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86-509: To restrict the sale of valuable land, Governor Gipps introduced regulations in March 1841 that required the land to be more than 5 miles (8.0 km) from a surveyed township, and to restrict the water-frontage to one mile (1.6 km) per four square miles of area. Eight special surveys were advertised in June 1841: A survey for James Atkinson for 5,120 acres (2,070 ha) near Port Fairy

172-818: A rolling mill . PeelPort now own the site and are preparing it for reopening as a steel mill. The port has a seafarers' centre, which was refurbished in May 2015, and is operated by Apostleship of the Sea, a seafarers' charity. The seafront is popular with tourists, and in 2007 Sheerness' recently refurbished town centre had more than 200 shops. At the 2001 UK census, 35.8% of residents aged 16–74 were employed full-time, 11.6% part-time, 5.8% self-employed and 6.2% unemployed, while 1.5% were students with jobs, 3.4% students without jobs, 11.9% retired, 10.6% looking after home or family, 8.5% permanently sick or disabled and 4.8% economically inactive for other reasons. The unemployment rate of 6.2%

258-569: A day, seven days a week from Minster-on-Sea. In October 2011 BRFM was granted a five-year extension to its broadcast licence by regulator Ofcom . The station is run by 20 volunteers and plays a wide range of music, with news, weather and local events being broadcast around the clock, the station also provides for specialist music during weekday evenings. Sheerness and the Isle of Sheppey is also served by former online, and now FM, radio station, Sheppey FM , which broadcasts on 92.2FM from Sheerness across

344-705: A ferry service to Vlissingen in the Netherlands from 1974 until 1994. The A249 road terminates at Sheerness, running from Maidstone via Sittingbourne. The road crosses the M2 motorway near Sittingbourne, and the M20 motorway near Maidstone. Until September 2009, The Isle of Sheppey was the only area in Kent to still have a middle school system. On the island, primary schools taught pupils from ages 4 to 9, middle schools 9–13 and secondary schools 13–18. Minster College in

430-586: A few years serving as a commanding engineer for the government in the town of Sheerness , Gipps became Private Secretary to the First Lord of the Admiralty , Lord Auckland in 1834. A year later, on Auckland's recommendation, Gipps was knighted and sent to Lower Canada as a Commissioner, together with the Earl of Gosford and Sir Charles Edward Grey , to examine grievances against colonial rule there. Although

516-583: A lasting effect on the alignment of Melbourne subdivisions and roads as some boundaries did not conform to the one mile (1.6 km) interval survey Section lines running north–south and east–west referenced from the survey datum at Batman's Hill . George Gipps Sir George Gipps (23 December 1790 – 28 February 1847) was the Governor of the British Colony of New South Wales for eight years, between 1838 and 1846. His governorship oversaw

602-585: A law unto themselves in how they took up land and how they dealt with the Aboriginal residents. In 1839, two groups of British colonists had been attempting to acquire large amounts of land in New Zealand by duping the resident Māori people . The New Zealand Company , led by Edward Gibbon Wakefield , and a consortium of Sydney speculators led by William Wentworth , had each laid claim to around 8 million hectares which amounted to nearly two thirds of

688-517: A relatively high percentage of workers in manufacturing, transport and communications, and a relatively low percentage in agriculture, hotels, restaurants, education, health, social work and finance. At the 2001 UK census, 4,292 of the town's residents were employed and there were 5,532 jobs within the town. According to Office for National Statistics estimates, the average gross weekly income of households in Sheerness from April 2001 to March 2002

774-558: A rigid metal frame. The first structure in what is now Sheerness was a fort built by order of Henry VIII to prevent enemy ships from entering the River Medway and attacking the naval dockyard at Chatham . In 1666 work began to replace it with a stronger fort. However, before its completion, this second fort was destroyed in 1667 by the Dutch Naval Fleet in their capture of the town, as part of what would be known as

860-464: A scheme of removing these labourers from slavery after their work for the government had ceased. However, a minor scandal surfaced. Gipps fathered a child to his slave mistress named Louisa, after which he attempted to purchase her freedom. This scandal prevented the implementation of his plan. This caused an embarrassment to Gipps who returned to England in 1829. He married Elizabeth Ramsay, the daughter of Major-General George Ramsay, RA, in 1830. After

