Although George appears to have been told by his mother that his parents eloped and married in England just before sailing to New Zealand, this is in fact not substantiated by the documents available.

George's father, Robert John Long was born on 5 February 1846 at St George Tombland in the subdistrict of Conisford in Norwich.  Robert John Long's father was William Long, a grocer of Tombland; his mother was Susanna Ann (nee Wright).

George Long's mother, Rosanna Rachel (later known as Rosa Anna Rachel) nee Jarvis, was born in Reedham, near Kings Lynn, Norfolk on 16 March 1851. Her father Henry Christopher Jarvis was a miller, and her mother Rachel Jarvis nee Candler was a lacemaker.

Rosanna (Rose Anna)  Jarvis had  married a  35 year old brickmaker by the name of Joshua Fudge on 12 August 1873 in the Wesleyan Chapel at  Wickham, in  the District  of Fareham, Southampton; his father William Fudge was a gardener.

No documents have been located for a marriage between Robert John Long and Rosanna (Jarvis). Rosanna is known to have travelled to New Zealand in the ship "Golden Sea", which sailed from the river Thames on Saturday, 24 January 1874, and anchored in Wellington, New Zealand on 30 April 1874 at 11 p.m.

Rosanna had learned of the possibility of emigrating to New Zealand through an advertisement in a London daily paper Harper Twelvetrees. The New Zealand Government paid her fare of 14 pounds. Rosanna, then a nursemaid aged 23 years was the only woman from Norfolk aboard the vessel "Golden Sea"; there were five men from Norfolk on board, and it is assumed that Robert John Long was one of them.

During the voyage, there was some dispute between the passengers and the captain, Frances G. Strachan over the amount and quality of water issued to passengers during the voyage; the captain was subsequently found to have breached the Passengers Act 1855, and was fined 5 pounds and costs. This difficulty with water supply may have had some impact on the health of the 300 passengers, and on arrival in New Zealand, immigrants from the "Golden Sea" were reported as "all safely ashore at the Quarantine Station, being cleaned and fumigated. The child who was reported dangerously ill on arrival has died, and a fresh case is stated to have appeared", although no details are available of the nature of the child's illness. A later report states "The last of the Golden Sea immigrants were released from quarantine last night.....13 families, equal to 35 1/2 adults, 39 single men and two single women were sent to Wanganui last week, and have all found employment".

Robert and Rosanna settled in the south of the North Island of New Zealand, possibly at Masterton or Wanganui. Robert found work as a storekeeper. Rosanna appears to have been a talented artist, and painted scenes in watercolour from the Wanganui River white in New Zealand. She was also a competent lacemaker, probably having learned this skill from her mother.

George Henry William Long was born an 4 May, 1875 at Masterton.  Two more children arrived over the next few years, Elsie Bertha Rachel, born 29 December 1877 (who later married Percy Eliot in    Perth) and Edgar, who would have been born around 1878-9 (the children all appear very close in age from the photograph). All the children were born in Masterton.

Rosanna told George that her father was a Frenchman by the name of Sir William Jervoise, one-time Governor of New Zealand (see "Early Years in New Zealand"), and that her name was anglicised to "Jarvis", but this is not substantiated by birth and marriage certificates. Rosanna also appears to have understated her age consistently by three or four years in her adult life.

By the time George was less that ten years old, his parents had separated and moved to Australia. George and Edgar went to live in Sydney with their father, who was by then a commercial traveller, while Rosanna took Elsie to Melbourne, where they lived in St Kilda.  Rosanna, by then a draper, had a lace/haberdashery shop in Block Arcade in central Melbourne, and later in St Kilda.

On 24 December 1885, their father Robert John Long died suddenly at the age of 39 years in Wells Street Annandale from "disease of the heart". Annandale is a dockside suburb of Sydney. Robert John Long is buried in the Church of England portion of Rookwood Cemetry, Sydney.

George, then ten years old, took his younger brother Edgar, possibly by train to Melbourne to find their mother, and they remained with her for the next few years.

Rosanna married George Farquarson Carlton, a contractor aged 23 years of Hawthorn, in Fitzroy, Victoria on 28 May I887. Rosanna may have known Carlton in New Zealand, and it is thought that she left New Zealand with him.

George left school at age l3 years, and found work as a telegraph boy in the General Post Office in Melbourne, then went to work in the Observatory in Melbourne for the next eight years. In I893-96 George held the rank of sergeant in North Melbaurne Garrison Artillery under the command of Captain (later General Sir John) Monash. He was attracted to Western Australia when the gold rush fever was at its height. In 1897, at age 22 years, George took Edgar by ship to live in Western Australia, where George received an appointment initially with Bunbury harbour works, when the breakwater was being built, and where he remained twelve months.  Mundaring Weir was under construction at the time, and George was sent there to act as costing and stores clerk.

