John Grey Gorton GCMG AC CH (1911 - 2002)

Born 9 Sep 1911 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Ancestors

Husband of Bettina Edith (Brown) Gorton — married 1935 in Oxford, England

Died 19 May 2002 at age 90 in Darlinghurst, New South Wales, Australia

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Biography

John Gorton GCMG AC CH is Notable.

The Honourable Sir John Gorton GCMG AC CH PC MA was a fighter pilot who became Prime Minister. He had an eventful war record, including being shot-down, force-landing, crash-landing and being sunk; his craggy looks being partly the result of a crash when his aircraft was shot down in 1942. He also had a distinguished political career over 26 years in both the Senate and the House of Representatives; where he did his share of 'shooting-down' and being the first and only senator to assume the office of Prime Minister; before being 'shot-down himself. His contribution to his country was recognised by both imperial and Australian honours.

Formative years

John Grey Gorton was the illegitimate son of Alice Sinn, the daughter of a railway worker, and English orange orchardist John Rose Gorton.^[1] He was probably born on 9th September 1911, either in Victoria, Australia or Wellington, New Zealand. The older Gorton and his wife Kathleen had emigrated to Australia by way of South Africa, during the Boer War. They separated in Australia, and Gorton established a de facto relationship with Sinn, who died of tuberculosis in 1920. Gorton the younger then went to live in Sydney with his father's estranged wife and his half-sister, Ruth.^[2] See Research note below for comment on the confusion surrounding Gorton's birth.

Gorton was educated at Sydney Church of England Grammar School (where he was a classmate of Errol Flynn) and Geelong Grammar School. He then travelled to England to attend Brasenose College, Oxford, where he studied history, politics and economics. While in England, he undertook flying lessons and was awarded a British pilot's licence in 1932.^[2]

During a holiday in Spain while still an undergraduate, Gorton met Bettina Brown of Bangor, Maine, United States. She was a language student at the Sorbonne. In 1935, Gorton and Bettina were married at Oxford.^[3] After he attained his Master of Arts (MA), they settled in Australia, taking over his father's orchard, Mystic Park, at Lake Kangaroo near Kerang, Victoria. They had three children: Joanna, Michael and Robin.^[2]

Military

John Gorton GCMG AC CH is a Military Veteran.
Served in the Royal Australian Air Force 1940-1944
No. 232 Squadron RAF; No. 77 Squadron RAAF; No. 2 Operational Training Unit

On 8th November 1940, Gorton was commissioned in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and trained as a fighter pilot.^[4] After service in the UK, he was posted as a pilot to the No. 232 Squadron RAF in Singapore. On 21st January 1942, flying a Hawker Hurricane he was shot down by a Japanese fighter; crash-landing and being thrown heavily into his instrument panel, causing severe facial injuries. He was evacuated from Singapore, two days before the fall, however the ship was torpedoed and he was rescued by the corvette, HMAS Ballarat. Once healed, he was posted to No. 77 Squadron RAAF, flying Kittyhawks. On 7th September, operating out of Darwin, he had to make a forced landing. Gorton then took part in No. 77 Squadron’s operations against the Japanese out of Milne Bay; where he was involved in a another serious accident when his aircraft crashed during take-off. His final posting was as a flying instructor at No. 2 Operational Training Unit; being demobilised on 5th December 1944.^[5]

John was an orchardist

He returned to farming after his discharge.

Politics

Gorton was a member of Kerang Shire Council from 1946 to 1952, and elected to the Australian Senate in 1949, representing Victoria. He was a Minister from 1958, including Minister for Education (1966-68) and Leader of the Government in the Senate (1967-68). After the death of Harold Holt, he was chosen as Liberal Leader, winning Holt's old House of Representative's seat at a by-election. He was appointed a Privy Counsellor (PC) in 1968. A controversial and progressive leader in a politically tumultuous time, with growing opposition to the Vietnam War and even stronger critics in his own party, Gorton was replaced as party leader in 1971 after casting the deciding vote against himself.^[6] He was then appointed by Queen Elizabeth to the Order of the Companions of Honour (CH); a British award given to citizens of the Commonwealth for outstanding achievements in the arts, literature, music, science, politics, industry or religion.^[7] He quit the Liberal Party in November 1975 when, with the dismissal of Whitlam by the Governor-General, Fraser's campaign to oust the Labor government succeeded. Gorton then stood unsuccessfully as an independent Senate candidate for the Australian Capital Territory at the general election on 13th December 1975.^[2]

Later life

Gorton later spent several years as a political commentator, retiring from public life in 1981. In the 1990s, he quietly rejoined the Liberal Party.

He was created Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Michael and Saint George (KCMG) in June 1977^[8] and appointed Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) in June 1988.^[9]

Bettina passed away in 1993. Gorton married Nancy Home in 1993 and they made their home at Darling Point, in Sydney's eastern suburbs.^[2]

This great Australian was once more honoured, through the award of the Centenary Medal in 2001.^[10]

Gorton passed away, aged 90 years, on 19th May 2002 at St Vincent's Hospital, New South Wales.^[11] He is buried in the Prime Ministers Garden at Melbourne General Cemetery.

Research note

There is some doubt about where John Gorton was born, and he may have been born in Wellington (as he advised on his pilot's licence application in 1931) where his parents did frequent trips. There is a curious and mistake-ridden birth certificate registered in Victoria which biographer, Ian Hancock, suggests is probably his, with his father going to considerable steps to hide his illegitimacy: John Alga Gordon b 9 Sep 1911 at 41 The Avenue, Prahran, to John James Gordeon, a clerk aged 36 (b Liverpool) and Alice Gordon (formerly Sinn) aged 24 (p Port Melbourne), who married 9 June 1909 in Dunedin. Other children: Ruth (deceased).^[12] His middle name was not Alga, the surname was not Gordeon, his parents were not married, and his half-sister was alive. Gorton recorded his place of birth on his pilot's licence and RAAF enlistment as Wellington, New Zealand.

Note on nationality

If John Gorton was indeed born in New Zealand, this would have made him a New Zealand citizen from 1st January 1949 under changes to New Zealand nationality law. Holding dual-citizenship would have rendered him ineligible to sit in Australia's federal parliament under Section 44 of the Australian Constitution. Gorton's eligibility to have sat in parliament throughout his career is therefore unclear.

Sources

1. ↑ birth record is yet to be located; this date and location is listed on his DVA service record
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4} Wikipedia profile: Sir John Gorton
3. ↑ UK FreeBMD Mar qtr 1935, vol 3a, page 2003
4. ↑ Department of Veterans' Affairs nominal roll: 400793 Flight Lieutenant John Grey Gorton; accessed 8 May 2020
5. ↑ Australian War Memorial: John Grey Gorton; accessed 8 May 2020
6. ↑ National Museum profile: John Gorton
7. ↑ Australian Honours: Companion of Honour; accessed 8 May 2020
8. ↑ Australian Honours: KCMG; accessed 8 May 2020
9. ↑ Australian Honours: AC; accessed 8 May 2020
10. ↑ Australian Honours: Centenary Medal; accessed 8 May 2020
11. ↑ Obituaries Australia: Gorton, Sir John Grey
12. ↑ Hancock, Ian. John Gorton: He Did It His Way. Hachette Uk, 2011; also on Google Books

• Wikipedia - John Gorton
• National Museum of Australia - John Gorton
• Museum of Autralian Democracy (Old Parliament House) - John Gorton