Sir George GIPPS was appointed Governor of New South Wales on 5th October, 1837. He was born at Ringwold, Kent, England, in 1791, and after graduation from the Military Academy at Woolwich, he served in Peninsular campaigns, as a captain, in Wellington's army. He displayed great administrative ability in his appointments in the West Indies, and on the Gosford Commission in Canada. He was promoted to Major, and knighted before his arrival in Sydney on February 24th, 1838. The problems he had to face during his 8 years as governor certainly tested his administrative ability as they began from the time of his arrival.

In that year, the abolition of transportation was recommended to the House of Commons; in New South Wales many of the big landowners strongly opposed the move as, through the assignment system, convicts provided them with cheap labor. Gipps was strongly in favor of free immigration financed by government funds, but he agreed to requests by colonists to increase bounty orders. This was a system whereby settlers could nominate immigrant workers and have their expenses subsidized by the government.

Three years of drought greatly reduced the prosperity of the country causing a Depression to set in. There was less work for assisted immigrants who arrived in increasing numbers - 20,103 came in 1841. Land values fell drastically, resulting in less revenue to support the scheme, and Gipps could not obtain help from an unsympathetic English government. He then had great financial troubles to face.

Another of his problems was the impossible task of trying to keep squatters within the "boundaries of location" which had been defined by a previous Governor. He had a high sense of justice which extended to the treatment of aborigines by the white settlers.

Despite much criticism from the wealthier colonists, and the Press, he was an able administrator, determined to do his best for the Colony and all sections of the population. He was anxious to improve opportunities for the increasing number of children in the community. In 1844 it was estimated that there were 25,676 children between the ages of 4 and 14; of these 7,642 attended Public Schools, 4,865 Private Schools, while the remainder received no education at all. There was great controversy on the question as to whether to continue to subsidize denominational schools. or promote National schools, fully funded by the government. Again, there was disagreement on the methods of teaching religious instruction in these schools.

It is no wonder that his health broke down under the strain of his continual hard work and attention to every detail. He remained in office as Governor past his 6 year term but died in 1847, shortly after his return to England. There is a memorial to him in the Canterbury Cathedral, but of far greater importance to us is the commemoration of this Governor to whom we owe so much in the name of our province of Gippsland.