B. A. Santamaria - Early and Family Life

Early and Family Life

Santamaria was born in Melbourne. The son of a greengrocer who was an immigrant from the Aeolian Islands in Italy, Santamaria was educated at the Catholic primary school of St Ambrose's, Brunswick, behind his father's shop and then at St Joseph's in North Melbourne by the Christian Brothers. He finished his secondary education at St Kevin's College as dux of the school, which was then in East Melbourne. A teacher who greatly influenced the young Santamaria was Francis Maher, who belonged to a newly founded Catholic organisation, the Campion Society. Santamaria then went to the University of Melbourne where he graduated in arts and law. He completed his Master of Arts with a thesis titled "Italy Changes Shirts: The Origins of Italian Fascism".

Santamaria was a political activist from an early age, becoming a leading Catholic student activist and speaking in support of Franco's forces in the Spanish Civil War. He also was a strong supporter and wrote about Mussolini's regime in Italy, but denied that he had ever been a supporter of fascism. He always disliked and opposed Hitler and Nazism. While favouring, on the whole, Mussolini's policies up until 1936, he attributed Mussolini's late alliance with Hitler to the failed policies of Anthony Eden and expressed regret that Mussolini went with Hitler.

Santamaria was married in 1939 and had eight children, several of whom became prominent in various professions, but none of whom followed him into political activism. In 1980 his wife, Helen Santamaria, died. He later married Dorothy Jensen, his long-time secretary. His brother, Joseph Santamaria, was a Melbourne surgeon and was prominent in the Catholic bioethics movement.