Sir George Gipps

Sir George Gipps (1791 – 28 February 1847) was Governor of the colony of New South Wales, Australia, for eight years, between 1838 and 1846. His governorship was during a period of great change for New South Wales and Australia, as well as for New Zealand, which was administered as part of New South Wales for much of this period. Settlers at the time were not happy with his move towards responsible government, although contemporaries at the Colonial Office found him to be an able administrator. Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... 1791 (MDCCXCI) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 11-day-slower Julian calendar). ... February 28 is the 59th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1847 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Capital Sydney Government Constitutional monarchy Governor Professor Marie Bashir Premier Morris Iemma (ALP) Federal representation  - House seats 50  - Senate seats 12 Gross State Product (2004-05)  - Product ($m)  $305,437 (1st)  - Product per capita  $45,153/person (4th) Population (End of March 2006)  - Population  6,817,100 (1st)  - Density  8. ... | Jöns Jakob Berzelius, discoverer of protein 1838 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1846 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... The Secretary of State for the Colonies or Colonial Secretary was the British Cabinet official in charge of managing the various British colonies. ...

Early career

Gipps was born in 1791 at Ringwold, Kent, England, and was the son of the Rev. George Gipps. He was educated at The King's School, Canterbury, and at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. In 1809 he joined the Royal Engineers and served in the Peninsular War as well as elsewhere in Europe (although he missed the Battle of Waterloo due to his posting in Ostend, Belgium where he was preparing fortifications). In 1824 he joined the Colonial Service and served in the West Indies. He married in 1830, and he and his wife had a son, Reginald. In 1834 he became Private Secretary to the First Lord of the Admiralty, Lord Auckland; and, a year later, he was sent to Canada as a Commissioner, together with the Earl of Gosford and Sir Charles Grey, to examine grievances there. He was knighted, promoted to the rank of major, and returned to England in April 1837. He was appointed Governor of New South Wales on 5 October 1837, and arrived at Sydney on 23 February 1838. 1791 (MDCCXCI) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 11-day-slower Julian calendar). ... coat of Arms of Kent For other uses, see Kent (disambiguation). ... Motto (French) God and my right Anthem No official anthem - the United Kingdom anthem God Save the Queen is commonly used England() – on the European continent() – in the United Kingdom() Capital (and largest city) London (de facto) Official languages English (de facto)1 Unified  -  by Athelstan 927 AD  Area  -  Total... The Kings School is a British independent school situated in Canterbury, Kent. ... The Royal Military Academy was founded in 1741 in Woolwich, south-east London. ... Woolwich is a suburb in south-east London, England in the London Borough of Greenwich, on the south side of the River Thames, though the tiny exclave of North Woolwich (which is now part of the London Borough of Newham) is on the north side of the river. ... The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army. ... Combatants Kingdom of Spain, United Kingdom, Kingdom of Portugal French Empire The Peninsular War or Spanish War of Independence (Guerra de la Independencia Española) was a war in the Iberian Peninsula. ... Combatants First French Empire Seventh Coalition: United Kingdom Kingdom of Prussia Kingdom of the United Netherlands Kingdom of Hanover Nassau Brunswick Commanders Napoleon Bonaparte, Michel Ney Duke of Wellington, Gebhard von Blücher Strength 73,000 67,000 Coalition 60,000 Prussian (48,000 engaged by about 18:00) Casualties... The esplanade with the Thermae Palace, the former Royal Residence and the casino For other uses, see Ostend (disambiguation). ... The Caribbean or the West Indies is a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. ... The First Lord of the Admiralty was a British government position in charge of the Admiralty. ... George Eden, 1st Earl of Auckland, 2nd Baron Auckland (1784 – January 1, 1849), served as a politician in the United Kingdom and as Governor-General of India. ... Archibald Acheson, 2nd Earl of Gosford (August 1, 1776 – March 27, 1849) was a British politician who served as Lieutenant-Governor of Lower Canada and Governor General of British North America in the 19th century. ... Major is a military rank the use of which varies according to country. ... List of Governors of New South Wales See Governors of the Australian states for a description and history of the office of Governor. ... is the 278th day of the year (279th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Queen Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom (1837 - 1901) 1837 (MDCCCXXXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... The Sydney Opera House on Sydney Harbour Sydney (pronounced ) is the most populous city in Australia, with a metropolitan area population of 4,119,190, and 151,920 in the City of Sydney, as of the 2006 census. ... February 23 is the 54th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... | Jöns Jakob Berzelius, discoverer of protein 1838 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ...