946-595: A son, Reginald Ramsay Gipps , who later became a general in the British Army . Gippsland was named in Gipps' honour by his close friend the explorer Paweł Edmund Strzelecki . He is also commemorated by Gipps Street, Waverley , NSW; Gipps Street, Wellington, New Zealand; Gipps Street, Barton, ACT ; and Gipps Street, East Melbourne, Victoria. There are several streets in suburban Sydney named after Gipps. Sheerness Sheerness ( / ʃ ɪər ˈ n ɛ s / )

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1032-401: A tumultuous period where the rights to land were bitterly contested in a three way struggle between the colonial government, Aboriginal people and wealthy graziers known as squatters . The management of other major issues such as the end of convict transportation , large immigration programs and the introduction of majority elected representation also featured strongly during his tenure. Gipps

1118-546: Is 36 feet (11 m) tall and was built in 1902 at a cost of around £360 to commemorate the coronation of King Edward VII . In 2002, the clock tower was restored to celebrate the Silver and Golden Jubilees of Queen Elizabeth II . The Sheerness Times Guardian is now the only newspaper serving the town and island at large, owned by the KM Group . The Sheppey Gazette closed in 2011 after around 100 years of publication. It

1204-431: Is a branch of Canterbury College that provides a range of further education courses. On 1 September 2009, Cheyne Middle school and Minster College merged to become The Isle of Sheppey Academy (now Oasis Academy Isle of Sheppey ). Danley Middle school closed and St George's Middle School changed into a primary school with a £3 million fund, and Richmond First School now houses an extra year of students. This change

1290-539: Is a port town and civil parish beside the mouth of the River Medway on the north-west corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent , England. With a population of 13,249, it is the second largest town on the island after the nearby town of Minster which has a population of 16,738. Sheerness began as a fort built in the 16th century to protect the River Medway from naval invasion. In 1665 plans were first laid by

1376-507: Is an industrial area, and Sheerness has become the largest port in the UK for motor imports. Prior to the closure of the Dockyard, twenty-five of its historic buildings were listed in recognition of their "architectural distinction and value"; regardless of this, the majority were subsequently demolished (including Admiralty House and the quadrangular Great Store) and others were left to decay. In

1462-557: Is regarded as having brought a high moral and intellectual standard to the position of governor, but was ultimately defeated in his aims by the increasing power and avarice of the squatters. Gipps was born in December 1790 at Ringwould , Kent , England , the son of Rev George Gipps and Susannah Bonella Venn. Both his parents were from wealthy families, with his maternal grandfather having been an estate and slave owner in Jamaica . He

1548-498: The Bank of Australia , failed and many colonists lost their fortunes. Revenues to fund policies such as the assisted migration scheme dried up and Gipps was forced to borrow large amounts of money to finance government spending. The drought ended in 1843 and the economic recovery was assisted by the new profitable industry of boiling down , where excess livestock were killed, cut up and placed in huge boiling vats to make tallow . Gipps

1634-649: 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 , where he was appointed as Commander of Engineers in the colonies of Demerara and Berbice . Gipps was in charge of the construction of public works and had control over a few hundred slaves who were utilised as labourers. He proposed

1720-615: The Navy Board for Sheerness Dockyard , a facility where warships might be provisioned and repaired. The site was favoured by Samuel Pepys , then Clerk of the Acts of the navy, for shipbuilding over Chatham inland. After the raid on the Medway in 1667, the older fortification was strengthened; in 1669 a Royal Navy dockyard was established in the town, where warships were stocked and repaired until its closure in 1960. Beginning with

1806-599: The North Sea . The command was named after the Nore sandbank in the Thames Estuary , about 3 miles (5 km) east of Sheerness. In 1863, mains water was installed in the town, and the Isle of Sheppey's first railway station opened at the dockyard. Towards the end of the 19th century, Sheerness achieved official town status and formed its own civil parish, separate from Minster-in-Sheppey. The 1901 Census recorded

