'Hearing of the new gold rush in 1853, 24-year-old John Gotch sailed for Australia in the Baltimore clipper Peytona. He was hoping to use his dentistry skills, however during the voyage, the ship was wrecked on the island of Mauritius. Gotch lost his few possessions, including his precious dentist's tools. Three months later he finally reached Melbourne to find the town in the grip of gold fever, and hurried to the latest reported strike near Castlemaine.
Weeks of working in the blazing hot gold fields exhausted young Gotch, his provisions and his money. Half starving and with a foot badly injured by his pick, he returned to Melbourne in the back of a wagon driven by a good-hearted teamster.
Penniless and eager for news from England, he was drawn to the news-stand owned by 63-year-old Scott Alexander Gordon. Gordon befriended the young down-trodden immigrant, gave him a job selling papers and allowed him to sleep under cover of the stall.
The big horse-drawn wagon that had helped save his life gave John Gotch a new ambition. He knew he could achieve greater success by selling his labour, management skill and service to the diggers, rather than joining their hunt for gold. He suggested taking copies of the periodicals and newspapers that Gordon imported from Britain and selling them to the miners in the camps.
Gordon agreed and, according to legend, promised that if Gotch sold as many copies on the goldfields as he sold from his shop, he would take him into partnership. Gotch met the challenge and Gordon proved as good as his word. The partnership prospered so that within three years, John Gotch was able to sail home for England to bring back his young bride.
An office was established in Sydney in 1861, followed by an office in London in 1867. British publishers then saw the benefits of appointing Gordon and Gotch as their sole distributor in Australia. Further offices were opened in other states of Australia, in New Zealand and in Canada.'
Source: Gordon and Gotch website: http://www.gordongotch.com.au/
Sighted: 16/12/2004
