May Gibbs: author

Today we had a ride on another ferry to visit Nutcote and look at the house May Gibbs lived in for most of her married life. The guided tour and film gave us a wonderful picture of the author - children's books and strip cartoons. The reason for having this on our list rides on the back of my cousin in Melbourne, or actually her husband. His grandfather BJ Waterhouse was the architect of Nutcote and I read somewhere it was he who suggested the name for her house.

Mrs Gibbs snr found the plot of land, paid a deposit and then suggested to May it would be an ideal spot for her new home. It sits near the ferry wharf Kurraba point, the house overlooking the water and many years ago we can imagine they watched Sidney Harbour Bridge in the making. The setting is perfect and the little we have seen of her work she was clever, hardworking and innovative. May was a keen gardener, her work shows this in the detail of her figures in books and cartoon strips. The rose above is on the path to her home and caught my eye on the way to her house. We couldn't take pictures inside the house and gathered from the guide - a volunteer - May had great input into the design and finish of Nutcote, if you have time please look at the information available on Google, I have included a little below.
From the Internet:
Cecilia May Gibbs MBE (17 January 1877 – 27 November 1969), publishing under the name May Gibbs, was an English Australian children's author, illustrator, and cartoonist. She is best known for her gumnut babies, and the book Snugglepot and Cuddlepie.
Extras: a poster - read it if possible, the outside of Nutcote and the colours of a tree etc nearby. If the 3rd picture works it's of the Opera house and temperory stage for - we don't know yet.

1913 marked the first public appearance of the gumnut babies, on the front cover of The Missing Button, by Ethel Turner, which Gibbs had illustrated. She produced postcards depicting gumnut babies in uniform to support Australia's role in World War One at this time.[15] Gibbs' first book about the gumnut babies, appropriately titled Gumnut Babies, was published in 1916. It was soon followed, in 1918, by her most famous work, Snugglepot and Cuddlepie. Gibbs wrote many books on the theme of the gumnut babies.