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1892-643: The Sheerness Boat Store was the world's first multi-storey building with a rigid metal frame. In 1904 the RN established a torpedo school in Sheerness, with HMS Actaeon used as training hulk. The school closed in 1922. From the completion of the dockyard until 1960 Sheerness was one of the bases of the Nore Command of the Royal Navy , which was responsible for protecting British waters in

1978-683: The Southern Counties East Football League . In 2022/23 the club will be playing in the Isthmian League having secured promotion in the 2021/22 season. Sports can be played for free at the town's recreation grounds at Beachfields Park, Festival Playing Field, and Seager Road Sports Ground. The annual arts and heritage Sheerness Promenade Festival opened in September 2011 with appearances by Michael Palin and Dan Cruickshank . It takes place in late July at

2064-644: The Thames Estuary . To the west, the outlet of the River Medway flows into the Estuary. An area of wetlands known as The Lappel lies between the river and the south-western part of town. Marshland lies to the south and the east. The main rock type of the Isle of Sheppey is London Clay , which covers most of North Kent. Along with most of the Kent coast, the uninhabited coastal areas of the island have been designated Sites of Special Scientific Interest , due to their wildlife and geological features. The nearest towns to Sheerness are Minster , 1 mile (1.6 kilometres) to

2150-519: The Upton Castle in February 1838. He entered into the colony at one of its most turbulent periods during which drought, economic depression, cessation of convict transportation, frontier conflict with Aboriginal people, the rise of semi-elective government, and bitter contests with powerful squatters over land seizure would all create immense difficulties for him. Gipps' salary of £5,000 a year,

2236-522: The administrative county of Kent. Over much of the past century, the Labour Party has received the most support in Sheerness, mainly due to the town's industrial nature. As early as 1919, the town had four Labour councillors; Faversham elected its first only in 1948. Sheerness is in the north-west corner of the Isle of Sheppey in North Kent. To the north, sandy beaches run along the coast of

2322-429: The raid on the Medway . The Secretary to the Admiralty , Samuel Pepys , subsequently ordered the construction of Sheerness Dockyard as an extension to that at Chatham. There was no established settlement in the vicinity of Sheerness, so most of the workers were initially housed in hulks . By 1738, dockyard construction workers had built the first houses in Sheerness, using materials they were allowed to take from

2408-428: The 2011 census is not yet available to give specific numbers. The Port of Sheerness is a significant feature of the Isle of Sheppey's economy. Covering more than 1.5 million square metres, it is one of the largest foreign car importers in the UK, and it handles thousands of tonnes of fruits and meat products from all over the world. Inexpensive land and good infrastructure, including a rail network that branches off

2494-491: The 2015 local elections, two of those seats were held by the Labour Party and one by UKIP. Swale Borough Council is responsible for running local services, such as recreation, refuse collection and council housing ; Kent County Council is responsible for education, social services and trading standards. Both councils are involved in town planning and road maintenance. From 1894 to 1968, Sheerness formed its own local government district, Sheerness Urban District, and lay within

2580-418: The 34% in all of Swale. According to the 2001 data, Sheerness has a low proportion of foreign-born residents compared to the rest of England, at 3%. Ninety-eight per cent of residents were recorded as white; the largest minority group was recorded as Asian, at 1.1% of the population. The 2000s saw a rise in the foreign-born population, with the town now having a significant eastern European population. Data from

2666-470: The Aboriginal people who resided in these lands. In 1839, Gipps amended an Act brought in by Governor Richard Bourke three years earlier that attempted to restrain the unauthorised occupation Crown Lands. Gipps' amendment allowed for the formation of the Border Police of New South Wales , which were paramilitary units controlled by various Commissioners of Crown Lands that enabled the enforcement of

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2752-527: The British criminal system was undergoing major reform and as a result, transportation of convicts to mainland New South Wales ceased in 1840. These convicts provided slave labour for the squatters, some of whom like James Macarthur and Benjamin Boyd tried to replace them with cheap Chinese and Indian coolie or blackbirded Pacific Islander labourers. Gipps was indifferent to these ideas and instead promoted