Rosanna and Elsie were to follow George and Edgar to Perth over the next few years*. Rosanna seems to have become quite dependent on George, who either gave or sent her money from his earnings. George told his daughter Dorothy that his mother favoured Elsie, and did not like boys. Carlton followed Rosanna to Perth, but did not live with her, as they did not get on. Rosanna, and presumably Elsie, initially had a house at 72 Bulwer Street, Highgate, near to the Pethers. Rosanna later went to live with Elsie in Swanbourne, and later still moved to 279 Rokeby Road, Subiaco, which is where Dorothy knew her. Rosanna is stated to have lived eighteen years in Victoria, and seven years* in Perth when she died from chronic valvular disease and heart failure on 14 April, 1915. Rosanna was then 64 years old, although it appears that she, and probably Elsie, always understated her age - see Death Certificate and compare ages with other certificates. In her will, dated 26 August 1912, Rosa Anna Rachel Carlton left "all her real and personal estate absolutely" to her daughter Elsie Bertha Rachel Eliot (see further details in Dorothy's account).

 *There is a discrepancy here in the available records. Rosanna was living in Perth at the time George and Lucy were married (August 1902), as the newspaper reports of their wedding indicate. On her death certificate (1915) it is stated that she had lived in Western Australia seven years; it is more likely to have been seventeen than seven years. A Miss E. Long, 21 years, occupation Lady travelled from Melbourne to Perth on "S.S. Gabo" on 15 April 1898 (Australian Archives), which may have been Elsie. Elsie married Percy Louis Eliot in Perth on 8 July 1903.

George Henry William Long married Lucy Mabel PETHER at St Alban's Anglican Church, Highgate on Thursday 7 August, 1902. The ceremony was performed by Rev. F.J. Price, assisted by Rev. F. Gillett of Pingelly. Breakfast was served in the residence of the bride's parents (43 Bulwer Street, Highgate) at 4 p.m. The bride and groom left for Mundaring by the evening train.

George and Lucy lived for a time in a tent at Mundaring when the weir was being built. Lucy planted the first wattle trees at Mundaring Weir. They came back to live at Goderich Street, Perth,    behind the Perth Mint; this was where Dorothy was born on 3 June, l903. When the work was completed at Mundaring Weir, George was transferred in 1905 to Coolgardie Goldfields Water Suppty as sub-accountant, and four years later was its chief accountant. In 1911 he was appointed as accountant and assessor of Goldfields and Metropolitan Water Supply when they amalgamated.

On Friday 3 February, 1911 George's much loved younger brother Edgar, who was by then married to Eunice (nee Deisher) with two young sons George and Roy, was killed near Pinjarra when a timber train which he was driving left the rails. Edgar jumped to the ground and was crushed to death when one of the heavily laden wagons toppled over on him. A third son (Edgar Robert) was born to Edgar's widow on 23 August,1911.

In the early years of their marriage, George and Lucy lived first in Mundaring, then in Goderich Street, then moved to Bulwer Street, Highgate, then to 115 Cambridge Street, West Leederville about the time Edna was born. Six children were born, all at home - Dorothy (1903), Edgar (1904), Hubert (1906), Lucy Hazel (1908), Edna (1910) and Beryl (1917). Beryl's birth was the only one for which Lucy was attended by a doctor; all the others (including Beryl) were attended by the same midwife.

Lucy was unwell after Beryl's birth,  and when Beryl was six weeks old, had to be taken to St John of God Hospital  in Leederville, where she died a few days later from puerperal  sepsis on  24 October 1917.

Mrs O'Farrell (Winnie's mother in law) lived next door to the Long family in West Leederville, but Dorothy did not know them at that stage. Winifred O'Farrell's husband Francis had died from galloping TB on 7 July l917, leaving two young children Frank 2 years, Olive aged one year, and Vivian who was born in August after his father died. Winnie came to housekeep for George, and they subsequently married, making nine children in all in the blended family. Shortly two more girls, Peggy (1918) and Rosa (1920) were born. The family moved to 141 Labouchere Road, South Perth to live.

George was a commissioned officer for several years in the old 88th infantry regiment in Western Australia. From 1915 to 1917 he was area officer for the Perth military district, and was responsible for the training of cadets.

For five years from 1918, George Long was treasurer of Parkerville Children's Homes.

In 1920 when the Goldfields and Metropolitan Water Supply departments were again separated, George became accountant of the Metropolitan Water Supply, Sewerage and Drainage Department.

About 1925 he became a member of South Perth Road Board, a post which he held for 20 years, and was chairman three times. He was a member of the executive of the Road Board Association, and its deputy president for seven years. He was a vice-president of the New Zealand Society.

In 1930, "he was sent to the Eastern States to study financial methods in the various Government departments, and the results of his observations were applied with mueh success to his own department". He was promoted to become Under-Secretary for Water Supply in 1932.

George Long began long service leave on 4 November l940 before retiring as Under Secretary fer Metropolitan Water Supply, Sewerage and Drainage on 4 May 1941, after fifty one years in the civil service.

In January 1941, on the formation of the Civil Defence Council, he became the representative of the local governing bodies of the State, and later was appointed honorary liaison officer for Western Australia of the department of Home Security.

George Henry William Long died at home 141 Labouchere Road, South Perth after a long illness (cancer) in Mount Hospital on 6 March 1945, two months before his seventieth birthday. He is buried with Winifred O'Farrell's family in the Church of England portion of Karrakatta cemetery, Perth.