Ida Boranga migrated to the Riverina, Australia, to marry her Bruno.
Ida and Bruno had both come from Treviso in northern Italy. Bruno had briefly courted Ida’s sister in Italy, who sadly passed away soon after he migrated to Australia in the 1950’s. Bruno worked hard to make a new life in rural Australia. When he turned his thoughts to marriage, he sought a woman from his native Treviso. He asked Ida’s family for her hand in marriage and she accepted.
They married by ‘proxy’ in a church, and became one of more than 12,000 Italian ‘proxy brides’ who travelled to Australia to start married life, many to men whom they had never met.
Both Ida and Bruno worked for many years at Griffith Base Hospital, Bruno as a wardsman and Ida as housekeeper. The pair did not have children, but loved their nieces in Italy. When Bruno passed away in 1985, Ida lived a quiet, private life, tending to her garden and reading.
Through her many years working at the hospital, Ida recognised the importance of access to specialist care in rural and remote Australia. Because of this, she left a gift in her Will to St Vincent’s Private Community Hospital Griffith.