John Hannah Gordon

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Sir John Hannah Gordon

Sir John Hannah Gordon (July 26, 1850 - December 23, 1923) was a Scottish-Australian judge and politician.

Gordon was born at Kilmacolm, Scotland; the son of the Rev. James Gordon. His father went to South Australia in 1859 to take charge of the Presbyterian church at Mount Barker, and was afterwards stationed at Gawler. Gordon was educated at Mount Barker under James Clezy, M.A., and at Gawler under the Rev. J. Leonard and W. L. S. Burton. On leaving school he studied theology and classics for two years, and was then for some years in the offices of W. Duffield and Company of Gawler, and Dunn and Company, Port Adelaide. He took up the study of law and was admitted to the South Australian bar in 1876, but practised for 11 years at Strathalbyn as a solicitor.

He did not become a Q.C. until 1900. In 1888 he was elected to the Legislative Council for the Southern District and held the seat for 15 years. He was minister of education in the Cockburn ministry from June 1889 to August 1890, and held the same position in the first Holder ministry from June to October 1892. He became chief secretary in the Kingston ministry in June 1893 but resigned on 15 February 1896. He was attorney-general in Holder's second ministry from December 1899 to May 1901 and from May 1901 to December 1903 in the Jenkins ministry. He was then raised to the supreme court bench. A strong federalist he was a representative of South Australia at the 1891 convention, was elected fifth out of 33 candidates in 1897, and sat on the constitutional committee.

In February 1913 he declined an invitation from Billy Hughes to move to the High Court. He was a lecturer on literary subjects, such as the Elizabethan period, publishing occasional articles in the Adelaide press. He died at Adelaide on 23 December 1923. He married in 1876 Ann Rogers who survived him with a daughter. He was knighted in 1908.