Concetta Fierravanti-Wells (NSW, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to pay tribute to a special Australian who recently passed away, Bruno Riccio OAM. Bruno was a fundraising stalwart for the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute for over 14 years. Together with his Freshest Group colleagues, he raised about $1.3 million for research into heart disease. The Freshest Group, through Bruno, was made a life governor of the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute in 2000. In 2003 Bruno was awarded a papal knighthood for his charitable work. Sadly, Bruno’s sudden death on New Year’s Eve meant that he was not able to receive his 2008 Australia Day honour, a Medal of the Order of Australia. Thankfully, he had received advice from the Governor-General of this OAM and he had accepted the honour prior to his death.

Bruno was born in the village of Grotteria in Reggio Calabria in Italy on 12 February 1944. Bruno’s father, Pasquale, moved to Australia in 1949, leaving behind his wife Elena and his family. It was not until 1956 that the family were able to join their father in Australia. It was a migrant story like so many others. On arrival, Bruno attended a Catholic school. He spoke no English. Regrettably, his lack of English made him the object of fun and name-calling, and so Bruno decided to go to Sydney’s Haymarket and look for a job. He was 12 years of age. Bruno immediately got a job in a fruit shop in Ramsgate, receiving the princely sum of £6 per week and working from 4 am to 10 pm six days a week. The travelling from Ramsgate to Eastwood took too long, and so Bruno decided to move out of home to Ramsgate on his own to be closer to work. After six months he was offered more money working at a fruit shop in Beverly Hills. After changing jobs a few times, in 1958 he found a job in Caringbah where he stayed for three years. In 1961, at the age of only 17 years, Bruno decided to start his own business. In 1967 Bruno, then aged 23, returned to Italy for five months and met Angela, whom he married and brought to Australia. Between 1967 and 1980 he ran his shop and during this time he and Angela had three daughters, Leanne, Cathy and Daniela.

In 1980 Bruno bought the Green Apple Fruit Shop in Miranda. A year later Bruno had his first heart attack followed by open-heart surgery at Prince Henry Hospital. He was forced to sell his shop and rest. After a four-month rest period in Italy, he returned to Australia and over the ensuing years Bruno became a very successful businessman. By 1999 the family owned a number of businesses in the Sutherland shire, including fruit shops, a pizzeria and a restaurant. In 1993 Bruno was blessed with the birth of his son, Mark. It was in 1993 that Bruno founded the Freshest Group, comprising 12 shops in various suburbs. The group embarked on its first Freshest Group ball in 1994 to raise money for the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute. I am advised that it had been a few months before Dr Chang’s death that Bruno had spoken to him about fundraising. Bruno’s admiration for Dr Chang and his work was inspirational and absorbing. I would like to pay tribute to this group of busy shop owners who have over many years given dedicated and committed service and contributed many hours towards raising funds to ensure that Dr Chang’s important work can continue. In 2004 Bruno had a second open-heart operation at St Vincent’s Hospital. Despite this, he continued to work until 2005, when he retired from work but continued his determined efforts to fundraise for the institute.

On 3 May I had the privilege of attending the 14th Annual Freshest Group Ball at the Grand Pavilion at Rosehill Gardens. Over those 14 years about $1.3 million was raised. In recognising this fantastic achievement, can I acknowledge Bruno’s cofounders of the Freshest Group, Claude Guerrera and Frank Pascale, who are here in the gallery today. Whilst Bruno headed the organising committee for 13 years, Claude and Frank worked arduously alongside him to ensure that the annual fundraising events were a great success. With Bruno’s death, Claude, Frank and Daniela, Bruno’s daughter, ensured that the 14th ball was a fitting tribute to Bruno’s work and commitment over so many years.

An important feature of each Freshest Group ball was the support that Bruno and his committee received from Sydney Markets Ltd and the growers at the market. Bruno’s energetic and passionate dedication to finding a cure for heart disease ensured support for this very worthy cause over so many years. I know that the memory of Bruno will live on in the efforts of the Freshest Group into the future. I am sure that the support of the Sydney Markets will be there for years to come and I look forward to attending and supporting more Freshest Group balls. Indeed, I am sure that over so many years Claude and Frank have well learnt to follow Bruno’s persuasive style in harnessing support for the cause.

Can I take this opportunity also to highlight some of the fantastic work that the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute does. The institute of course is a tribute to the great work of the late Dr Victor Chang, who was a pioneer of the modern era of heart transplantation. Dr Chang established the National Heart Transplant Unit at St Vincent’s Hospital in 1984, lobbying politicians and raising funds for its ongoing work. During the 1980s, Dr Chang became widely known as a man of vision, as a caring surgeon, as a researcher and as an ambassador for Australia and the people of South-East Asia.

