Distinguished and Famous people from South Perth - Victoria Park

🌼 May Gibbs

May Gibbs, creator of Snugglepot and Cuddlepie, spent much of her early life at South Perth in the family home known as The Dune. Artist, illustrator, cartoonist and author, she developed a visual world in which Australian plants became small characters with surprisingly eventful lives. Her family's long South Perth residence is commemorated through original works in the city's May and Herbert Gibbs Collection. The local connection precedes the later years at Nutcote in Sydney.

🎨 Herbert Gibbs

Herbert Gibbs was an artist and public servant whose South Perth home formed part of the creative environment in which his daughter May grew up. After farming ventures in South Australia and at Harvey, he moved to Perth, worked as a newspaper cartoonist and drawing teacher, and joined the Lands and Survey Department. He also helped establish local arts organisations and worked in oils, watercolour, printmaking, sculpture and woodcarving. His interests extended to amateur opera with his wife Cecilia. He died at home in South Perth in 1940. His preserved artworks give the family story depth beyond the fame of the gumnut characters created by his daughter.