Alison Burton

Alison Burton in 1940

Alison Violet Burton (3 November 1921 – 9 June 2014) was a left-handed Australian tennis player.[1] She and Joyce Wood won the girls' doubles competition at the Australian Championships (now the Australian Open) in 1938, 1939 and 1940.[2]

Biography

Burton was born and grew up in Melbourne, Australia. She was educated at Huntingtower School[3] and the University of Melbourne, being awarded a tennis blue in 1941.[4]

As a schoolgirl, Burton represented the state of Victoria in the 1938 and 1939 Wilson Cup matches. In 1938 and 1939 she also won the Victorian junior championship and was runner-up for the Australian title.[5]

In 1952, she partnered with Mary Bevis Hawton and reached the finals of the women's doubles at the Australian Championships.

Personal life

On 17 September 1946,[6] Burton married fellow Australian tennis player, Robert (Bob) Baker at Lincoln College Chapel, Oxford, England.[7] They later returned to Tasmania, Baker's home state, and lived in Hobart. Their daughter, Barbara Baker, became a judge of the Federal Circuit Court, and in 2021 was appointed as the 29th Governor of Tasmania.[8]

Burton died in South Hobart in 2014.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b "Alison Baker Death Notice - Melbourne, Victoria". tributes.theage.com.au. The Age. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
  2. ^ "Girls' Doubles". ausopen.com. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
  3. ^ "Tennis Types". The Herald (Melbourne). No. 18, 503. Victoria, Australia. 3 September 1936. p. 3. Retrieved 31 August 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. ^ "Commencement Week at Melbourne University". The Australasian. Victoria, Australia. 12 April 1941. p. 31. Retrieved 31 August 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ^ "They Both Play Tennis". Argus (Melbourne, Vic.: 1848–1957). 26 June 1945. p. 7. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
  6. ^ Tennis players married, The Mercury (Hobart, Tas), 24 September 1946
  7. ^ "player – Tennisarchives.com". www.tennisarchives.com. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
  8. ^ Smith, Linda (16 June 2021). "Tasmania's 29th Governor Barbara Baker has been sworn in at a brief ceremony". The Mercury. Retrieved 20 June 2021.