Avid diarist provides snapshot of past
The Nelson Provincial Museum’s taonga for this week are from the substantial FG Gibbs Collection of archives and photographic images, held in the museum’s collection since the 1960s.
Frederick Giles Gibbs (1866-1953) was a well-known schoolmaster at Nelson College, a botanist, community leader, and an adviser to Thomas Cawthron. He was a man of many interests and had investments in many mineral ventures within the Nelson province. As well, Gibbs was a keen tramper, particularly in the Mt Arthur tablelands area. He remained a bachelor until his death on January 16, 1953.
Gibbs was closely involved with the Nelson Institute and the development of the Nelson Provincial Museum as well as the Nelson Historical Society, the Nelson School of Music, the Nelson Provincial Progress League and the Bishop Suter Art Gallery. Gibbs was also an avid diarist, keeping diaries from 1883 until 1952, making an entry each Sunday evening for the previous week.
The diaries give us a remarkable and rare snapshot of the Nelson region across a substantial period of time.
The diaries are being transcribed for the museum by volunteer Arthur Jonas.
Jonas, a grandson of Fred and Harry Kidson, who were tramping partners of Gibbs in the 1890s, has been working on this project since 2002 and is currently transcribing the diary for 1936. He describes Gibbs as ‘‘much a journalist as a diarist having so much detail in his diaries’’.
As a keen amateur photographer Gibbs amassed a large collection of photographic images during his lifetime. Many of the photographic images in the Gibbs collection were undated and with little information as to where the photograph was taken.
Jonas, a tramper himself, has been able to link passages from the diaries to specific images adding context and valuable provenance to them.
An example is an image, featured here, from a tramping trip in the Mt. Arthur area.
Jonas linked this image of women out on a ‘‘girls’ party’’, along with others taken on that trip, to Gibbs’ diary entries in early 1925: ‘‘Mt Arthur Trip. 10-19 Feb. Sid, Bessie, Hamil, Harry W’n, Miss Lorimer, Miss Dr Curtis, Re & I.
‘‘Sat. 14 Feb. Fine. Mt Peel trip.
This is the best day of the trip. Left camp about 10 & strolled up Starvation Ridge. Spent some time at Cundy’s Creek which much delighted party. Disced track thro. bush. McCarthy of Henderson’s party overtook us & later Guckert who went to hut to get stores for party in Leslie Valley. At iron hut had lunch & then we all went up Mt Peel to very summit. Re did walk well. View was very fine. Some deer down by L. Peel. Many gentions & other plants in flower. While I went over & botanised rocks others started back & had billy boiled at hut when I arrived. Harry & I finished discing bush. All got back to camp about 7.45. After tea sat before good log fire & sang every song we knew till about midnight.’’
The Gibbs diaries and archives are used extensively in the museum’s current exhibition, WW1– Their Stories – Our History. These can be viewed on the Nelson Provincial Museum’s WW100 website.
Frederick Giles Gibbs (1866-1953) Author: Anna Wilkinson, Collection Assistant, Nelson Provincial Museum