Elena Domenica Luisa Rubeo, , (23 November 1896 – 4 June 1979) was an Australian community worker and
businessperson
A businessperson, businessman, or businesswoman is an individual who has founded, owns, or holds shares in (including as an angel investor) a private-sector company. A businessperson undertakes activities (commercial or industrial) for the ...
. She has been described as "the introduction to Adelaide" for the many Italians who migrated to South Australia in the 1950s and 60s. She was the first woman in Australia to be an Italian
consular
A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...
.
Early life
Elena Domenica Luisa Rubeo was born on 23 November 1896 in
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
, the fourth child and only daughter of an Italian working-class family. Her mother, Edvige Cecilia (
née
A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...
Marani), was a
homemaker
Homemaking is mainly an American and Canadian term for the management of a home, otherwise known as housework, housekeeping, housewifery or household management. It is the act of overseeing the organizational, day-to-day operations of a hous ...
, and her father, Luigi Rubeo, was a
printer
Printer may refer to:
Technology
* Printer (publishing), a person or a company
* Printer (computing), a hardware device
* Optical printer for motion picture films
People
* Nariman Printer ( fl. c. 1940), Indian journalist and activist
* Jame ...
and compositor. Rubeo had three elder brothers: Gaetano, Alfredo and Ricardo. On 16 October 1908, Rubeo, Ricardo and her parents migrated to
Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
, South Australia; her two other older brothers had done so before them. Rubeo was educated at the Convent of Mercy school in
Angas Street
Angas Street is a main street in the Adelaide city centre, South Australia.Map of the
luxury
Luxury may refer to:
*Luxury goods, an economic good or service for which demand increases more than proportionally as income rises
*Luxury tax, tax on products not considered essential, such as expensive cars
**Luxury tax (sports), surcharge put ...
mansion
A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word '' manse'' originally defined a property l ...
in Pulteney Street, in 1912, her family set up Café Rubeo, a
restaurant
A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...
which offered "authentic
Roman cuisine
Roman cuisine comes from the Italian city of Rome. It features fresh, seasonal and simply-prepared ingredients from the Roman Campagna.Boni (1930), pg. 13. These include peas, globe artichokes and fava beans, shellfish, milk-fed lamb and goat, ...
" and live music. Rubeo's father was the manager while Gaetano was the restaurant's proprietor. Rubeo became involved in the management of the restaurant in 1914, following the enlisting of her brothers in the Australian Imperial Force. At the same time, she also joined the British (Australian) Red Cross Society. Six years later, in 1920 her parents moved house to 32 Lefevre Terrace, north of Adelaide. It would become Rubeo's permanent abode.
Death
In 1977, Rubeo was awarded the
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...
. She died on 4 June 1979 in
North Adelaide
North Adelaide is a predominantly residential precinct and suburb of the City of Adelaide in South Australia, situated north of the River Torrens and within the Adelaide Park Lands.
History
Surveyor-General Colonel William Light of the colo ...
, South Australia, aged 82 and was cremated with Catholic rites.