2838-586: The Isle of Sheppey Sailing Club, Beachfields Skatepark, Sheerness East Table Tennis Club, Catamaran Yacht Club, and Sheerness Swimming Club and Lifeguard Corps. Sheerness Golf Club was founded in 1906, and has an 18-hole course just to the south-east of town. The main football club on the island is Sheppey United . The club were formed in 1890 and have played in the Southern League , Kent League , Aetolian League , Greater London League , Metropolitan London League , Kent County League and are currently in

2924-465: The Little Mill, a smock mill that was standing before 1813 and burnt down on 7 February 1862; The Hundred Acre Mill, a small tower mill which was last worked in 1872 and demolished in 1878 leaving a base which remains today; The Great Mill , a smock mill, the building of which was started in 1813 and completed in 1816, which was demolished in 1924 leaving the base, upon which a replica mill body

3010-511: The Protectorate suffered from under-funding and financial mismanagement. Despite strong pressure from the squatters in the region to disband the scheme, Gipps kept it going during his time as governor. It failed, however, in providing protection to the Aboriginal people. One of Gipps' major tasks was to try to bring some control over the " squattocracy " spreading outside the "boundaries of location" and to minimise conflict between them and

3096-593: The Sheerness dockyard and the Medway Port Authority took over the site for commercial use. The dockyard closure led to thousands of job losses, and most of the nearby houses and shops in the Bluetown area were eventually abandoned and demolished. By the 1961 census, the population of Sheerness had fallen to 13,691. The dockyard closure also led to the decline of the Sheerness and District Cooperative Society, as many of its members were dockyard workers. At

3182-473: The Sheerness parish as having 18,179 residents and 2,999 houses. The town's low rainfall and ample sunshine made it popular as a seaside resort , with tourists arriving by steamboat and train. The Sheppey Light Railway opened in 1901, connecting the new Sheerness East station with the rest of the island. However, by 1950, lack of demand led to the railway's closure. The Sheerness and District Tramways , which opened in 1903, only lasted until 1917. In 1944

3268-767: The Sheppey Little Theatre, the Heritage Centre in Blue Town and various other venues in Sheerness. Sheerness has a library and clubs for photography, music, singing, dancing and writing. The youth club in Meyrick Road, in East Sheerness has been operational for over 50 years and has played a vital role in the development of many young people. Sheerness's town centre is home to the largest freestanding cast iron clock tower in Kent. It

3354-602: The United States cargo ship SS  Richard Montgomery ran aground and sank 1 mile (1.6 km) off the coast of Sheerness, with large quantities of explosives on board. Due to the inherent danger and projected expense, the ship and its cargo have never been salvaged; if the wreck were to explode, it would be one of the largest non-nuclear explosions of all time. A 2004 report published in New Scientist warned that an explosion could occur if sea water penetrated

3440-655: The administration in New Zealand was carried out by Lieutenant-Governor William 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. He advanced to the regimental rank of lieutenant colonel on 23 November 1841. In 1842, the British government passed the Constitution Act for New South Wales. This act allowed, for

3526-418: The average annual minimum temperature is 6 °C (43 °F). The warmest time of the year is July and August, when maximum temperatures average 21 °C (70 °F). The coolest time of the year is January and February, when minimum temperatures average 2 °C (36 °F). The average annual rainfall in Sheerness is 28 inches (711 mm). The average annual duration of sunshine is 1,700 hours;

Port Phillip District Special Surveys - Misplaced Pages Continue

3612-722: The bombs. During the Second World War the Shoeburyness Boom , which ran across the Thames Estuary to protect shipping from submarine attack, ran from Sheerness to Shoeburyness in Essex. A similar structure was built along the same alignment in the early 1950s to protect against Soviet submarines. The Sheerness end of the boom was demolished in the 1960s. In March 1960 the Royal Navy ceased operating

3698-478: The centre of Melbourne, apparently taken as the intersection of Bourke Street and Elizabeth Street . As a consequence, Unwin and Elgar were granted land nearer to the city. The original location of the special surveys are shown in maps of Port Phillip District by Russell and Hoddle , drawn in 1841. The regulation was rescinded in August 1841. The Unwin's, Dendy's and especially Elgar's Special Surveys have had

