Robert Bunning

Robert Bunning (13 December 1859 – 12 August 1936) was an English-born Western Australian businessman involved in the construction, timber, and sawmill industries. He co-founded with his younger brother Arthur (1863–1929) the company Bunning Bros, the predecessor to the modern-day retailer Bunnings.

Early life Bunning was born in Hackney, London, on 13 December 1859 to carpenter Joseph Bunning and his wife Jane, née Bain. Bunning became a carpenter's apprentice, travelling across London for work. The Bunning family moved to Boston, America in 1872, where Joseph Bunning found work with church buildings. The Bunnings moved back to London, though Robert and his younger brother Arthur initially stayed in Chicago for work; by the 1880s they had returned to London to help their father erect a church spire.

In 1886 the two Bunning brothers travelled to Fremantle, Colony of Western Australia on the SS Elderslie, to visit their sister and brother-in-law. They departed Gravesend on 9 May, and arrived in Fremantle on 29 June. The brothers had intended to travel on to California, but decided to stay in Australia.

In 1896, Bunning Brothers was struggling to acquire jarrah timber due to a boom in exports. This led them to buy a timber mill in North Dandalup in 1897, and later set up sawmills across the state's South West region.

Other roles and personal life Bunning went to Scotland in 1889, where he married Georgina Taylor on 28 August at Strathdon, close to Aberdeen. They had two children before Georgina died in 1897. Five years later, Bunning married Helen Marion MacRae in Edinburgh, in October 1902, and they had five children. and Bunning was buried in the Presbyterian section of Karrakatta Cemetery's. At probate, his estate was valued at £29,220. Bunning's sons Charles, Tom and Joe, took over the family business.

Bunning, along with his brother and sons, was recognised as one of the most influential Western Australian businessmen in The West Australian 2013 list of the 100 most influential.