Bonds is an icon brand which has been a part of Australia for almost 90 years. Established in 1915, Bonds has sold over 400 million "Chesty Bonds" singlets, 155 million pairs of Cottontails pants and 20 million baby Wondersuits. Bonds produces more T-shirts and underwear than any other company in Australia. A great success story now recreating its winning place in the UK market.
In 1915, Mr George A. Bond, an American who came to Australia in the early 1900’s, established a small company in Sydney importing a range of women’s hosiery and gloves. Two years later, he began manufacturering hosiery in the Sydney suburb of Redfern and the following year the company moved to nearby Camperdown, where underwear manufacturing began.
In 1932, George Bond built Australia’s first cotton spinning mill at Wentworthville (in western Sydney) and BONDS later became known as ‘the largest hosiery manufacturer in the British Empire’. His original house in Wentworthville ‘Dunmore House’ still stands next to our head office site today.
In 1928, one of BONDS’ highlights occurred when Charles Kingsford-Smith and Charles Um wore BONDS athletics and underwear on the first historic flight across the Pacific. A letter from Kingsford-Smith commending the Company on the “great service” was forwarded to George Bond, a copy of which is held in the company’s archives.
George Bond’s company went into liquidation in 1929 and in 1930, BONDS INDUSTRIES LIMITED was established as a public company. In 1970, it merged with Coats Paton Pty Ltd.
In 1987, the company was taken over by Pacific Dunlop Limited.
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In 1990, the company transferred its head office from Camperdown to Wentworthville and closed its warehouse at Five Dock and Leichhardt to open one central distribution centre at Minto.
Prior to the closing down of Bonds Spinning in February 2001, the highly automated and technologically advanced spinning facility was converting raw Australian cotton fibre into yarn for use by other Pacific Dunlop Divisions and a host of domestic and international markets.
In 2001 the Pacific Brands Division of Pacific Dunlop, was sold to form a separate entity ‘Pacific Brands Holdings Pty Ltd’. In 2004 Pacific Brands Limited was listed as a public company on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) and New Zealand Stock Market (NZX) .
In 2002 Bonds began distribution into the UK, with a full scale launch in 2004.
As part of the Pacific Brands Limited Portfolio, BONDS continues to be a thriving business servicing Australia and the world.
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