3784-556: The commission was a complete failure which helped to ignite the 1837 Lower Canada Rebellion , Gipps gained a reputation for political negotiation and colonial administration. On returning to England in April 1837, he found that he was promoted to the rank of major and was being considered for the role of Governor of New South Wales . He accepted and was officially appointed to the position on 5 October 1837. Gipps arrived in Sydney aboard

3870-524: The construction of a pier and a promenade in the 19th century, Sheerness acquired the added attractions of a seaside resort . Industry retains its important place in the town and the Port of Sheerness is one of the United Kingdom's leading car and fresh produce importers. The town is the site of one of the UK's first co-operative societies and also of the world's first multi-storey buildings with

3956-478: The dockyard (Blue Town having by then filled the space available). In 1797, discontented sailors in the Royal Navy mutinied just off the coast of Sheerness. By 1801 the population of the Minster-in-Sheppey parish, which included both Sheerness and the neighbouring town of Minster , reached 5,561. In 1816, one of the UK's first co-operative societies was started in Sheerness, chiefly to serve

4042-595: The dockyard followed. A high brick wall and a moat were constructed around the yard to serve as a defence measure and remained in place until the end of the 19th century. As the settlement expanded eastwards, away from the dockyard and the Blue Houses, the wider area became known as Sheerness, taking its new name from the brightness or clearness of the water at the mouth of the River Medway. The rebuilt Dockyard contained many groundbreaking new buildings and structures; for example, completed in 1860 and still standing today,

4128-410: The dockyard workers and their families. The Sheerness Economical Society began as a co-operative bakery but expanded to produce and sell a range of goods. By the middle of the 20th century, the society had spread across the Isle of Sheppey and had been renamed the Sheerness and District Cooperative Society. In the early 1820s a fire destroyed the old Blue Houses. New houses and a major redevelopment of

4214-454: The early 21st century a concerted effort was made to save the remaining buildings and several have been restored to residential use. In July 2013 Swale Borough Council announced that a deal had been reached to secure restoration of Rennie and Taylor's Royal Dockyard Church (which had been gutted by a fire in 2001), with a view to new uses such as displaying the above-mentioned model of the Dockyard. Sheerness has had four windmills . They were

4300-411: The east, and Queenborough , two miles (3.2 km) to the south. The villages of Minster-on-Sea and Halfway Houses are 1 mile (1.6 km) to the south-east, and the village of Grain is 2 mi (3 km) to the west, across the River Medway. The main commercial and leisure areas of the town dominate the north coast, where there is easy access to the pleasure beach. The industrial areas are in

4386-469: The entire New Zealand land mass. The British government wished to prevent this transaction and declared sovereignty over New Zealand, altering Gipps' jurisdiction as governor by Letters Patent to include both the territory of New South Wales and New Zealand. In 1840, Gipps proclaimed all previous and future land purchases in New Zealand invalid unless they were approved by the Crown. The Treaty of Waitangi

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4472-544: The first time, elected representatives to outnumber those nominated by the Crown in the Legislative Council of New South Wales . The following year, Gipps implemented the changes with him nominating 12 members, and another 24 being elected by eligible land-holding male citizens of the colony. Although these changes seemed to increase democratic governance in New South Wales, it in fact markedly increased

4558-625: The high regard the Colonial Office held him in. By the end of this term, Gipps was troubled by breathing difficulties, the cause of which was being misdiagnosed as asthma by colonial doctors. Gipps did not wait for his successor, Charles Augustus FitzRoy , to arrive, departing Sydney in July 1846 in poor health. He arrived in England that November, and died at Canterbury of a massive heart attack on 28 February 1847. Gipps and his wife had

4644-617: The highest in the Empire for a colonial governor, was to be hard earned. When Gipps arrived in 1838, he was immediately faced with the issue of two major massacres of Aboriginal people: the Waterloo Creek massacre perpetrated by Major James Nunn and his detachment of New South Wales Mounted Police , and the Myall Creek massacre perpetrated by squatter John Henry Fleming and his ten stockmen. The British government at this time

