Colonial administrator, born in Ringwould, Kent, SE England, UK. He served in the Royal Engineers before becoming Governor of New South Wales (183846). His policy of selling land by auction instead of the colonial office policy of a fixed price showed him to be an unpopular but farsighted opponent of land monopoly. Gippsland in Victoria is named after him.
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.
Early career
Gipps was born in 1791 at Ringwold, Kent, England, and was the son of the Rev. He was appointed Governor of New South Wales on 5 October 1837, and arrived at Sydney on 23 February 1838.
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.
Education in the Colony
In 1844, less than half of the children in the Colony received any form of education, whether public or private.
Land management
One of Gipps' major tasks was to try and keep settler squatters within "boundaries of location" defined previously.
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.
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. 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".
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. This arrangement ended in May 1841, when New Zealand became a Crown Colony in its own right.
Financial difficulties
Transportation ended in 1843, much to the chagrin of the big landowners, who thus lost a large source of cheap labour.
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. Gipps did not wait for his successor, Charles Augustus FitzRoy, to arrive, departing Sydney in July 1846.
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