Governor of New South Wales

This was a transition time for the settlement of Australia, with moves to bring settlers under the umbrella of responsible government, and associated limitations on land squatters. Gipps was greatly concerned about educational provision in the colony, as well as the implications of the end of transportation. In Australian history, squatter referred to those who occupied large tracts of Crown Land in order to graze livestock. ...

Education in the Colony

In 1844, less than half of the children in the Colony received any form of education, whether public or private. There was great controversy on whether to continue to subsidise denominational schools, which gave rise to educational sectarianism and was fairly inefficient, or to promote national schools, fully funded by the government. The major objections to any alternative schemes came from the Church of England and the matter was unresolved before he left. The Church of England is the officially established Christian church[1] in England, and acts as the mother and senior branch of the worldwide Anglican Communion, as well as a founding member of the Porvoo Communion. ...

Land management

One of Gipps' major tasks was to try and keep settler squatters within "boundaries of location" defined previously. A part of his stance, other than that of official policy, derived from the manner in which the settlers treated Aborigines as their lands constantly spread out. Examples of this were the Myall and Waterloo Creek Massacres, where in 1838, 100 – 300 Aboriginal people were massacred on two separate occasions by squatters. This horrified Governor Gipps, but only one perpetrator was ever convicted. Horseshit - seven men were hanged for their part in the Myall Creek massacre. Indigenous Australians are descendants of the first known human inhabitants of the Australian continent and its nearby islands. ... The Waterloo Creek massacre is quite probably the largest mass murder in Australian history, some 100-300 Australian Aborigine women and children being slaughtered. ...

As a partial result of this, and his inability to suppress vigilantism against Aborigines, in April 1844 Gipps issued regulations which required a licence fee of £10 a year from graziers, limited the area of most stations to 20 square miles, and specified that no single licence covered a station capable of depasturing more than 500 head of cattle and 7000 sheep. This brought a storm of protests from the squatters and led to the foundation of the Pastoral Association of New South Wales, the resulting controversy continued until his departure.

Further difficulties in administering further-flung settlements continued because of the huge distances involved, difficult travel, and the lack of willingness of possible representatives to spend some time in Sydney for these purposes.

First Governor of New Zealand

In 1839, Gipps had his commission altered by Letters Patent and was reappointed as Captain-General and Governor-in-Chief in and over the territory of New South Wales, the new boundaries of which included any land that might be acquired in sovereignty in New Zealand. William Hobson was also appointed Deputy Governor in 1839, and set sail for New Zealand in January 1840. Sydney merchants had been engaging in great speculation in Māori lands. As a result, the day after Hobson's departure, Gipps proclaimed that no title to land henceforth purchased in New Zealand would be recognised unless derived from a Crown grant. This is undoubtedly the origin of a similar provision in Article Two of the Treaty of Waitangi, as part of Hobson's remit for "securing British sovereignty over New Zealand by the negotiation of a Treaty between Māori and the Crown". Letters Patent by Queen Victoria creating the office of Governor-General of Australia Letters patent are a type of legal instrument in the form of an open letter issued by a monarch or government granting an office, a right, monopoly, title, or status to someone or some entity such as... William Hobson (September 26, 1792 - September 10, 1842), was the first Governor of New Zealand and co-author of the Treaty of Waitangi. ... Languages Māori, English Religions Māori religion, Christianity Related ethnic groups other Polynesian peoples, Austronesian peoples The word Māori refers to the indigenous Polynesian peoples of New Zealand, and to their language. ... One of the few extant copies of the Treaty of Waitangi The Treaty of Waitangi (Māori: Tiriti o Waitangi) was signed on February 6, 1840 at Waitangi in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand. ...