4730-517: The influence of the wealthy land-holding squatters due to the prerequisite of owning at least £2,000 worth of land in order to be a candidate. Although Gipps still had the power of veto, this new legislature almost entirely extinguished his ability to restrain the squatters. Elected squatters such as William Wentworth , Robert Lowe , Hannibal Macarthur , Richard Windeyer and William Foster attacked Gipps consistently for his land policies that worked against their exclusive claims on property beyond

4816-498: The island. It is a community radio station licensed by Ofcom. In July 2013 the island received some notoriety for an attack on a tour bus of Jewish boys by local youths who shouted epithets, and threw stones and eggs, telling the boys to "go back to where you came from!" The town is served by Sheerness-on-Sea railway station on the Sheerness Line which connects the town with Sittingbourne , 6 miles (10 km) south on

4902-416: The land laws in the frontier regions. The Border Police were also meant to control the violence between the squatters and Aboriginals, but in reality this force were often utilised to kill Aboriginal people in large numbers. Further to this, in April 1844 Gipps introduced legislation that expanded the annual licensing fee for squatters, demanding £10 a year for every station they had taken up. Each property

4988-452: The main passenger line, have attracted industries to the port area, including producers of pharmaceuticals, steel, sausages and garden gnomes . The major employers are HBC Engineering Solutions, Sheerness Steel , Regis Furniture and The Bond Group - although HBC has closed and the Steel plant is currently closed but is currently being changed and upgraded ready for reopening. The steel mill

5074-612: The mainland of Kent. The station is served by an hourly train service to Sittingbourne (increasing to half-hourly at peak times), from where connections can be made to London Victoria , London St Pancras International , Ramsgate and Dover Priory . Bus Services in Sheerness are operated by Chalkwell Coaches who operate services 334, 360, 361 and 362. These services provide connections to Queenborough , Rushenden , Minster , Eastchurch , Warden , Leysdown-on-Sea , Iwade and Sittingbourne . No passenger ferry services currently operate from Sheerness, although Olau Line used to run

5160-453: The massacre. Although these actions upheld Gipps in the eyes of those concerned for Indigenous protection, the powerful squatters marked him as a dangerous enemy who interfered with their acquisition of vast tracts of Aboriginal land. Gipps attempted twice to introduce legislation that allowed for Aboriginal evidence to be given in the courts. In 1839, an Act was passed in the NSW legislature but

5246-406: The months May to August have the most hours of sunshine. On average, there are fewer than six days of lying snow per year, and 16 days with thunder per year. At the 2001 UK census , Sheerness had a population of 11,654. The Office for National Statistics estimated the population in mid-2005 to be 11,000, a decrease of 5.6% since the 2001 census. The population density at the 2001 census

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5332-730: The neighbouring town of Minster was the only secondary school on the island. Sheerness had one middle school, Isle of sheppey Academy, with 800 pupils, although Danley Middle School and St George's Middle School were found in Halfway and Minster, respectively. In 2006, the Cheyne Middle School's Key Stage 2 performance ranked 322nd among Kent's 386 primary and middle schools. The town's primary schools are Richmond First School, Rose Street Primary School, St Edward's Roman Catholic Primary School and West Minster Primary School, all of which cover ages 4–11. Sheppey College, in Sheerness,

5418-472: The penal colony toward a free society of worker immigrants with the European population of New South Wales nearly doubling to 190,000 people by 1846. From Gipps' arrival in the colony there was a devastating three-year drought, which resulted in the economic depression of the early 1840s. Wool prices and land values plummeted while unemployment rose and graziers went bankrupt. Financial institutions such as

5504-423: The program of paying British and German people to emigrate to the colony. Gipps presided over the implementation of this scheme and, influenced by the pro-immigration colonist John Dunmore Lang , funded it through revenue acquired by the sale of Crown Lands. Although many squatters disliked Gipps' scheme because it collected tax off them and resulted in a more expensive workers, Gipps was successful in transforming

