The Story of May Gibbs

Over the last 50 - 60 years Lilypilly Florist has had some amazing customers - from beautiful brides to young men bringing corsages for their dates at formal. There is one incredibly famous South Perth local who we remember with great fondness, however - May Gibbs.

Most renowned as an author of the Australian classics, The Gumnut Babies, and The Complete Adventures of Snugglepot and Cuddlepie, May Gibbs (Born Cecelia) was born in Kent, England, on January 17th in 1877. She, along with her parents at just aged 4, migrated to Australia first to South Australia and then to none other than South Perth. Her family home was The Dune, on the corner of Harper Terrace and what is now Mill Point Road - just 5 minutes away from where Angelo Street is today!

May started her career off writing and illustrating cheeky cartoon for the Western Mail. She went on to study art in England, before returning once more to Australia to write and draw for the Common Cause. May was an early feminist who used her art to draw attention to issues affecting women’s rights in the early days of Australia’s suffragette movement.

Her first book About Us, was published in 1912 – a children’s fantasy story about life among the chimney pots of London. She later went on to write and illustrate 10 more books, including the wildly popular children’s classic The Gumnut Babies.

May married the mining agent Bertram James Ossoli Kelly in 1919. In 1955 she was appointed Member of the British Empire, and throughout all the years in between, she worked an illustrator and writer. She was inducted into the WA Women’s Hall of Fame in 2021 in recognition of the enormous cultural contributions she made to Australian society.

May Gibbs legacy lies beyond her children’s classics. She pursued a career in arts and literature during an era where women’s voices were rarely heart, and where a career could rarely be pursued outside of care-giving roles. Her contributions to the Australian suffragette movement through her author and illustrator position allowed her message to be reached to younger women and girls who otherwise may not have known what was going on. Australia was the second country in the world to give women the right to vote, and May Gibbs played a large part in this.

May Gibbs legacy, art and writing are a fantastic insight into the mind of one of Australia’s most creative and beloved authors, and her belief in the power women have is something that should inspire generations to come.

Please join us in store at Lilypilly on January 17th to celebrate this beloved South Perth author’s 146th birthday. We will be hosting a beautiful shop front with her books and artifacts, and will have a sale on our dried, native flowers.

Lilypilly x