Sir James Augustine Gobbo, (22 March 1931 – 7 November 2021) was an Australian jurist who served as the 25th

Governor of Victoria The governor of Victoria is the representative of the monarch, King Charles III, in the Australian state of Victoria. The governor is one of seven viceregal representatives in the country, analogous to the governors of the other states, and th ...

, from 1997 to 2000.

Family and early life

James Gobbo was born in

Carlton, Victoria Carlton is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km north of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. Carlton recorded a population of 16,055 at the 2021 census. Im ...

, on 22 March 1931, to Italian parents Antonio and Regina. In March 1935 the family returned to

Cittadella Cittadella ( vec, Sitadeła) is a medieval walled city in the province of Padua, northern Italy, founded in the 13th century as a military outpost of Padua. The surrounding wall has been restored and is in circumference with a diameter of around ...

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

, 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 North Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. North Melbourne recorded a population of 14,953 at ...

. Gobbo, then aged seven, spoke no English at the time of his return, 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 St Mary's Primary School began life as a Roman Catholic co-educational primary day school with single-sex classes located in West Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The school was part of the parish of St Mary Star of the Sea, West Melbourne. As ...

and later St Joseph's CBC, North Melbourne. In 1944 he was accepted into

Xavier College Xavier College is a Roman Catholic, day and boarding school predominantly for boys, founded in 1872 by the Society of Jesus, with its main campus located in Kew, an eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Classes started in 1878. ...

. He was a member of the Xavier College crew that won the 1948 Associated Public Schools Head of the River. After leaving Xavier College, he studied law at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb no ...

during which time he lived at Newman College. In 1951 he was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship, following which he attained a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...

degree at

Magdalen College Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

. In 1957 Gobbo married former librarian Shirley Lewis, and had five children. His son, James Gobbo Jr., was the Liberal candidate for the district of Bentleigh in the

2006 Victorian state election The 2006 Victorian state election, held on Saturday, 25 November 2006, was for the 56th Parliament of Victoria. Just over 3 million Victorians registered to vote elected 88 members to the Legislative Assembly and, for the first time, 40 membe ...

Judicial career

After many years as a barrister and later as a

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister o ...

, Gobbo was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court of Victoria. He served from 18 July 1978 until he retired from the bench on 14 February 1994.

Vice-regal career

Gobbo served as Lieutenant-Governor of Victoria from 1995 until he was appointed

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 John Michael Landy OLY (12 April 1930 – 24 February 2022) was an Australian middle-distance runner and state governor. He was the second man to break the four-minute mile barrier in the mile run and held the world records for the 1500-metre ...

, 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. 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 continued on various boards and councils. In 2006, Gobbo was the Chair of the Council of the

National Library of Australia The National Library of Australia (NLA), formerly the Commonwealth National Library and Commonwealth Parliament Library, is the largest reference library in Australia, responsible under the terms of the ''National Library Act 1960'' for "mainta ...

and the Council of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gov ...

and Chair of the Australian Multicultural Foundation.

Honours

Gobbo was appointed a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are th ...

in the

1982 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1982 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countrie ...

; a

Companion of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

(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 was also a Knight of Malta.

Death

Gobbo died on 7 November 2021 at the age of 90.

References

External links

Papers of Sir James Gobbo
Papers of Sir James Gobbo
Trove
James Gobbo and parents photograph
Trove
Gobbo family portrait, Italy {{DEFAULTSORT:Gobbo, James 1931 births 2021 deaths Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford Australian Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order Australian Knights Bachelor Australian King's Counsel Australian Rhodes Scholars Australian people of Italian descent Companions of the Order of Australia Governors of Victoria (Australia) Judges of the Supreme Court of Victoria Knights of Malta Lieutenant-Governors of Victoria Melbourne Law School alumni National Library of Australia Council members People educated at Xavier College People from North Melbourne People educated at St Joseph's College, Melbourne