5590-466: The settled areas, previously the domain solely of their Indigenous inhabitants. When Gipps was removed from the governorship in 1846, he and his appointees on the Council were the last obstacles to the squatters, who were then able to pass favourable pastoral leasing laws that increased the security of their claims and entrenched their power and wealth for at least the next fifty years. In the late 1830s

5676-486: The time, the society was the island's main retailer, but it has since been reduced to a few shops and been merged with a larger society. The German writer Uwe Johnson lived in Sheerness for the last decade of his life, from 1974 to 1984, having left East Germany . A monograph by Patrick Wright , The Sea View Has Me Again , was published by Repeater Books in 2020. In 2003, the Beachfields Park project

5762-496: The way for the passing of the National Education Board Act of 1848. This Act established the secular public school system that exists today in New South Wales. While being extremely conscientious and fair-dealing in his governorship, Gipps' health was broken down by overwork and the constant invective from the squatters. His appointment had been extended for another two years after the original six, due to

5848-424: The wealthy colonists which continued until his departure. Despite Gipps' attempts to rein in the squatters, the expansion of the frontiers of British colonisation increased dramatically under his governorship. The Moreton Bay region (later known as Brisbane ) and the Darling Downs were opened up to the colonists in the north, while the Portland Bay District in the south was quickly overrun with graziers. Gipps

5934-401: The west, beside the wetlands and the River Medway. The Bluetown industrial area and the Port of Sheerness are in the north-western part of the town. The residential districts of Mile Town and Marine Town are in the central and the eastern areas respectively. The mean annual temperature in Sheerness is 10 °C (50 °F). The average annual maximum temperature is 14 °C (57 °F), and

6020-406: The yard. The grey-blue naval paint they used on the exteriors led to their homes becoming known as the Blue Houses. This was eventually corrupted to Blue Town (which is now the name of the north-west area of Sheerness lying just beyond the current dockyard perimeter). The modern town of Sheerness has its origins in Mile Town, which was established later in the 18th century at a mile's distance from

6106-417: Was Derek Wyatt of the Labour Party . At the 2010 general election, Gordon Henderson of the Conservative Party won the seat. Before 1997, Sheppey and Sittingbourne were part of the constituency of Faversham . Sheerness is in the local government district of Swale . The town is covered by the local government wards of Sheerness, which has three of the forty-seven seats on the Swale Borough Council. At

6192-420: Was £ 385 (£20,075 per year). Sheerness's sand and shingle beach was awarded a European Blue Flag for cleanliness and safety. Flower gardens decorate the seafront, and a sea wall forms a promenade along the coast. The Sheppey Leisure Complex located near the beach contains a swimming pool and badminton, squash and tennis courts. Other sports clubs include Sheerness Town Bowls Club, Sheerness East Cricket Club,

6278-633: Was 9.8 persons per acre (24.2 persons per hectare ) and for every 100 females, there were 96.4 males. Residents of Sheerness had an average age of 34.7 years, younger than the 38.2 Swale average. Of all residents, 51% were single (never married) and 24% married; in Swale, 42% were single and 35% were married. Of the 4,870 households, 34% were one-person households, 15% were married couples with dependent children, and 11% were lone parents with dependent children. Of those aged 16–74 in Sheerness, 44% had no academic qualifications , higher than

6364-509: Was a vociferous advocate for a secular government school system and wished to improve the situation in the colony where in 1844 fewer than half of the children received any form of education, whether public or private. With the Attorney-General John Plunkett , Gipps proposed a strong public school system to be funded alongside the denominational system. Although their plan was unresolved during Gipps' tenure, it paved

6450-459: Was advertised in 1843. This survey had been delayed by disputes over the boundaries. Rutledge did not take up the Port Albert survey. In its place he purchased land near the present Koroit in western Victoria. Originally the five mile (8 km) distance from Melbourne was taken from the declared outer boundary of Melbourne, Hoddle Street . This was later amended to the distance from

6536-467: Was built to serve as flats. On 23 January 2008 a fire started in the mill tower. The fire was declared not to have been a case of arson ; Little is known of the fourth windmill, said to have been a vertical axle windmill designed by Stephen Hooper. Sheerness is in the parliamentary constituency of Sittingbourne and Sheppey . Since the constituency's creation in 1997 until 2010 the Member of Parliament

