James Gobbo
This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. (December 2007) |
Sir James Gobbo AC, CVO, QC | |
---|---|
25th Governor of Victoria | |
In office 24 April 1997 – 31 December 2000 | |
Monarch | Elizabeth II |
Premier | Jeff Kennett Steve Bracks |
Lieutenant | Adrienne Clarke |
Preceded by | Richard McGarvie |
Succeeded by | John Landy |
Personal details | |
Born | Giacomo Augustine Gobbo 22 March 1931 Carlton, Victoria |
Nationality | Australian |
Spouse(s) | Shirley Lewis |
Relations | Nicola Gobbo (niece) |
Alma mater | University of Melbourne University of Oxford |
Occupation | Jurist |
Sir James Augustine Gobbo, AC, CVO, QC (born 22 March 1931) is an Australian retired jurist who served as the 25th Governor of Victoria, from 1997 to 2000.
Family and early life[]
Giacomo "James" Gobbo was born in Carlton, Victoria, on 22 March 1931, to Italian parents Antonio and Regina. In March 1935 the family returned to Cittadella, Padua, Italy, where a sister, Natalina, was born shortly after. Three years later the family, which also included a brother, Flavio, arrived back in Australia to take up permanent residency in North Melbourne, Victoria.[1] Gobbo, then aged seven, spoke no English at the time of his return,[2] and his father, who had started a café, felt the time was right for him to receive a Catholic education.
Gobbo's early schooling included St Mary's Primary School, West Melbourne and later St Joseph's CBC, North Melbourne.[3] In 1944 he was accepted into Xavier College, where he won the 1948 Associated Public Schools Head of the River before studying law at the University of Melbourne during which time he lived at Newman College. In 1951 he was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship, with which he attained a Master of Arts degree at Magdalen College, University of Oxford.[2]
In 1957 Gobbo married former librarian Shirley Lewis, and has five children. His son, James Gobbo, Jr., was the Liberal candidate for the district of Bentleigh in the 2006 Victorian state election.
Judicial career[]
After many years as a barrister and later as a Queen's Counsel, Gobbo was appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court of Victoria. He served from 18 July 1978 until he retired from the bench on 14 February 1994.[2]
Vice-regal career[]
Gobbo served as Lieutenant-Governor of Victoria from 1995 until he was appointed Governor of Victoria in 1997 by Queen Elizabeth II on the advice of the Victorian premier, Jeff Kennett. He was the first Australian state governor of Italian descent.
Gobbo's term of office was to be shorter than the usual five years, due to the uncertain outcome of the looming 1999 Australian republic referendum. If a republic had come into effect, then the governorship of Victoria would have been abolished from 1 January 2001. In August 2000 the new premier, Steve Bracks, announced that Gobbo's successor would be John Landy, who would take up his post in January 2001. Gobbo immediately made it known that he had had an understanding with Kennett for an extension of his term beyond 2000, and expressed deep disappointment that this was not now to occur.[4] However, this understanding must have been private, since Kennett's letter of appointment stated that any extension beyond 31 December 2000 would be a matter for the premier of the day. Bracks said that he had no knowledge of any such understanding.
After leaving office, Gobbo took up the position of Commissioner for Italy for the Victorian government until June 2006, and has since continued on various boards and councils.
In 2006, Gobbo was the Chair of the Council of the National Library of Australia and the Council of the Order of Australia and Chair of the Australian Multicultural Foundation.
Honours[]
Gobbo was appointed a Knight Bachelor in 1981; a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) in 1993; and a Knight of Grace of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem in 1997. He was awarded the Centenary Medal in 2001 and is also a Knight of Malta.[5]
See also[]
- Judiciary of Australia
- List of Judges of the Supreme Court of Victoria
- Victorian Bar Association
References[]
- ^ National Archives of Australia, Department of Immigration and Border Protection; A12508, 31/2551 Personal Statement and Declaration by alien passengers entering Australia (Forms A42)
- ^ Jump up to: a b c "Farewells – Sir James Gobbo" (PDF). Victorian Bar News. Melbourne: Victorian Bar Council. Winter 1994. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 March 2015. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
- ^ "Rhodes Scholarship for Newman Student". The Advocate. LXXXIV (5030). Victoria, Australia. 20 December 1951. p. 2. Retrieved 12 May 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ ABC: The World Today Archive – Victoria's new governor
- ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20080719155755/http://www.smom.org.au/pdf/Hospitaller%20P8.pdf
External links[]
- https://trove.nla.gov.au/version/172103629 James Gobbo and parents photograph
- https://trove.nla.gov.au/version/172107971 Gobbo family portrait, Italy
- 1931 births
- Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford
- Australian Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order
- Australian Knights Bachelor
- Australian people of Italian descent
- Australian Rhodes Scholars
- Australian Queen's Counsel
- Companions of the Order of Australia
- Governors of Victoria (Australia)
- Judges of the Supreme Court of Victoria
- Knights of Malta
- Living people
- Melbourne Law School alumni
- People educated at Xavier College
- Lieutenant-Governors of Victoria