James Gobbo

“James Gobbo” was appointed Governor of Victoria in 1997, succeeded by John Landy. He was born in Melbourne to Italian parents, who subsequently returned to Italy for a brief period before returning to live permanently in Australia in 1938.

He studied law at the University of Melbourne and was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship in 1951. After many years as a barrister, he was appointed to the Supreme Court of Victoria in 1978, and retired from the bench in 1994. He was knighted in 1982 and became a Companion of the Order of Australia in 1993. He married former teacher Shirley Lewis in 1957.