Dr Gloria Jean Moore

Story

A BRIDGE AND A BULWARK. AUSTRALIAN ANGLO INDIANS. By Dr Gloria J. Moore

Part111

A familiar pattern for Anglo Indian families was the young soldier from the British Isles, including Scotland or Ireland, arriving to the East India Company armies. Later generations had more peaceful occupations, in government, teaching, the medical profession, the police force, railways, customs service, posts and communications and so on. Perhaps the finest legacy left in the sub continent is the vast network of Anglo Indian schools, which span the country from the foothills of the Himalayas to the southern tip of India. Their alumni still retain links of support and affection with the (boarding) schools which were their homes for nine months of the year. As Christians, always English speaking, this education stood them in good stead in their diaspora to Britain, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and beyond. These schools today still educate Indians to participate in a global economy.

I myself was born in Lucknow, and I grew up in Jamalpur, Bihar, the original ‘railway colony’. My memories accord with Rudyard Kipling, who visited it a century before. He wrote of its Institute or club, where tennis courts, bowling green, library and ball room saw much flirtation by dashing apprentices, whose rituals included throwing friends, fully clothed into the swimming pool. Kipling glimpsed a Watteau-like refinement, afternoon siestas, the sounds of tinkling pianos from neat homes, an Arcadian simplicity, a piece of heaven on earth. World War changed the political landscape. In the wake of the upheaval of the Partition of India, an exodus took place, Britain being the obvious destination. From the 1960s onwards, Australia welcomed many thousands of Anglo Indians. They believe they have been fortunate in their choice of a home and a future for their children. An Indian navy admiral saw it as near paradise.

My late husband, Terence Moore was born in Nagpur. He loved the people and jungles of Central India, teeming with wildlife. I met him when he was an officer of the Calcutta Customs service. England was too confining for someone who loved an outdoor life. So we came to Australia in 1965. Terence selflessly encouraged and supported me in returning to higher study in Melbourne. I acquired an Arts degree, with Honours, a Diploma of Education, and then a doctorate. A man of true nobility, he was my mentor and inspiration. He was my guide as I wrote a history of nursing at Melbourne\’s Alfred Hospital (I WAS A STRANGER, 1993), and an entry on Anglo Indian Australians in THE AUSTRALIAN PEOPLE; AN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE NATION (two editions, 1988 and 2001).

My research has uncovered many of our stars who were appropriated as British and so virtually lost to us, generals, prime ministers, beauties like Anna Kashfi, Merle Oberon and Vivian Leigh, and even Anna Leon Owens of The King and I. A youthful contemporary star in Melbourne is Tanya Lewis (her father an orthopaedic surgeon), who represented Australia in the badminton team at the Beijing Olympics. Anglo Indians have been prominent in Australian hockey teams, and someone to watch in cricket is Stuart Clarke. I am glad to have pioneered the recording and preservation of Anglo Indian Commonwealth history. We have survived the prejudice of centuries while retaining our humanity in a civilised way. We do not create enclaves; we are people of goodwill, adaptable and outgoing. Our unique values will not be lost, they are being woven into the fabric of life to enrich the nations of which we are now citizens.

Dr Gloria J. Moore. Melbourne 2008

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