An artful life
• John Gibb on Scottsdale’s King St, with his 1980 bronze work commemorating pioneer James Scott.
By Tina Hutchings
June 23, 2021
If a young John Gibb had been planning on quietly slipping into the community when he was transferred to Scottsdale as a teacher, the community had other ideas.
For the man who would go on to direct school musicals, run camps, hold art classes, exhibitions, and three-course acting shows, it was his leadership skills that were first in high demand.
Having been a Scout leader at Evandale, word of his arrival preceded him.
“The first night I came here, I got a knock on the door. I couldn’t believe it, I thought ‘Who on Earth knows I’m here?’ Anyway, it was someone asking if I’d like to be the Cub leader.”
And so John Gibb was thrown into Scottsdale life at the proverbial deep end.
He went on to run the Cubs and then the Scouts, eventually becoming involved with the Venturers, too.
“I came here in 1978. I was actually transferred as a teacher. I was teaching at Kings Meadows at the time, and the Education Department transferred me out here,” John explains. “I was the local art teacher at the High School for 17 years.”
“It was a great chapter,” he continues. “I got to know a lot of people, and taught a lot of students,” John recalls.
“A lot of people in the community know me because I either taught their kids, or I taught them.
“I do remember when I did a relief-teaching stint after retiring, one little boy came up to me and said ‘Mr Gibb, you taught my Pop.’
“I said, ‘No, no, I would have taught your dad’, and the little fella said ‘Oh, you taught him too!’”
Mr Gibb reluctantly retired in 1995, due to total and permanent loss of hearing. A hearing test at the time revealed he was 96% totally deaf.
“I actually couldn’t believe the level of deafness. I had been teaching all that time, and I’d had a hearing aid, but I had been relying totally on lip reading.”
With a mortgage and four young children, the youngest only one-and-a-half years old at the time, John retired and became, as he puts it, “Mr Mum”. His wife Liz, who had done nursing and was a midwife, had left nursing with the birth of the couple’s first child. To complete their role-reversal, she retrained and went back out to work.
A man of faith, John is also an elder at the Scottsdale Presbyterian Church.
“I’ve been there ever since I arrived in 1978, helping out at the church, and I do a bit of lay-preaching now and again.
“My faith really helped when I had to retire from teaching. Proverbs 3:5-6 has gotten me through.”
While being the primary caregiver for his four young children was an unforeseen development, eventually John thrived in the role.
“It actually was great, I loved it, and Liz was able to really shine with her own talents too,” John tells. “And I loved being with the children, it was a great bonding time for me.”
It seems John learned a few new skills as “Mr Mum”, too.
“Oh, yes, well with three young daughters, I took on cooking, and learned how to plait hair and all sorts of things! Of course, I sent them off with their school lunches, and welcomed them back home every day. ”
Of his teaching days, John reminisces, “I was also involved with the outdoor education programs, running the camps.
“There was a camp for Grade 7, one for Grade 8, another for 9 and one for the Grade 10s.
“The Grade 10 camp was a survival camp – you wouldn’t be able to do it nowadays.
“All the kids had was a potato sack, no sleeping bag.
“They had to build a shelter.
“Then there was food we’d hidden in the bush that they had to find.
“We’d use the natural environment, follow the river up over Mt Cameron range and end up at Boobyalla. It was quite an adventure.”
John suspects he may also be well-remembered for his campfire stories, which featured, among other interesting tales, the legend of Murgatroyd Jones, a fabled character that seemingly had the students on tenterhooks.
“There were always three points in the story where the children would just ‘levitate’ with fright and squeal,” John chuckles, “It certainly kept them in their beds at night.”
Having left teaching behind, and with his children grown up, John Gibb began to practise his art full time.
“Since becoming ‘empty nesters’, I’ve finally found the time to dedicate to my own passion, which is painting.”
John also continues to share his knowledge and love of art, and is currently mentoring a small group.
“We meet each week and do our own paintings, and I’m on hand if anyone needs help with their work,” John explains.
His own painting focuses on landscapes, and the stunning natural beauty of Flinders Island provided the inspiration behind his latest solo exhibition at the Scottsdale Art Gallery.
“I have a series of 22 paintings that I’ve done, specifically of the coastline of Flinders. I love it there.”
The striking paintings are realistic in style, done in acrylics on canvas, and showcase the pristine coast and unique beauty of Flinders Island.
The affection John Gibb maintains for the North-East, and Scottsdale in particular, is palpable.
“Of course, a lot has changed in the area over the years.
“The times have changed, but Scottsdale will always be Scottsdale,” John observes. “We have some great resources, like the Community House and the Mechanics Hall, which has been done up beautifully, and there are these lovely little community groups that will actually do something positive.
“With all the changes, in the industries over the years, one thing I’d have to note is the resilience of the people of Scottsdale.
“Scottsdale is a survivor,” John reflects. “Scottsdale is home.”