Businessman
Location: Pres*T*24
A brief obituary in The Age newspaper on 5 November 1931 reports the death of John Gotch;
“after about a week’s illness, during which pneumonia supervened, Mr John Gordon, member of the firm Gordon and Gotch, died on Saturday at his home, [Bedford] in Tennyson-Street, Brighton Beach. Mr Gotch was a son of Mr John Speechly Gotch [and Elizabeth], a founder of the firm. He was 67 years of age, and in recent years had taken a less active part in the actual management of the firm than formerly. Mr Gotch’s brother, Mr Edward S Gotch is a present member of the firm while a sister is a widow of the late Mr Courtney Dix. The funeral will be held to-morrow morning, the burial taking place at Brighton Cemetery”.
He was born on 26 March 1864. Gotch’s father arrived in Victoria in 1853 intending to use his skills in dentistry. He tried his luck on the goldfields and was befriended by Scott Gordon, a 63-year-old newsstand owner. Today, the firm of “Gordon & Gotch” is owned by Ovato Group (formerly “PMP Limited”) and is responsible for the distribution of some “190 million magazines into the Australian marketplace each year”. Gotch was predeceased by his wife Mary Jane who died in 1924.
Source:
The Age 5 November 1931.
The Argus 6 November 1931.
Gordon & Gotch website (https://www.gordongotch.com.au/ggweb/About-us/Our-History).
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