The Canon of Ancona

Born in Italy, Raffaele Martelli was headed for a brilliant career as a priest and professor but his passion for Italian unification and civil rights put him at odds with the church establishment. After a chance encounter with Rosendo Salvado, founder of the New Norcia Mission, he sailed to Fremantle in 1853, at the age of 42.

Directed by church authorities to work among the white population, his passion for social justice led him to build churches and schools, work side by side with Protestant pastors, and look out for the downtrodden. When he finally managed to work with Aboriginal people, the worsening nature of the colonial frontier presented challenges he felt unable to meet. The Canon of Ancona captures a unique voice in early Western Australia – the voice of an outsider.

Author Biography

John Kinder recently retired as Professor of Italian at the University of Western Australia. He first studied Italian in his native New Zealand and then lived in Milan for three years where several threads of his existence seemed to intertwine – religious, intellectual and, over all else, his life partnership with Silvia. In a rich and rewarding career, he offered students the same life-changing encounter he experienced with linguistic diversity, and published widely on aspects of Italian language and dialects. He is a Fellow of Australia’s Academy of the Humanities and of Italy’s Accademia della Crusca.