Alison Mary Houston Hamer was born on 24 March 1921 in Kew, Victoria.
[1] She was the third child and only daughter of former nurse Nancy (née McLuckie) and solicitor Hubert Hamer.
She was educated at St Catherine's School in Toorak and then graduated with a BA from the University of Melbourne in 1942 and was awarded the Dwight Prize.
[3] Patrick's career as an academic at the University of Melbourne began in 1946 when she was employed in a part-time role.
Not long before her retirement in 1986, Patrick accepted the role of head of the Italian Department at the university.