GILES, BORONIA LUCY (1909-1978), journalist, was born on 25 August 1909 at
Collie, Western Australia, third child of Arthur Sanderson, an engine driver from
England, and his Queensland-born wife Jessie Mary, née Cosham. Because of the
peripatetic nature of her father's employment, 'Bonnie' was educated at various
primary schools. From Subiaco State she won a scholarship in 1922 to Perth Modern
School where she spent four and a half years. In 1927 she enrolled in arts at the
University of Western Australia, studying part time while working for a motorcar
firm. Next year she was employed as a cadet by the Daily News. She began a diploma
of journalism in 1929, struggled until 1931 to balance work and study, but failed
to complete the course. At St George's Anglican Cathedral, Perth, on 30 December
1932 she married Robert Owen Giles, a fellow journalist; they were to have five
children.
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Australian Dictionary of Biography Online
Bonnie Giles studied journalism in Western Australia in the 1920s but struggled to balance study, work and family and failed to complete her diploma. This did not, however, stop her from establishing an enduring career. She wrote under a variety of pseudonyms for the Perth Daily Mail the best known of which - 'Mary Ferber' - became a household name. For twenty years her column, which was essentially a 'Dorothy Dix' column, was a 'Monday must for her admirers'. Giles also used her column and considerable community standing to advance philanthropic causes that were close to her heart. She retired from journalism in 1969.
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c. 1930 - c. 1969
Career in journalism active
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Australian Women's Register