 He faced three leadership spills before being convinced to retire from politics in 1960 and accept the post of Chief Justice of New South Wales.Evatt was born on 30 April 1894 at the Bank Hotel in East Maitland, New South Wales.He was the fifth of eight sons born to Jane Sophia (known as "Jeanie") and John Ashmore Hamilton Evatt; two of his older brothers died in infancy.