Author: Dr. Carol Glover
In 1860 George and Ellen Glover left Ireland forever with their three young children, and transplanted their lives in Gippsland, Australia. Having lived as tenant farmers and weavers for several generations at Maze in the district of Lisburn, this Church of Ireland planter family was again involved in a British colonization project. The milieu they entered was not totally unfamiliar as family members awaited them; also, like at home, the Scots were well represented among the new settlers in Gippsland, who had wrested control from the indigenous people, the Gunai Kurnai, just twenty years before. Nevertheless, the migration experience, in both contexts, did of course involve sense of place adjustments. Identification with Australia was complete by the second generation and most of the descendents of George and Ellen Glover, including myself, continue to live in the same area, which shares many commonalities with the place of origin. This chapter explores the sociological relevance of place by considering the impact of the colonized places – Ulster and Gippsland – on the lives of the Glovers, the family’s involvement in place-making and its impact on the indigenous peoples.
