Welcome to the land of Banksia bushes, Wattles, Kangaroo Paws, and Paperbark Trees. Were it not for Tiggy Touchwood, Ragged Blossom, Mr. Lizard, Old Bill, and Gumnut Babies, you might think you are in Australia.

You would be half right.

You are in the magical place called Gumnut Land,  an enchanted version of the Australian bush imagined by Australia’s first female cartoonist, May Gibbs.

The talented author and illustrator was published for the first time in 1889, and didn’t retire until two years before her death in 1967 at the age of 90. During her career, Gibbs wrote and illustrated children’s books, maintained two comic strips, Bib and Bub (which became Australia’s longest-running comic strip), was an in-demand artist and illustrator, and created book cover illustrations for the prestigious literary magazine The Lone Hand and major New South Wales newspaper Sydney Mail.

In addition to her children’s books, Gibbs was an accomplished botanical artist whose work is said to have inspired other artists interested in indigenous flora (more on that in a bit).  May Gibbs’ books have been reprinted many times over, but many people who are familiar with May Gibbs only know her because of her Gumnut Babies:

Gumnut babies live within the woody seed pods of eucalyptus trees.  They are inquisitive, mischievous, and full of fun. Though they are a little afraid of lizards and snakes, they have many adventures in which other characters are introduced to the reader, various creatures based on Australian wildlife and plants that Gibbs explored as a child riding her pony,  Brownie.” This period of her childhood proved to be formative in the development of the anthropomorphic bush creatures she would invent in her popular Gumnut books.

That Gibbs was influential is evident in the the honors accorded her. In 1985, Australia Post issued a postage stamp honoring Gibbs and her best known Gumnut Babies,  Snugglepot and Cuddlepie.  The Complete Adventures of Snugglepot and Cuddlepie (1940) went on to become an icon of Australian children’s literature and has never been out of print:

In 1988,  a street in a Canberra suburb was named after May Gibbs, and in 2018, a Sydney Ferries’ Emerald-class ferry was named in her honor. But her influence has extended into the 21st century and is evident in the photography of fellow Australian, Anne Geddes. We don’t have permission to share these images, but we ask you to see the influence for yourself by looking at this illustration by May Gibbs, and this photograph by Anne Geddess.  It will come as no surprise to learn that as a child, Anne Geddes was especially fascinated by May Gibbs’ Gumnut Babies.

Perhaps one of the books that Anne Geddess read was Scotty in Gumnut Land, and as you can see from the book cover, a Scottish Terrier is the main character.  May Gibbs was a passionate about Scottish Terriers, a breed that she regularly featured in her illustrations, and later in her stories. She doted on her own Scotties (you can see a photo of her with at least one in Woman’s Weekly article from 2016), and indeed, to celebrate May Gibbs’ birthday each year in January, a special event is held at Nutcote where Scottish Terriers and their owners are invited to join in the celebration.

May Gibbs died without having had children and bequeathed all her papers and copyrights to the Northcott Disability Services and the Cerebral Palsy Alliance, and the residue of her estate to the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund.

Image by ©Ruellelaurent/Dreamstime