For more than half a century, if you wandered into Gusto’s café on the beachfront early enough in the morning, chances are you’d find Tomi there. Deep in conversation with a local, a tourist, or whoever happened to pull up a chair. That was Thomas “Tomi” Greguss, and for over 50 years, he was as much a part of Bondi Beach as the sand and the surf itself.
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The Bondi community is mourning the loss of the Hungarian-born artist, who passed away recently, leaving behind a family and a neighbourhood that loved him dearly. His family remembered him simply as “a friend to all he knew” and anyone who crossed his path would likely say the same.
But Tomi was far more than a familiar face at the café. He was a genuinely world-recognised artist whose copper works, sculptures, and paintings earned him an audience well beyond Australia’s shores, with exhibitions shown in both the United States and the Bahamas.
After studying at art colleges in Melbourne and Sydney, Tomi developed a signature technique that set him apart: moulding forms and dipping them in copper to create a distinctive three-dimensional raised finish. It was a technique he is credited with introducing, and he applied it most memorably to Australiana subjects, including scenes of early bushmen and portraits of Aboriginal Australians rendered in rich, textured copper.
Those works weren’t confined to galleries. Tomi’s sculptures featured in the Canberra Museum, appeared in television commercials, and were displayed in Westfield shopping centres across Sydney, bringing his art to everyday Australians in places they least expected to find it. Together with his late sister Marsha, he also contributed larger-than-life sculptures to the Jewish War Museum.
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Back in Bondi, Tomi was a regular presence at North Bondi of an afternoon, painting or sculpting, a familiar sight to those who knew him. He is survived by his children, grandchildren, siblings, and a wide circle of friends who will feel his absence deeply.
A celebration of Tomi’s life will be held on 1st April at the Bondi Pavilion. Family and friends are warmly invited to attend. For details, contact the family at cellco47@icloud.com.
Published 26-March-2026