Until permanent arrangements could be put in place, the New South Wales Legislative Council enacted all applicable New Zealand law, and the New South Wales Land Regulations were also extended to New Zealand. Small grants were also provided, and Gipps provided an advisor and a small military detachment to take control in the possible event of Hobson's incapacity. Most of the day-to-day administration was carried out by Hobson, while Gipps retained control only of matters to do with the Imperial Prerogative. This arrangement ended in May 1841, when New Zealand became a Crown Colony in its own right. A United Kingdom overseas territory (formerly known as a dependent territory or earlier as a crown colony) is a territory that is under the sovereignty and formal control of the United Kingdom but is not part of the United Kingdom proper (Great Britain and Northern Ireland). ...

Financial difficulties

Transportation ended in 1843, much to the chagrin of the big landowners, who thus lost a large source of cheap labour. Gipps was largely in favour of free immigration financed by the government, but he also consented to a continuation of the bounty system. There was also a three-year drought, which resulted in a dearth of work for assisted settlers. Land values fell, leading to further vilification of his governorship by large landowners and other interested parties. A bounty is often offered by a group as an incentive for the accomplishment of a task by someone usually not associated with the group. ...

Return to England

While being extremely conscientious and fair-dealing in his governorship, Gipps' health was broken down by overwork and the constant invective from the settlers. His appointment had been extended for another two years after the original six, due to the high regard the Colonial Office held him in. Gipps did not wait for his successor, Charles Augustus FitzRoy, to arrive, departing Sydney in July 1846. He arrived in England in the November, and died at Canterbury of a heart attack on 28 February 1847. Sir Charles Augustus FitzRoy KCH KCB (England, 10 June 1796 – February 16, 1858, London) was a British military officer and member of the aristocracy, who held governerships in several British colonies during the 19th century. ... Canterbury is a cathedral city in east Kent in South East England and is the seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Primate of All England, head of the Church of England and of the worldwide Anglican Communion. ... Acute myocardial infarction (AMI or MI), more commonly known as a heart attack, is a disease state that occurs when the blood supply to a part of the heart is interrupted. ... February 28 is the 59th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1847 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...

Family

In 1830 Gipps married Elizabeth Ramsay the daughter of Major-General George Ramsay. They had one son, Sir Reginald Ramsay Gipps, who became a general in the British Army.

See also

• Governors of New South Wales
• Governor-General of New Zealand
• William Hobson
• Gippsland -- named for Sir George Gipps
• Division of Gippsland -- also named for Sir George Gipps

the flag of the Governor of New South Wales The Governor of New South Wales is the representative in the Australian state of New South Wales of Australias head of state, Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia. ... The Governor-General of New Zealand is the representative of the Sovereign in right of New Zealand (currently, Queen Elizabeth II). ... William Hobson (September 26, 1792 - September 10, 1842), was the first Governor of New Zealand and co-author of the Treaty of Waitangi. ... John Longstaffs Gippsland, Sunday night, February 20th, 1898, depicting the Red Tuesday bushfires that ravaged Gippsland For the electoral district in the Australian House of Representatives, see Division of Gippsland. ... The Division of Gippsland is an Australian Electoral Division in Victoria. ...

External links

• Serle, Percival (1949). "Gipps, George". Dictionary of Australian Biography. Sydney: Angus and Robertson. 
• http://www.teara.govt.nz/1966/G/GippsSirGeorge/GippsSirGeorge/en
• Image of George Gipps and his monument in Canterbury Cathedral