George Bond's decision to retire on his 60th birthday on the 23rd October 1934, necessitated taking out extra superannuation units, which added to his financial burden, but he realised that he was not going to be physically able to continue working beyond that point. But during the last years he carried on as usual, with the Weather Bureau playing an ever increasing role in the community. The small staff and little wooden building that in 1918 had seemed such luxury after all the years of odd rooms in a variety of Government buildings, were becoming increasingly inadequate.

March 10th 1934 brought reports from Willis Island of George Bond's very last cyclone approaching the coast near Mackay. Suddenly, as though taking a sardonic leave of the soon-to-retire Meteorologist, it changed course, throwing out carefully prepared predictions, and caused havoc at Port Douglas, Mosman and Daintree, instead. 'Cyclones', said Mr Bond disgustedly, 'are intensely capricious. Don't I know it only too well'.[31] After 42 years of dealing with their vagaries, he did indeed.

On the 5th July 1934, the Courier Mail had a headline, 'Mr Bond Baffled'. Difficult to the end, the weather that last winter was unseasonably wet, and the cause was not apparent. 'The baffling part about these winters rains is that you cannot put your finger on the map and point to a definite depression', said Mr Bond yesterday, in discussing the weather. 'Meteorology', he said, 'is still a young and far from exact science. The Meteorological Department cannot claim any more than 85% accuracy'.

Bureau of Meteorology