Mike Lefroy

Mike has a passion for history, in particular the history of Western Australia and his hometown of Fremantle.

Mike is a fifth generation Western Australian. His great great grandfather was John Septimus Roe, the State's first Surveyor General. On another branch of his family tree is his great grandfather Charles Yelverton O'Connor, the Chief Engineer of Fremantle Harbour and the Goldfields Pipeline.

After graduating from school and University, Mike travelled overseas for five years. He supported his travel addiction with a variety of jobs; teaching in a summer camp in the USA and at a boarding school in England, picking potatoes, crewing on yachts, labouring on building sites, repairing bikes and clerical work.

He returned to Western Australia in 1975 and since then has spent his working life in Fremantle. He taught Media Studies at North Lake Senior High School and South Fremantle Senior High School before joining the HM Bark Endeavour Project in 1988 as the Education Officer. In 1992, after the launch of HM Bark Endeavour, he moved to the WA Maritime Museum as Head of Education.

From 1998 until 2002 Mike was a member of the planning team for the new Maritime Museum on Victoria Quay, Fremantle. His key role was interpretation design, text writing and project managing the Tin Canoe to Australia II Gallery.

Mike left the museum in February 2007 to concentrate on private consultancy work in education, heritage and museum interpretation, tourism, and to pursue various writing projects.

Mike has a strong interest in Maritime History and is particularly keen on highlighting stories of the early voyages of exploration along the WA coast. He is on the board of the Duyfken Foundation, which manages the replica ship of the same name, now based again in Fremantle.

Mike's interest in history and education has drawn him to writing and he particularly enjoys the challenge of trying to figure out how to make the past come alive for children.

Mike's publications for children include picture books, junior novels, non-fiction titles and education kits.

 

Joy Lefroy

Joy has been involved with children’s literature and education for many years and is particularly interested in sharing Western Australian stories with the next generation.

Joy trained as a teacher in the UK and has taught at all levels from early childhood to tertiary. She also has experience teaching children with learning difficulties and academic extension teaching. For seven years she was Head of Education for the Fremantle Children’s Literature Centre and later became Manager for Education and Learning with the National Trust in Western Australia for thirteen years.

She co-authored The Pipeline CY O’Connor Built with Diana Frylinck (Fremantle Press, 2003) and The Catalpa Escape with Mike Lefroy (originally published by Fremantle Press, 2006).

Joy continues to be involved with history and heritage education with Heritage Perth and Museums Without Walls and she works with international students through University of Western Australia’s Centre for English Language Teaching. She designs Curriculum programs to engage young people with the values of our historic, natural and Indigenous heritage.

Joy is regularly invited to speak at schools, libraries, seminars and conferences about books, writing, history and heritage education and the Australian and Western Australian Curriculum.