Community
18 December, 2024
Cloncurry hairdresser has a heart of gold
Cheryl Bonny donates her services to hospital and aged care patients in Cloncurry.
There is a sign that hangs above the mirrors at Cheryl Bonny’s hair salon that reads “difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations.”
The Cloncurry hairdresser admits her road to the North West was far from easy – in fact, Cheryl once swore blindly she would never end up living here permanently.
The Brisbane native told North West Weekly that, at one point, she even refused to follow husband Alan out to Cloncurry for his job at the Department of Main Roads.
But, after more than two decades living in Cloncurry, Cheryl says she believes the heart and soul of the community is what has kept her here.
The sentiment is mutual – ask a few Cloncurry locals for someone who consistently contributes to the community without seeking any limelight, and Cheryl’s name comes up repeatedly.
For more than a decade she has been providing a free service to cut, blow dry and style the hair of countless senior Cloncurry residents at the aged care facility and those receiving Blue Care Community Care.
Cheryl operates a small salon business out of a converted garage at her home – but she also finds the hours every month to ensure the older ladies and some of the blokes in town, many of whom are incapacitated or struggling with various health ailments, are able to feel pampered at no cost.
“I was working at a hair salon in town and there was an older lady who came into the salon all the time to get her hair done – when she went into the aged care facility her family asked me if I would go there and still style her hair,” Cheryl explains.
“When I went to the aged care place, I saw some of the other women there and I thought they could also be helped.
“The hospital said they didn’t know how they would be able to pay me, so I decided to do it as a community service.”
Now, the aged care residents are already lined up on chairs waiting when Cheryl arrives each month – and they form a circle and join in a group chat as she styles the hair of each person.
“They like to tell me about old times and how things used to be back in the day,” Cheryl says.
“It is interesting hearing all the stories about what things were like when they were younger.
“I think the laughs and the chat and the social outlet is good for everyone in general.”
Cheryl tries to be flexible with her hair treatment.
Some ladies have wanted perms, others are racing enthusiasts and asked Cheryl to make a special trip whenever a race meet was on, another woman was house-bound and Cheryl would style her hair in the kitchen sink using a garden hose run through an open window.
“I try to be accommodating to whatever the situation needs. I just like to make them feel good about themselves,” she said.
Town stalwart Shirley Smith first arrived in Cloncurry more than six decades ago and is an operator of the famed Cloncurry Smith’s Transport.
She knows personally many of the senior residents serviced by Cheryl’s community work.
“I think a lot of people don’t realise just how much Cheryl does,” she told North West Weekly.
“It makes a big difference to the lives of people at the aged care or at home to have Cheryl show such care.”