6622-554: Was commemorated during this period of growth through the naming of Gippsland in 1840. This acceleration of invasion of Aboriginal lands led to even more frontier conflict and massacres during the early 1840s. After feeling the wrath of the squatters around the Myall Creek affair, Gipps was no longer willing or able to make a meaningful intervention into the violence. Well connected colonists and squatters such as Angus McMillan , Patrick Leslie and Arthur Hodgson were in large part

6708-476: Was completed soon after, which induced the Māori to cede their lands without reservation to the Crown. Gipps openly accused Wentworth of a massive fraud in his attempts to acquire huge tracts of New Zealand land from the Māori. This heightened the fierce enmity between the squatters and Gipps, with Wentworth, a leading member of the "squattocracy", swearing "eternal vengeance" against Gipps for his interference. Most of

6794-822: Was educated at The King's School, Canterbury , and at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich . In 1809 he joined the Royal Engineers and was initially posted to Ireland before being transferred in 1811 to serve in the Peninsular War . Gipps took part in the Siege of Badajoz in 1812 where he was wounded in the arm leading an assault on the fort of La Picurina. He was deployed to other cities in Spain as well as elsewhere in Europe (although he missed

6880-464: Was established in 1972, designed to recycle scrap steel into rods and coils. It survived a number of closure threats and changes of ownership; from 2003 it was operated by Thamesteel. Thamesteel went into administration in January 2012, with the loss of 350 jobs. Six months later, the plant was bought back by the former owners Al-Tuwairqi Group. As of October 2014 there were plans to reopen the plant as

6966-599: Was high compared to the national rate of 3.4% and was the highest rate throughout the Swale district. Five per cent of Sheerness residents aged 16–74 had a higher education qualification compared to 20% nationally. Employment by industry was 22% manufacturing; 18% retail; 10% construction; 10% transport and communications ; 9% real estate; 8% health and social work ; 6% public administration ; 5% education; 5% hotels and restaurants; 1% finance; 1% agriculture; 1% energy and water supply; and 4% other community, social or personal services. Compared to national figures, Sheerness had

7052-462: Was interested in reducing the exterminatory effects of colonisation on Indigenous peoples, and in 1837 a select committee had produced a report suggesting ways to do this. As Governor, Gipps was obligated by this report at least to attempt to protect Aboriginals under his jurisdiction. He ordered inquiries into both incidents with the Myall Creek massacre inquiry resulting in a judicial trial that saw seven stockmen being sentenced to death and hanged for

7138-585: Was later vetoed by the British government. In 1844, Gipps tried again but the proposed Aboriginal Evidence Bill was defeated by the squatters in the NSW Legislative Council. Additionally, the British government requested Gipps to oversee the introduction of an Aboriginal Protectorate in the Port Phillip District of the colony. Although it provided important documentary evidence of widespread abuses toward Aboriginal people,

7224-645: Was organised to publicise Beachfields' heritage and to preserve it for future generations. Students of Cheyne Middle School and Minster College, with assistance from local organisations, researched the funfair, bandstands, Prisoner of the War hut, boating lake and bowling green. As part of the project, students wrote a book, Tales of Beachfields Park , which won the Historical Association Young Historian Primary School Award for Local History. As of 2007, Bluetown

7310-492: Was owned by Northcliffe Media . Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC South East and ITV Meridian . Television signals are received from the Bluebell Hill TV transmitter. Local radio stations are BBC Radio Kent on 96.7 FM, Heart South on 102.8 FM, Gold on 603 AM, and its own community radio station, BRFM 95.6 FM , which can also be heard online at www.brfm.net and broadcasts 24 hours

7396-499: Was to be limited to 20 square miles (52 km ) with no more than 500 head of cattle and 7000 sheep. Although the bill also allowed for a longer term 8 year tenancy of a small part of each property, the squatters were infuriated by these restrictions. This storm of protest from the squatters led to the foundation of the Pastoral Association of New South Wales and added to the already toxic resentment felt toward Gipps by

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