His parents, Rita and Walter, had married in Hong Kong after fleeing Austria shortly after the 1938 Nazi invasion.
His father practised medicine in Japanese-occupied Hong Kong and, in May 1947, he and his family sailed to London on the MV Lorenz.
Walter having gained an English medical qualification, the Wintertons left Britain in 1948, arriving in Australia in November where Walter became a general practitioner in Western Australia, first at Pingelly then Mount Hawthorn and then, after the birth of George's only sibling, Peter, at Tuart Hill from 1953.
On graduation, Winterton became an articled clerk with the firm of Robinson Cox (now Clayton Utz) and was admitted to practice in Western Australia in 1970.
[2] The Chief Justice of Australia, Robert French, wrote of the early 1970s "when we were involved with other Perth lawyers in establishing an Aboriginal Legal Service of Western Australia": Also involved with George were "a future federal minister, Fred Chaney; High Court judge Ron Wilson; the present Chief Justice of the High Court, Robert French; future state premier Peter Dowding; and others...."[3] In 1976, George met Rosalind Julian who, at that time, was studying arts at the University of New South Wales.
While at Columbia, Winterton was interviewed for a position at the Law Faculty of the University of New South Wales, and he returned to Australia in 1975 to take up an appointment as a Senior Lecturer.
"[1] Only in the last months did he cease to attend his Sydney Law School office where he would arrive around noon, and work late, often until 2:00 am.
[1] Winterton provided legal advice to Commonwealth and state governments, other public bodies and law firms.
[3] He served as a member of the Executive Government Advisory Committee for the Constitutional Commission in 1986 and 1987, chaired by Sir Zelman Cowen.
[2][3] Chief Justice Robert French has written:[2] He also proposed a new preamble for the Constitution and amendments necessary to reflect a minimalist Republican model.
His proposed preamble was founded upon the notion of popular sovereignty and ended with the words: "We, the people of Australia, do hereby enact and give to ourselves this Constitution."
A Gedenkschrift in celebration of his life and learning has been published: H. P. Lee and Peter Gerangelos (eds), Constitutional Advancement in a Frozen Continent: Essays in Honour of George Winterton (2009).