Councillors

Councillors

Samantha Owen  |  President

Samantha is President of the History Council of Western Australia and an Associate Professor at Curtin University, where she served as Director of Gender Equity and Inclusion (2023-2026) and Academic Co-Lead of the Gender Research Network. She is a historian whose research focuses on gender, contested histories, and nationalism, with a particular interest in how communities form and transform. Samantha holds a PhD in History from the University of Reading (UK), an MA in History from the University of Pittsburgh, and a BA (First Class Honours) in History and Anthropology from the University of Western Australia. From 2023-2026 she was also Academic Co-Lead of a DFAT-funded women’s leadership program in Vietnam and has a long-standing commitment to public history and advocacy.

Erica Boyne | Vice President

Erica holds a Bachelor of Arts in History and Political Science from the University of Oregon and a Master of Arts in Public History from Portland State University. She moved to Western Australia in 2010, working as a Grants and Community Development Officer at the Town of Mosman Park and as a Curator at Subiaco Museum and the WA Museum. In February 2023, she was appointed Head of History at the WA Museum Boola Bardip.

Jane King |  Treasurer

Jane King is a multidisciplinary historian with specialist expertise in fine arts, economic and cultural history. She recently retired as Deputy Director of the John Curtin Gallery at Curtin University, a role she held for many years, and has since worked as a part-time historian and consultant. Jane is currently President of the Museum and Galleries Association of Western Australia (AMAGA WA), an organisation she has been involved with for over twenty years. She is also Co-Chair of The North Midlands Project, a board member of Sculpture West, and is an Industry Representative for the City of South Perth’s Art Advisory Committee. She brings significant experience in governance, cultural institutions, and the museum and galleries sector to her role as Treasurer of HCWA.

Naomi Preston | Secretary

Naomi joined HCWA in October 2024. She completed her PhD in 2025 and has been working in research and teaching roles. Naomi is drawn to HCWA for its connections between academic historians and those working in industry and the public sector. Naomi is also a committee member with Oral History WA.

Sue Lefroy  | Membership Secretary

Sue has been a committee member of the History Council of Western Australia since 2021, serving as the Council’s regional representative and Membership Secretary. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in History and works in the public sector as Local History Coordinator of History Great Southern– Kaartdijin Biddi Albany, a reference collection of documentary heritage material in the Albany Public Library.  She is the WALGA representative and Chair of the DCWA Community Advisory Group and brings a strong commitment to ensuring that regional voices and perspectives are represented within HCWA’s activities and advocacy.

Committee Members

Lucy Hair 

Lucy is a Professional Historian with considerable experience working on commissioned history and heritage projects. She has worked for State Government, Local Government and as a private consultant. She has worked as the Research Coordinator at the Centre for WA History and is a previous Member of the Heritage Council’s Register Committee. Most recently she was the Project Officer for the ‘Two Centuries of Chinese Heritage in Western Australia’ project at UWA. She is currently the Vice-President of Professional Historians Association (WA).

Joseph Christensen

Dr Joseph Christensen is a Lecturer in History at the University of Western Australia, where he completed both his BA (Honours) and PhD. His research sits at the intersection of maritime and environmental history, with a focus on Western Australia in regional and global contexts and a strong track record of multidisciplinary collaboration. He has worked individually and in research teams on histories of fisheries, cyclones and extreme tropical weather, pearling industries, and environmental conservation, and has undertaken a range of commissioned projects in Western Australian history. His most recent book, Not Just a Bunnings Man: The Life and Times of Tom (G.M.) Bunning, was published by UWA Publishing in 2026. Joseph is a collaborator in the Appraising Risk, Past and Present Partnership at the Indian Ocean World Centre, McGill University, and maintains research connections in the United Kingdom, Singapore, and India.

Justin Owen

Justin is an Architect with experience in heritage architecture and heritage landscapes in the United Kingdom, Europe, and Western Australia, including work on Grade 1 and Grade 2 listed buildings. He is a staff member at Curtin University’s School of Architecture, where he is involved in the revision and reframing of the History and Theory components of the curriculum.

Helen Munt

Helen Munt works professionally in the areas of history, heritage, collections and interpretation through her own consultancy practice, as well as with a number of State and Local Government agencies, the tertiary sector and private enterprise in Western Australia and other states in Australia. With Post-Graduate qualifications in Public History combined with significant work experience, Helen is an accredited Professional Historian with Professional Historians Association (WA) for which she has also served as President.

Kate Gregory

Dr Kate Gregory is Head of Research and Interpretation at the State Library of Western Australia. Kate’s PhD was on Australian art and interpretation practice since 1970 (University of Melbourne, 2004). Her postdoctoral research was on West Australian heritage histories at Curtin University. Kate has served as Trustee of the Western Australian Museum (2012–2018) and is currently on the Australian Dictionary of Biography WA working party, and the WA History Foundation council.

Aileen Marwung Walsh

Aileen Marwung Walsh is a retired academic and researcher focused on the intersection of historical archives and cultural knowledge systems. Her current work centres on the “Science of Virtues” and “Relational Accountability,” exploring how these frameworks guide cultural conduct and survival across generations. Her research involves extensive archival study, particularly within the Norman Tindale and Daisy Bates collections. She examines the impact of colonial administrative systems on identity; specifically, how historical naming conventions and record-keeping have influenced the documentation of Aboriginal history.

Fran Orchard

Dr Fran Orchard is an Integrity Advisor at the National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA). Her PhD (Edith Cowan University, 2024) investigated decolonial approaches to representing contested histories and politics through popular cultural forms including music. Prior to entering the Australian Public Service, Fran worked as a secondary teacher in regional and metropolitan schools across Western Australia and also spent time working in the tourism industry in Broome and the UK.

Jane Lydon

Jane Lydon’s research centres upon Australia’s colonial past and its legacies in the present. In particular, she is concerned with the history of Australia’s engagement with anti-slavery, humanitarianism, and ultimately human rights. She is a white settler scholar who aims to carry out politically located research that respects Indigenous sovereignty.

Darren Foster

Darren Foster is a consultant and board member after a career in Commonwealth, State and local governments. He is Chair of the Heritage Council of WA and a member of the Council of History West (Royal Western Australian Historical Society). He has tertiary qualifications in local history.

James Elder

James Elder represents the History Teachers Association of WA on the HCWA committee. (Full bio to follow.)