Heartfelt tributes have been paid following the death of one of the trade’s leading Australian specialist travel agents.
Penny Bones founded agency Southern Cross Travel in Wadhurst, Sussex, in 1984 with husband Trevor, originally establishing the brand together in Australia in 1970.
She was one of less than a hundred ‘Premier Aussie Specialist’ agents in the UK with in depth, specialist knowledge and training of the destination. One of the first to qualify for the scheme, in 2009 she was named Aussie Specialist Agent of the Year, as well as Malaysia Agent of the Year in 2007.
The couple set up Eurasia Overland Tours while living in Sydney in 1970 after travelling overland from the UK all the way to Australia the year before. They ran 12 week overland trips between Australia and the UK and Penny escorted the first ever group. She was inadvertently caught up in disruption caused by the sudden outbreak of war between India and Pakistan in 1971. For ten days the group could not be contacted. They eventually turned up on a train in New Delhi.
Trevor recalled: “When she got back she was black with soot and told me she’d spent three days sleeping on a luggage rack, but she didn’t seem at all fazed. She never made a fuss about anything; that’s what made her successful in business. She was capable of handling a real crisis.”
The couple set up Southern Cross Travel when they settled back in the UK permanently after spending much of their time in Australia. The agency was originally run from their house, which they built themselves, before they opened a high-street shop. They opened their second agency in Rye in 2005 and their youngest daughter, Anneka, joined the team in 2010.
Scores of agents have paid tribute to Penny, remembering her as a “kind, lovely person with a beautiful smile” and a “true professional who was never fazed”.
She had been ill for the last four years with a form of leukaemia, which only recently forced her to retire from day to day running of the two-branch agency with Trevor.
The couple, who have three daughters, had just returned from a trip to Australia when she died after complications from the disease on March 30.
She attended “all the travel conferences in Australia and always returned to her beloved Manly [Sydney] where she had lived for many years,” said Trevor.
Describing Penny as his soulmate, Trevor continued: “She was just a lovely person; she had so much spark. She loved life and we loved travelling together – we just got on. It was love at first sight.
“We always said the business would retire us. We had a big list of things we still wanted to do, but it wasn’t to be.”
Agents who knew Penny said she would be sorely missed in the trade.
Kate Harris, a long-standing friend and managing director of Inspired Travel, said: “Penny was such fun. She was my sidekick, the butt of my jokes and teasing…she loved it and I loved her for it. We egged each other on with our impish behaviour and cheekiness. She called me her travel soulmate, I called her my wonderful little friend. Travel well, my wonderful little friend, I miss you already.”
Graeme Brett, owner of Westoe Travel and also a Premier Aussie Specialist, said: “We met regularly for training events and a group of us travelled to Australia most years to increase our product knowledge. Penny had a great passion for Australia and was so enthusiastic about the destination. Penny will be greatly missed by us all.”
Gabi Birbeck, director of Rendezvous Travel and Santo Dreams Travel, said: “Penny was a pint-sized ball of fun with a wicked sense of humour, zest for life and a passion for Australia. She never gave up learning about new destinations and was a wonderful, caring and loyal friend who was taken far too soon.”
Ken Garrity, owner of Ken Garrity Travel, added: “She was such a lovely lady, and we all enjoyed her company. She will be sorely missed.”
