George William Gibson

SCMA Photo #742
George William Gibson Sr., was born to a family of market gardeners in Boston, Lincolnshire, England.  He ran away to sea at the age of twelve, eventually retiring from the Royal Navy as a lieutenant.  Still young, George emigrated to North America, married Augusta Charlotte Purdee, and settled in Chatham, Ontario.  The couple took up market gardening and met with success.  Meanwhile, their family grew until there were eight children: George William (b. 1862), Eliza (b.1863), Mary Ann (b.1865), Ralph Henry (b.1868), Emma-Jane (b.1872), Charlotte "Lottie" Augusta (b.1865), Harriet Elizabeth (b.1878), and Ellen "Nellie" Matilda (b.1881).

But George wanted land of his own.  He and his two sons headed west to pre-empt land on which to farm.  The Gibsons passed through Vancouver before travelling to Nanaimo to look for a suitable place.  Though they found nothing there,  they did not give up the search.  An acuaintance suggested they investigate visit Howe Sound; encouraged, the resourceful Gibsons built a small, flat-bottomed sloop on a Nanaimo beach, christened her the Swamp Angel, and set off.  They crossed Shoal Channel the next day and landed at what is now Gibson's Landing, on the morning of May 24th, 1886.  George Sr. liked what he saw, and at fifty-seven years of age, pre-empted District Lot 686.  His son George Jr. staked D.L. 685; these two lots together covered much of what is now known as Lower Gibsons.  Ralph chose to settle on Paisley Island.

George Sr. was very active in the community that developed here.  He donated land for the town's first school, and, after Charlotte's death in 1910, he donated land for a family cemetary and a Methodist church.  The church is no longer standing, but the cemetary, located at the corner of School Road and Highway 101 can still be visited.  Gibson also served as postmaster for several years.  The settlement was named Gibson's Landing in 1907 in honour of this hardworking pioneer.

SCMA Photo #312 - George and Charlotte Gibson in the garden of their home, 1904.  Photo by pioneer John Hicks, copy from City Archives.