Earle Hackett
Encyclopedia
Dr Earle Hackett was an Australia
n pathologist and haematologist born in Cork, Ireland
, son of a successful General Practitioner. He was particurlarly known for contributions which he wrote and presented on "The Body Program" for ABC
radio from 1971 to 1982.
Dr Hackett was founding chairman of the Irish National Blood Transfusion Service.
He migrated to Adelaide, South Australia in 1958 to take up a position as deputy director of the Institute of Medical and Veterinary Science
(IMVS) at the University of Adelaide
.
, chairman of the Crafts Council of South Australia and president of the College of Pathologists of Australia.
He was appointed to the ABC board in 1973, became deputy chairman in 1974, then acting chairman on November 10, 1975, when Professor Richard Downing died of a heart attack. This was shortly before the overthrow of the Whitlam government
and Hackett was to prove a staunch defender of the ABC in the face of budget cuts by the succeeding Fraser Coalition government
.
of Irish parents. They had three children, Jane, Sue and Johnjames.
He was survived by his three children, his second wife, Karin Lemercier and a brother, Ronald, in County Cork.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n pathologist and haematologist born in Cork, Ireland
Cork (city)
Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...
, son of a successful General Practitioner. He was particurlarly known for contributions which he wrote and presented on "The Body Program" for ABC
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
radio from 1971 to 1982.
Dr Hackett was founding chairman of the Irish National Blood Transfusion Service.
He migrated to Adelaide, South Australia in 1958 to take up a position as deputy director of the Institute of Medical and Veterinary Science
Institute of Medical and Veterinary Science
Established in 1938, is a wholly South Australian medically-led network of pathology laboratories, providing the people of metropolitan and rural South Australia with comprehensive quality pathology and integrated clinical services....
(IMVS) at the University of Adelaide
University of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide is a public university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third oldest university in Australia...
.
Broadcasting
As a distraction from his administration duties, he sent some scripts to Dr. Peter Pockley, director of science programs for the ABC, which resulted in five talks on "blood" for the radio science program Insight commencing January 1967. His weekly "The Body Program" running from 1971 to 1982, was well received, with its amalgam of medical information, poetry, wit, irreverence and bawdiness, all delivered with Hackett's friendly cultured voice. Scripts from many of these programs have formed the basis of several books published by the ABC and elsewhere. An mp3 download of his final broadcast is available here Science Show tribute. He had resigned from the IMVS to further his interests in broadcasting and other ventures, including a (failed) private blood bank.Other interests
He was at various times chairman of the board of the Art Gallery of South AustraliaArt Gallery of South Australia
The Art Gallery of South Australia , located on the cultural boulevard of North Terrace in Adelaide, is the premier visual arts museum in the Australian state of South Australia. It has a collection of over 35,000 works of art, making it, after the National Gallery of Victoria, the largest state...
, chairman of the Crafts Council of South Australia and president of the College of Pathologists of Australia.
He was appointed to the ABC board in 1973, became deputy chairman in 1974, then acting chairman on November 10, 1975, when Professor Richard Downing died of a heart attack. This was shortly before the overthrow of the Whitlam government
Gough Whitlam
Edward Gough Whitlam, AC, QC , known as Gough Whitlam , served as the 21st Prime Minister of Australia. Whitlam led the Australian Labor Party to power at the 1972 election and retained government at the 1974 election, before being dismissed by Governor-General Sir John Kerr at the climax of the...
and Hackett was to prove a staunch defender of the ABC in the face of budget cuts by the succeeding Fraser Coalition government
Malcolm Fraser
John Malcolm Fraser AC, CH, GCL, PC is a former Australian Liberal Party politician who was the 22nd Prime Minister of Australia. He came to power in the 1975 election following the dismissal of the Whitlam Labor government, in which he played a key role...
.
Personal life
He married a nurse, Eileen Carroll, born in SwazilandSwaziland
Swaziland, officially the Kingdom of Swaziland , and sometimes called Ngwane or Swatini, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa, bordered to the north, south and west by South Africa, and to the east by Mozambique...
of Irish parents. They had three children, Jane, Sue and Johnjames.
He was survived by his three children, his second wife, Karin Lemercier and a brother, Ronald, in County Cork.