Gordon John Colin Gibson – Licensed Surveyor
(1929-2014)

Prepared by Lorna Gibson and Wayne Gibson June 2014
(updated March 2015)

Gordon John Colin Gibson, known as John, was born on the 20th November 1929 in the country town of Mount Gambier in south east South Australia.

The son of Col Gibson, a well known local buyer for Fiddler and Webb clothing store who also taught Scottish highland dancing and ushered at the local picture theatre, John knew the value of hard work and applying himself. His mother Jean was creative and worked as a florist, mainly from home.

John Gibson (standing far right) as a Mt Gambier High School prefect.

John attended Mount Gambier High School and being too young to join the Air Force and serve in World War II, which he would have liked, applied himself to his school years. He played for the school football team, excelled in athletics (namely high jump and hurdles), became a school prefect and achieved good marks in mathematics, physics and English. He also became an accomplished piano player, something he enjoyed well into his later years.

John Gibson (middle row, far right) in the Mt Gambier High School football team.

On completion of his Leaving Certificate John gained employment as a cadet surveyor with C.L. Alexander of Mount Gambier and soon found himself wading through the swamps of the south east, surveying during the day and studying at night towards his Engineering and Surveying Certificate.

On the romance side John met Lorna Wreford at a dance in Adelaide and after deciding she was the one, traveled 3 or 4 times a month from Mount Gambier to Adelaide on his BSA motor bike, sometimes in cold and freezing conditions to be with his future bride. Whilst saving for their future together he also drove paper runs for ‘The Advertiser’ newspaper and began a small business cutting and selling Christmas trees at Christmas time.

By 1953 John was in a position to marry and by early 1955 having been married for two years John and Lorna set up residence in Adelaide. In that same year he completed his Engineering and Surveying license at the School of Mines and went to work for the E&WS Department before deciding to go into practice for himself as a licensed surveyor in 1960.

Although work was slow in the early years, his reputation spread and he was soon picking up a lot of country work as well as smaller jobs in the city.

John loved the outback and began to specialize in this type of work. He organized small teams of like-minded men who would accompany him on these trips. The lifestyle was different, the men were loyal and well looked after. Many remained life time friends and they shared a bond brought about by their unique experiences in remote areas. Remote area work at the time involved a lot of problem solving and I urge you to read the two ‘Tieline’ articles that John wrote in the early nineties, which really bring those times back to life.

Among the highlights of John’s career were the survey of the Eyre Highway from Ceduna to Eucla [refer following article – Ed], the Simpson Desert from Pedirka to Birdsville, and work in Lake Eyre and Coober Pedy. He navigated the first tourist expedition to cross the Simpson Desert a year after his own Simpson crossing in 1970. Accompanying that expedition were a naturalist, Vince Serventy, five adventure tour members, a television crew making a film for the ABC’s “Big Country” series, and Rex Ellis, tour operator from McLaren Vale.

In his spare time John loved mining for opals, gem cutting, wine making and attempting to tame his prized possession. It was an elegant but short-lived clinker-built speed boat named “Sapphire” which was fitted out with a V8 Chrysler motor and six carburetors. It was an impressive but temperamental craft.  Dad took part in several races around the state but I observed him more than once manning the bilge pump and tinkering with the motor to get it started again.

John and Lorna had four sons, Wayne, Colin, David, and John junior, and one daughter, Diana.

From my perspective, dad never undervalued the importance of family. He always rose to the occasion tackling the joys and challenges of fatherhood and contributing to family life whenever he returned from his outback trips. We as a family never felt forgotten or unloved despite him being away so often, and dad was a great mentor and guide during our developing years.

Sadly, Gordon John Colin Gibson passed away in Adelaide on Friday 5 September 2014; he was 84 years of age. John was survived by Lorna his wife of nearly 60 years and by four of their five children: Arthur Wayne, Colin Robert Cameron, David John, and John Stuart and by fourteen grandchildren. John and Lorna's second child their only daughter Diana Lorna predeceased her father. John Gibson's funeral service was held on 12 September 2014 at Florey Chapel in Centennial Park Memorial Gardens, in the southern Adelaide suburb of Pasadena. The service was attended by about 70 people including South Australia's Surveyor-General Mike Burdett and several other surveyors. Afterwards the committal service was held at North Brighton Cemetery.

1971 Gibson family Father’s Day newspaper article.

During the height of John’s outback career from 1960 – 1973 he was away from his family for an average of 45% of the year. Dad was always overjoyed to come back home to his family and settle in to city life for a while, whilst still tendering for contracts and planning for his next country trip, which we knew wouldn’t be far away.

Record of time spent on country work

CALENDAR YEAR	TOTAL DAYS	DAYS AWAY	PERCENTAGE
1960	275	88	32%
1961	365	178	49%
1962	365	140	38%
1963	365	183	50%
1964	366	215	59%
1965	365	141	39%
1966	365	198	54%
1967	365	164	45%
1968	366	174	48%
1969	365	166	46%
1970	365	174	48%
1971	365	144	40%
1972	366	151	41%
1973	365	106	29%
Average			45%

Copy of John’s own calculations of the time he spent away from home during the 15 years to 1974.

The following article titled Ceduna to Eucla – Eyre Highway Engineering Survey was written by John Gibson and appeared in the Institution of Surveyors, Australia, S.A. Division newsletter TIELINE (December 1999, Volume 11, No.8). It is reproduced with permission.