Alison Harcourt

Radical Australia

What a treat to have pioneering mathematics and statistics whizz, Alison Harcourt, join us on the show this week with her son, Pierre. Alison is 95 years old this year and only recently retired from lecturing and tutoring, a day before her 90th birthday. She really is an Australian treasure. Alison's life started in Colac where her father was a doctor. She remembers the declaration of World War II on a sunny, Sunday morning. She spent some time at Colac High School and boarding school, which was pretty isolating, before beginning her academic life at the University of Melbourne. Then it was off to the London School of Economics where she was pretty much head-hunted to return home to partner with Professor Ron Henderson on Australia's first statistical study of poverty in Australia, out of which came the Henderson Poverty Line, a standard used by researchers for years to come. Alison never had a problem with mathematics, never any difficulty. Apparently, it runs in the family on the female side. Her life advice is to 'keep going, keep active' and 'keep in touch with others, as much as you can'. We hope you enjoy Alison's story and we thank her and Pierre for joining us on the show this week.Alison's t-shirt reads 'Never underestimate an old woman with a mathematics degree'. Choice.l to r: Joe Toscano, Alison, and son, Pierre, in the 3CR courtyard.https://australianoftheyear.org.au/recipients/alison-harcourt-aohttps://melbourneinstitute.unimelb.edu.au/research/labour/henderson-poverty-line