Meet May Gibbs Historic Site

May Gibbs is one of Australia’s most treasured illustrators, artists and authors. Her bush fantasy world has captured the imaginations of children for over a century, creating a uniquely Australian folklore.

May Gibbs was born in England on 17th January 1877. She arrived in Australia aboard the ship SS Hesperus in 1881 at the age of four. May’s parents, Herbert and Cecie Gibbs, had left England to try their hand at farming in South Australia, only to be driven back to Adelaide by drought.

Herbert and his brother, George, partnered with Dr Henry Harvey and John Young and acquired land on the ‘Harvey Estate’ in Western Australia. Herbert, with son Bertie and brother George, sailed to ‘The Harvey’ in 1885, leaving Cecie to follow with May and Ivan.

The family settled into life at ‘The Homestead’ (the original Stirling Homestead 1837) on the fertile banks of the Harvey River and stayed on for two years, 1885 and 1886.

May and brothers Bertie and Ivan would take long walks through the bush, turning over stones, examining flowers and bird nests and swimming in the river pools. As there was no school in the area, the children received lessons from their mother at home. May displayed an early talent for drawing and was encouraged by her father, a talented artist.

May later described her time in Harvey as “the two happiest years” of her life.

In 1887, after struggling to run the farm at a profit, the Gibbs family moved to Perth. May’s Uncle George and his new wife, Ellen (nee Holden – of General Holden Motors), decided to stay in Harvey. May spent many holidays at her Uncle George’s house (Harveston Homestead Historic Site), visiting her young cousins and wandering through the bush, where she would entertain them with stories and caricatures.

Her books have never been out of print since being released in 1918.

Discover her books on the nearby May Gibbs Trail river walk.

May settled in Sydney in a house she called Nutcote and died at the age of 93 in 1969.