Editing Chris Watson (section)

===Birth and family background===
Watson was born Johan Cristian Tanck on 9 April 1867 in [[Valparaíso]], Chile. He was the only child of Martha (née Minchin) and Johan Cristian Tanck, senior.{{sfn|Grassby|Ordonez|1999|p=23}} His father was also born in Valparaíso, a [[German Chileans|German Chilean]] whose ancestors had emigrated from the [[Kingdom of Hanover]] and established an import–export firm.{{sfn|Grassby|Ordonez|1999|p=26}} He worked as a merchant seaman, possibly a ship's carpenter, on trade routes across the Pacific.{{sfn|Grassby|Ordonez|1999|p=23}} He arrived in New Zealand aboard ''La Joven Julia'' on 24 December 1865 and married Martha Minchin in [[Port Chalmers]] less than a month later, on 19 January 1866.{{sfn|Grassby|Ordonez|1999|pp=26–27}} Their marriage was later registered at Valparaíso's [[Iglesia de la Matriz]].{{sfn|Grassby|Ordonez|1999|p=23}} Watson's mother was born in [[County Tipperary]], Ireland, and was 16 years old at the time of her marriage to Tanck.{{sfn|Grassby|Ordonez|1999|p=27}} She joined him on board the ''Julia'', which eventually returned to Chile and docked in Valparaíso a few days before Watson's birth. In the months after his birth the ship worked a regular route carrying timber between Valparaíso and [[Chiloé Island]].{{sfn|Grassby|Ordonez|1999|p=24-25}}

In 1868, Watson moved to New Zealand with his mother, returning to her family on the [[South Island]]. The fate of his father is uncertain, as no records of his death have been found.{{sfn|Grassby|Ordonez|1999|p=26}} On 15 February 1869, his mother married George Thomas Watson at the registry office in [[Waipori, New Zealand|Waipori]], describing herself as a widow. Her second husband was a 30-year-old miner born in [[Ballymoney]], Ireland, who had come to New Zealand after several years working in Scotland.{{sfn|Grassby|Ordonez|1999|pp=29–30}} Watson came to have nine half-siblings from his mother's second marriage, born between 1869 and 1887. He was treated as the biological child of George Watson, adopting his step-father's surname; his given names were also anglicised.{{sfn|Grassby|Ordonez|1999|pp=30–32}}

As an adult, Watson gave incorrect and contradictory information about the circumstances of his birth and the identity of his parents. He allowed some biographical profiles to list him as born in New Zealand, while his second wife and daughter understood that he had been born to British parents in [[international waters]] outside Valparaíso. On legal documents he listed George Watson as his biological father and provided an incorrect [[maiden name]] for his mother.{{sfn|Grassby|Ordonez|1999|pp=22–23}} Watson's biographers have suggested he may have originally concealed his background for convenience, but later deliberately did so for political reasons, including concerns over parliamentary eligibility and possible xenophobia. Birth overseas to a non-British father would have made him an [[Alien (law)|alien]] ineligible for election to federal parliament under [[Section 44 of the Constitution of Australia|section 44(i) of the constitution]].<ref name=jac1>{{cite news |first=Norman |last=Abjorensen |url=http://www.smh.com.au/comment/former-prime-minister-chris-watson-and-king-omalley-almost-certainly-fell-foul-of-section-44-20170821-gy0m13.html |title=Former prime minister Chris Watson and King O'Malley almost certainly fell foul of Section 44 |work=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |date=21 August 2017 |access-date=30 June 2018}}</ref><ref name=jac2>{{cite news |first=Norman |last=Abjorensen |url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article127521763 |title=Watson a British subject |work=[[The Canberra Times]] |date=2 November 1993 |access-date=30 June 2018 |via=Trove}}</ref>