Dr Earle Hackett (26 April 1921 – 5 April 2010) was an Irish-born

pathologist Pathology is the study of disease. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in the context of modern medical treatme ...

and

haematologist Hematology ( spelled haematology in British English) is the branch of medicine concerned with the study of the cause, prognosis, treatment, and prevention of diseases related to blood. It involves treating diseases that affect the production ...

who migrated to Australia, where he held several responsible administrative positions. He is best remembered as a radio broadcaster on medical subjects, particularly on ''The Body Program'' for

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

which he wrote and presented from 1971 to 1982. He was the author of a number of books based on those programmes, and several biographies for the ''

Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...

''.

History

Hackett was born in

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

, Ireland, son of a successful general practitioner. He was the founding chairman of the Irish National Blood Transfusion Service. He migrated to

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

in 1958 to take up a position as deputy director of the

Institute of Medical and Veterinary Science SA Pathology, (formerly the Institute of Medical and Veterinary Science (IMVS)), is an organisation providing diagnostic and clinical pathology services throughout South Australia for the public health sector. The headquarters are in Frome Road ...

(IMVS) at the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide is a public university, public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. Its main campus in the Adelaide city centre includes many Sa ...

Broadcasting

As a distraction from his administrative duties, he sent some scripts to Dr. Peter Pockley, director of science programs for the

, 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 her
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 Australia The Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA), established as the National Gallery of South Australia in 1881, is located in Adelaide. It is the most significant visual arts museum in the Australian state of South Australia. It has a collection of ...

, 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 10 November 1975, when Professor Richard Downing died of a heart attack. This was the day before the overthrow of the

Whitlam government The Whitlam government was the federal executive government of Australia led by Prime Minister Gough Whitlam of the Australian Labor Party. The government commenced when Labor defeated the McMahon government at the 1972 Australian federal elect ...

and Hackett was to prove a staunch defender of the ABC in the face of budget cuts by the succeeding Fraser Coalition government. His stint as acting chairman lasted only six months: he was summarily dismissed and replaced by Sir Henry Bland.Williams, Robyn ''And Now For Something Completely Different'' p. 244 Viking (imprint of Penguin Books) 1995

Personal life

Hackett married a nurse, Eileen Carroll, born in

Swaziland Eswatini, formally the Kingdom of Eswatini, also known by its former official names Swaziland and the Kingdom of Swaziland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by South Africa on all sides except the northeast, where ...

of Irish parents. They had three children, Jane, Susan and Johnjames. He was survived by his three children, his second wife, Karin Lemercier and a brother, Ronald, in County Cork.

Bibliography

*''Insight on Blood; five talks broadcast in the ABC radio program about science, Insight'' Australian Broadcasting Commission, 1968 *''More Insight on Blood'' Australian Broadcasting Commission, 1968. *''Organ Voluntaries and Other Insights'' Collins/ABC 1972 *''Blood'' or ''Blood the Paramount Humour'' Jonathan Cape, London 1973 *''Farts and Fevers: prescriptions from the Body Programme of the ABC'' Collins/ABC 1984 *''Lady Bones'' Collins/ABC 1984 *''All Gustos Great and Small'' Collins/ABC 1985 *''Devils, Drugs and Doctors: A Wellcome History of Medicine, Australia 1986–87'' National Gallery of Australia, *''The doctor's liberty'' (alternative title ''Utopian medicine'' – 1975 Stirling lecture to University of Adelaide) held by National Library of Australia Bib. ID 266029
''de Crespigny, Philip Champion (1850–1927)''
an
''de Crespigny, Sir Constantine Trent Champion (1882–1952)''
(almost identical) entries in the

*Extracts from ''The Body Program'' (audio) published by National Library of Australi
details and availability

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hackett, Earle 1921 births 2010 deaths ABC radio (Australia) journalists and presenters Australian medical writers Irish emigrants to Australia Australian haematologists Scientists from Adelaide Australian pathologists