You Will Be Missed

A beloved member of our community, Bruno Vidau, passed away on 7 December 2018 at the age of 88. We remember him as a generous spirit, who spent his days visiting the stores in Glenferrie, chatting with traders and locals.

In October 2015 the Glenferrie Times featured Bruno as a Customer in the Spotlight:

Bruno

Bruno has been a Glenferrie local since the early 1960s. In 1955, he and his wife moved to Australia from Trieste, a picturesque Italian port city currently surrounded by Slovenia and the Adriatic Sea. During WWII, German forces occupied the city until their surrender, coinciding with the arrival of New Zealand troops. Trieste became part of Italy in 1954. Bruno and his wife were among 20,000 Triestini who relocated post-WWII, in a position where moving to the other side of the world was the best option, away from shifting borders and the threat of persecution.

The young couple moved to Fitzroy. It was a difficult new start, where Bruno found himself continually lost in the alien streets. In the early sixties, they moved to Hawthorn. There were four stores at Glenferrie, Bruno explains: a butcher, chemist, greengrocer and milk bar. Over time stores came and went. He recalls a supermarket exclusively for frozen food, as well as various newspaper shops. He remembers a time when coffee was purely for outings in the city. And with no television, families flocked to the two theatres at Glenferrie for entertainment,

After his wife's passing in 2011, Bruno took her ashes to Europe. That was her wish, he said. He returned to his childhood village with great sadness, as the once-busy taverns had since closed and homes were empty. He felt like a stranger in his hometown. Bruno grew up on a dairy farm, with early mornings delivering milk to the city. He laughs, "You ask a boy today where milk comes from and they say, a carton!"

Now in an epicentre of activity, Bruno has experienced one extreme to another. In a quiet lane behind Glenferrie Road, Bruno tends to his garden in between walking to the shops. He described the traders as his friends and insists on the importance of helping those around you as it is eventually reciprocated. The ladies at Mountfords use his parking space when he is away, providing Burno with extra security. It is good custom, he says, to say good morning to those you pass in the street, so be sure to say good morning to Bruno when you see him"

Written in 2015 by Anne Simmons