1938

One of the colourful figures associated with the Bondi Pavilion Turkish Baths was Brother Jonathan (Jonathan Delaun Heaton). Jonathan worked across the baths and the adjacent gymnasium around the late 1930s and early 1940s. The gymnasium alongside the Turkish baths was known as the 'Healthatorium' where Jonathan also trained. He was a sizable figure remembered for his enormous build and flowing beard.

Jonathan first arrived in Sydney in 1938 for a wrestling tour. The following year he migrated to Sydney and applied for residency. He lived an interesting life before Bondi achieving notoriety as the 1930s American professional wrestler who was also a Mormon preacher. He was known as the "Salt Lake rattlesnake" and was formidable on the mat. Brother Jonathan is also recorded as using a crucifix as a wrestling prop. New York wrestling journalist and photographer Earle F. Yetter described Heaton as the "hymn-singing, psalm-shouting Brother Jonathan, who tossed opponents from pillar to post while in the midst of a Bible quotation." Jonathan’s time in Bondi appears to be a short period with records showing he spent time in Honolulu before returning to Salt Lake City. Heaton’s son, Don, followed a similar path competing as a pro wrestler named ‘The Mormon Giant’. Heaton died 21 September 1987, aged 83.

Images courtesy the Powerhouse Museum Collection. Purchased 1994 from Photographer Tom Lennon