Forgotten Genius

The Forgotten Genius: George Selkirk Gibson

Speaker: Lori Treloar (Executive Director, Shawnigan Lake Museum)

George Selkirk Gibson (1867-1942) was a Scottish immigrant who came from a family of carvers. His father and brother were both carvers. After a few stops along the way, Gibson fell in love with Shawnigan Lake and moved there, in 1910, to raise his family. His house there still stands.

Although he is a relatively unknown craftsman, most people would likely have seen and appreciated the exquisite work that he produced. He worked with architects Samuel Maclure and Francis Rattenbury to create the architectural carvings for houses and buildings that they designed. He was also commissioned to carve the significant pieces in Hatley Castle, Christ Church Cathedral, the Neptunes on the CPR Steamship building, many interior details of the BC Legislature, and special chairs for the visit of King and Queen. This all happened from his studio in Shawnigan Lake, which is why he is not known as well as he deserves.

The Shawnigan lion is one of Gibson’s earliest works. In the early twentieth century the Chief Justice of British Columbia, Gordon Hunter, purchased four acres of waterfront property at Shawnigan Lake and commissioned Gibson to sculpt a statue of a lion for his garden. He positioned the lion so that the butt end would point to the Legislature in Victoria as Hunter believed that politicians there were making an ‘ass out of justice’. Recently, the new owners of the property did not want to leave the statue in its historic position so they sliced it into a number of pieces and removed it from the waterfront. This is the story of the Shawnigan lion and the genius that created it, and there is a happy ending…

Lori Treloar is passionate about Shawnigan Lake and grateful to have multi-generational roots at the lake. Possessing a natural urge to be creative and give back to her community, Lori took on the management, administration and curation of the Museum in 2005 when it was on the verge of closing. Lori’s goal is to ensure that Shawnigan’s rich legacy continues to be enjoyed by everyone, now and in the future.