednesday evening.

The born and bred “Freo girl” married Bond in 1955 when the two were 17, and they were at the centre of the glittering America’s Cup celebrations in 1983.

It was Red’s infectious magnetism that had the Americans on the ground in Perth defending the Cup turn instead to side with the underdog Australians and bask in victory alongside then prime minister Bob Hawke.

Bond on board Australia II in 1983.

Bond died in 2015, and the former couple had remained close after their 1992 divorce.

“There was obviously a lot of debate around Alan Bond and his business interests and his other activities … some of that negative, some of that positive, but throughout all of that Red was just always known as a positive figure and someone who transcended a lot of that discussion,” WA Premier Roger Cook said.

Perth businessman and car dealer John Hughes, in his eulogy of Bond, described his cousin Red as a “saint” who had the “tiger by the tail”.

“I found her to be a generous and fun loving woman. In those few conversations I had with her, she was intelligent and knowledgeable. She was obviously a wonderful mother, grandmother and friend, loved and admired by all who knew her,” Perth philanthropist Janet Holmes a Court told The Australian.

She is survived by her three children, including leading Perth realtor Jody Fewster. She lost her eldest daughter, Susanne, in 2000 to suspected complications with coeliac disease.

John Bond, Craig Bond and Ms Fewster issued a statement describing their mother as the “glue” of their family on Thursday: “Red only knew one speed, flat out, and she brought everyone along for the ride. She touched countless lives with her generosity, humour and unmistakeable energy. She brought joy wherever she went.”

John added that his mother’s trademark style was loved by all who knew her and said despite their break-up, his parents remained “soulmates”.

“She came over last weekend dressed in a tutu and leggings with her big sunglasses and big earrings, and my granddaughters were just blown away and just wanted to know how they could dress like her. That pretty much summed her up, she related to all ages, she was happy … that was very symptomatic of the way she was right to the very end,” he said.

Eileen Bond at the funeral for Alan Bond in 2015.

Friends from around the country were shocked and saddened by the news of the death of Perth’s “grand dame” who, up until recently, was regularly spotted zipping around the exclusive western suburbs in her bright red Lexus with the personalised licence plates “EB-083”.

“They were presented to me after the Americas Cup parade, I cherish them,” she told The Australian in 2023.

“It’s an understatement to say she loved to party. Parties and social gatherings were her playground and she was the queen when it came to throwing one. She had a gift for gathering the most eclectic mix of guests bound by one golden rule: you had to be fun,” former social editor of The West Australian Di Bauwens told The Australian.

“Wherever she was, she held court. People were drawn to her like moths to a very fabulous flame. She was a born raconteur and bon vivant with a story for every city and her fashion sense was outrageous in the best possible way – all drama, colour and flair, just like her.”

Across the Nullarbor, she held court for many years as a VIP guest at the Melbourne Cup Carnival.

Red was a treasured member of the Victoria Racing Club and attended every race day of the Spring Carnival for decades, quaffing champagne, sampling the caviar and even, in later years, lamingtons tossed in black ants: “I prefer them with cream but they were delicious,” the eternal optimist quipped in 2018.

It was there she met publicist Judy Romano, who transformed The Birdcage from a tailgate party into a plush playground for the rich, famous and influential in the early 2000s.

“That woman always had more energy than me. Her posse including the late Lady Sonia McMahon and Susan Renouf were all incredible era-defining personalities. My fondest memory of Red is her dancing with the band at Rhonda’s (Perth business doyenne Rhonda Wyllie) 60th birthday on a boat in Monaco just recently. Her love for life was intoxicating, the way she lit up a room lifted everyone in her presence. The Melbourne Cup carnival and the world will not be the same without her,” Ms Romano told The Australian.

Former Reserve Bank board member John Poynton concurred. “She was a once in a lifetime icon. I will forever be grateful that I was the beneficiary of her generosity. She loved people, she loved children and she loved life,” the Perth investment banker told The Australian.

He said it would be fitting for the city she loved to remember her with a permanent fixture or statue. “Anywhere where a good time is being had is where Red should be forever enshrined.”