100 years of Sugglepot and Cuddlepie

Celebrating 100 years of Snugglepot and Cuddlepie

A visit to Nutcote
(professional members only due to limited places)

Date:  Thursday, 18 October

Meet at: 9.45 am outside The Nutcote Gift Shop 5 Wallaringa Ave, Neutral Bay

Getting there and Parking: There is no parking available at Nutcote. The best option is to catch the ferry from Circular Quay and get off at the Hayes St Wharf which has level access. You can also get off at the Kuraba wharf which has stairs leading up to the street

Duration: Two hours

Cost: Free.

• 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.
• May Gibbs wrote many stories for children but is best remembered for her stories about the gumnut babies. This year marks the 100^th anniversary of the publication of the book The Complete Adventures of Snugglepot and Cuddlepie
• She lived at Nutcote for 44 years and bequeathed her house to UNICEF. However as UNICEF is unable to hold property it was sold in 1970 to a developer who intended to demolish it.  In 1987, the May Gibbs Foundation was formed to ‘Save Nutcote for the Nation’. Following a successful campaign, the house was granted a Permanent Conservation Order and was placed on the Register of the National Estate. North Sydney Municipal Council purchased Nutcote for $2.86m in 1990. Nutcote was restored to show the house as it would have looked in the late 1920s and early 1930s. It was opened to the public in 1994