Mac North joins the home of Snugglepot and Cuddlepie

Extent Director Dr Mac North recently joined the board of The Nutcote Trust.

Nutcote is the name of the house designed for renowned Australian children’s author and illustrator May Gibbs and her husband James Ossili Kelly by Sydney architect BJ Waterhouse in 1924. The house, which would have ‘compactness, convenience and charm’ was built on land at Neutral Bay on the shores of Sydney Harbour, and completed in 1925.

Nutcote house and garden is owned by North Sydney Council and is managed by the Nutcote Trust.

May Gibbs (1877 – 1969) is one of Australia’s most treasured illustrators, artists and children’s authors. Her bush fantasy world has captured the imaginations of Australians for over a century, creating a uniquely Australian folklore that holds a special place in the hearts of a nation. May was to say in later life ‘I’ve always had the greatest pleasure in thinking of all those little children who enjoyed my books.” She was the inspiration behind gumnut babies and most famously Snugglepot and Cuddlepie.

As a lasting and admirable legacy, May Gibbs left the copyright of her designs of bush characters and her stories to The Northcott Trust and the Cerebral Palsy Alliance. The rest of her estate was left to UNICEF.

You can see more of the story of The Nutcote Trust as well as details on how to visit the Sydney home where May Gibbs spent most of her life here.