[2] At the age of 19, in 1957, Bonsall-Boone was convicted twice of homosexual activity after being arrested on separate occasions at a public toilet and at a Sydney train station where he went to meet other gay men.
[1] He met his life partner, Peter De Waal, in 1966, and they both became foundation members of the Campaign Against Moral Persecution (CAMP), one of the earliest gay rights organisations in Australia.
[6][1] At the time, Bonsall-Boone was working as a secretary for St Clements Anglican Church in the Sydney suburb of Mosman; he lost this job as a result of his television appearance.
[10] They campaigned parliament and wrote to the Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in 2017 in an attempt to have same-sex marriage legalised, noting: "please do it quickly as Bon's time is fast running out!
[5] In June 2017, Bonsall-Boone (posthumously) and De Waal were both inducted as a Member of the Order of Australia in the 2017 Queen's Birthday Honours,[12] "for significant service to the community as an LGBTQI advocate and supporter, and through a range of volunteer roles.