ENDEAVOUR FORUM NEWSLETTER No. 128, OCTOBER 2007

 

 

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BOOKSHELF

 

By   Joseph N. Santamaria. 

Connor Court Publishing Pty. Ltd.,  Ballan, Victoria 2006.  Price $20.

Reviewed by Anna Krohn, lecturer, John Paul II Institute for Marriage and Family.

bookshelf

Unlike so many inflated and sensationalist memoirs and biographies of the rich and famous, this compact collection of  memories and musings is totally free of egotism, hype or wasted words.  Although the book includes fascinating details of the intimate and lively life in an Italian-Australian family, little fuss is  made about the historical and political importance of  this particular family - Santamaria.  Similiarly the author, Joseph Natoli  Santamaria - known by most people as simply “Dr Joe” draws little attention to himself, his own outstanding professional  achievements or to his own very considerable contributions to civic and ecclesial leadership.

One would scarcely know from his own pen, that “Dr Joe” was a founding father and respected commentator and activist  in Australia for practice of community medicine, bioethics, family policy, drug and alcohol re-habilitation, natural family  planning and Catholic culture.  However the reader does glimpse his untiring mind, his expansive taste for music,  literature and food, his imaginative take on the world at large and his subversive and self-deprecating wit. 

Each chapter is a snapshot of very different domestic landmarks and moods of the man - which are incidently but effectively evocative of the social history of Melbourne.  There are so many immediate senses and images captured: horse-drawn trams in Brunswick to the modern shopping complex, from provolone piccante to the plight for a tidy desk, from filling wine bottles from Rutherglen demi-johns in the family business to religious fervour for your local football team (Carlton of course).  But also so much that reveals the sources for the  author’s commitment to family, civilisation, faith and personal integrity. 

Each quirky vignette will make you laugh loudly, appreciate the gift of Italians to our country, or think a bit more deeply.   A small gem.

 

   Dr. Joseph N. Santamaria, the son of Italian migrants, graduated in medicine in 1948 and subsequent to a postgraduate degree   took up appointments at St. Vincent's Hospital, the Austin Hospital and the Royal Children's Hospital.  He specialised in haematology and oncology and  became the Director of Community Medicine at St. Vincent's Hospital.  He developed a major interest in alcohol, drugs and road safety and was a member of the state committee advising the government on countermeasures.  He was involved in the development of the DePaul centre and the Bioethics Centre at St. Vincent's Hospital.  Dr. Santamaria  retired from hospital practice at the end of 1988 and devoted  more  time to writing and to extracurricular activities such as the Australian Family Association, and the Thomas More Centre.  He is currently President of the Family Council of Victoria.

 

 

 

 

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