During this time he nurtured a vision to establish an internationally recognised cardiac research centre at St Vincent’s, and to this end in 1990 he and others launched the Heart of St Vincent’s Appeal. As we know, Dr Victor Chang AC died tragically on 4 July 1991, aged only 55 years. The mission statement of the institute is:

The relief of pain and suffering and the promotion of well-being, through an understanding of the fundamental mechanisms of cardiovascular biology in health and disease—for the heart of Australia.

Although the institute conducts research into all forms of heart disease, it is the only one in Australia with a primary focus on heart muscle diseases. These diseases cause heart failure, which is a condition that limits the heart’s ability to pump sufficient blood around the body to match our activity needs. Heart muscle diseases cause breathlessness with even the slightest exertion and, in their severest form, require a heart transplant for survival. Heart failure can affect people of all ages and both sexes; it is the commonest cause for admission to hospital for people over 65 years and, weekly, causes the death of more than 200 Australians.

Established in 1994 with just one basic science laboratory, the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute has grown rapidly in its 10 years of operation and today runs eight research programs, overseeing 11 independent research laboratories. These programs address important contemporary problems such as heart development and congenital heart disease inherited heart diseases, and the regulation of heart function in response to stresses, such as high blood pressure and ageing. The combined vision of these programs is to reduce the incidence and severity of heart muscle diseases.

The successful operations of the institute are heavily reliant upon the dedication, commitment and vision provided by the Sisters of Charity, by the board of directors, chaired by the Hon. Neville Wran AC QC, and the subsidiary committees. Can I recognise the many distinguished Australians who give their time and service to ensure this important institute continues to provide much needed research in so crucial an area of health. I would also like to take the opportunity to pay tribute to the highly distinguished Professor Bob Graham, the Executive Director of the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute and a member of its executive management, appeals and finance committees, and to all his dedicated scientific and administrative staff.

In 2006-07 the institute celebrated the completion of its magnificent new research building which will be its permanent home. The institute’s 2006-07 annual report refers to this as ‘a new building to build betters hearts’. The report states:

This has been an epic task by a legion of dedicated workers and we are indebted to all of our supporters who have made this vision a reality. As the scaffolding comes off, revealing the shapes and contour of the exterior and expanded laboratory spaces within, we reflect on our ambitions for this new home. It goes without saying that we want this building to be synonymous with the highest level of achievement in cardiovascular research in Australia and abroad. It will be a home for generations of smart young people that have chosen science and medical research as their careers. Hence, they will focus their curiosity and expand their knowledge. Beyond this, however, our core mission is to make a difference to human suffering. Within the walls of our new building we want to discover how to build a better heart. Can this actually be done?

Of course, the heart is the only organ that can never sleep. It is composed of billions of highly specialised muscle cells working together as an efficient pump, beating on average 70 times a minute, 100,000 times a day and almost three billion times in a lifetime. It is indeed our most vital lifeline.

Until recently, the heart has been viewed as a highly specialised organ that progressively loses its ability to repair itself if injured. With heart attacks, those muscle cells die or the pumping of the heart begins to fail. It is exciting that, in recent years, research work with adult stem cells has given rise to the possibility of repairing diseased organs such as the heart. The institute is taking up the challenge with major research efforts being undertaken to explore the potential of cardiac stem cells. Whilst the institute does attract state and federal grants, fundraising from the community is very important, especially towards high-risk research and new areas of research that are not yet mature enough to attract grant funding. The fundraising contribution of people like Bruno, Claude, Frank and the Freshest Group is vital to the institute’s continued operation.

Bruno often said to me that the Victor Chang Institute helped save his life. He was passionately, wholeheartedly dedicated to advancing its cause and raising funds. His enthusiasm and personal experience enveloped the many people who willingly assisted and supported the work of the institute. Bruno knew that the research of the institute meant that his life and those like him could be bettered. Heart problems, in one way or another, affect the lives of so many of us. Bruno is a fine example of a person who came to this country as a migrant, worked long and hard and who wanted to give back to those who helped him. Bruno was an active member of the Australian-Italian community through his support of various charitable causes. He and Angela were well known and well respected. I understand that he was also very active in his own community, including helping raise funds for Sutherland Hospital.

Bruno was a well-known identity in the Sutherland shire. The St George & Sutherland Shire Leader, in an article dated 29 January 2008, referred to him as the ‘fruit shop king’. The article also highlights Bruno’s modesty and humility, so typified by the following comment:

Philanthropist Bruno Riccio did not feel worthy of receiving the Medal of the Order of Australia. He said to his wife Angela two months before he died: ‘Isn’t this meant for people higher up in society?’

Bruno died of heart complications on New Year’s Eve, aged 63. He will live in the memory of so many in our community. He died having made a substantial contribution to the betterment of his community.

To his wife Angela; children Mark, Leanne, Cathy and Daniela; his grandchildren Vinnie, Karla and Isabella; and to his many friends and supporters I pay tribute to the support that you gave to Bruno to help him achieve what he did. He will, I am sure, always be remembered with his smiling face and his very kind and generous nature.