 She was also an advocate for animal rights and civil liberties, and played a significant part in advancing the interests of the New Woman in the public sphere.Alice Mona Alison was born in Ryde, Isle of Wight, as the elder daughter of John Alison of Midlothian, Scotland, who some biographies claim to have invented the vertical boiler, and Matilda Hector, who the 1871 census records state was born in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.Her parents were married on 21 June 1853 in St Leonards (near Glenelg SA), her father being based in Melbourne and her mother Matilda the eldest daughter of a prominent citizen.