John Gorton

Gorton in 1954, National Library of Australia

Birth Name: John Grey Gorton

Date of Birth: 9 September, 1911

Place of Birth: Wellington, New Zealand or Prahran, Victoria, Australia

Date of Death: 19 May, 2002

Place of Death: St Vincent’s Hospital, Sydney, Australia

Ethnicity:
*father – English, possibly Welsh
*mother – Irish, one quarter German

John Gorton was an Australian politician. He served as Prime Minister of Australia, from 10 January, 1968 to 10 March, 1971. He was Leader of the Liberal Party of Australia, from 9 January, 1968 to 10 March, 1971, and Minister for Defence, from 19 March, 1971 to 13 August, 1971, among many other duties.

Prime Minister Gorton was the son of Alice Sinn and John Rose Gorton. His father was born in Manchester, England, and possibly had some Welsh ancestry, apart from English. His mother was of one quarter German and three quarters Irish ancestry.

Prime Minister Gorton was married to academic Bettina Gorton, until her death, and to Nancy Home, until his death. He had three children with Bettina, who was American, from Massachusetts.

Prime Minister Gorton’s paternal grandfather was John Gorton (the son of James Gorton and Hannah Chappell). Prime Minister Gorton’s grandfather John was born in Pendleton, Manchester, Lancashire, England. James was the son of Richard Gorton and Margaret Brierley. Hannah was the daughter of John Chappell and Sarah.

Prime Minister Gorton’s paternal grandmother was Emma Rose (the daughter of William Rose and Sarah Griffiths). Emma was born in Manchester, Lancashire. William was the son of James Rose and Nancy Hopwood. Sarah’s surname Griffiths is Welsh.

Prime Minister Gorton’s maternal grandfather was Henry James Sinn (the son of Heinrich Sinn and Sarah Holihan). Henry was born in Williamstown, Victoria, Australia. Heinrich was German, the son of Hans Jacob Sinn and Metta Hanschild. Sarah was born in England; her surname suggests she was of Irish origin.

Prime Minister Gorton’s maternal grandmother was Margaret Sarah Carroll (the daughter of Thomas Carroll and Theresa Musgrove). Margaret was born in Limerick, Ireland. Thomas was the son of Dennis Carroll. Theresa was the daughter of George Musgrove and Theresa.

Prime Minister Gorton was the third person of significant non-British Isles ancestry to serve as Prime Minister of Australia. The other Prime Ministers of significant non-British Isles ancestry were/are:
*Chris Watson (who served for the Labour Party from 27 April, 1904 to 18 August, 1904; Watson’s father was of Austrian or German descent)
*Harold Holt (who served for the Liberal Party from 26 January, 1966 to 17 December, 1967; two of Holt’s great-grandfathers were German)
*Malcolm Fraser (who served for the Liberal Party from 11 November, 1975 to 11 March, 1983; Fraser’s maternal grandfather was Jewish)
*Tony Abbott (who served for the Liberal Party from 18 September, 2013 to 15 September, 2015; Abbott’s maternal grandfather was Dutch)
*Anthony Albanese (who has served for the Labor Party from 23 May, 2022; Albanese’s father is Italian/Arbëreshë)

Sources: Genealogy of John Gorton – http://www.wikitree.com

Genealogy of John Gorton (focusing on his mother’s side) – https://www.geni.com