Jeunesse ouvrière chrétienne
He attended St Patrick's College, East Melbourne, a school run by the Jesuits who required their students to reach a high standard of learning. In his Matriculation year he was Dux of the School and the winner of two Exhibitions awarded to Victorian matriculants. As a young Catholic he was involved in the YCW (the Young Christian Workers) and in the post-war revival of the Campion Society, an organisation of lay Catholic activists.