Henry Maxwell Lefroy (August 1818 – 18 July 1879) was a prominent explorer of theMid West andGoldfields-Esperance regions ofWestern Australia.
He was the son of Rev. John Henry George Lefroy, therector of Compton and Ashe, who died when his son was five, leaving his widow and nine other children.
He had studied atGuildford Grammar School inSurrey, where he became acquainted with theStirling family and first developed an interest in theSwan River Colony in Western Australia. He later studied atOxford University and had many conversations with the son of Captain Yates, who furthered his interest in the colony.[1]
Lefroy arrived in the colony in 1841 and took up land inYork. He left York in 1843 withHenry Landor on an expedition, accompanied by 10 year old aboriginal boy,Cowits or Kowitch to translate. They crossed theHotham River and went on to discover and name Kowitch Pool and the Lefroy River, and then returned after a fortnight.[1] He returned to England to serve in theRoyal Navy and returned to Western Australia as the Superintendent ofConvicts[2] in 1854. In 1860 he followed theWilliams River eastward and explored theDarling Scarp.[2]
Lefroy and Landor completed another expedition to the Goldfields in 1863, where the party passed through areas such asBruce Rock,Dumbleyung andCoolgardie. They trekked for a total of 85 days, including four days with no water, before returning to York.[2]Lake Lefroy was named by the explorerCharles Cooke Hunt in 1864 after Lefroy, who would have seen the lake during his visit.[3]
Lefroy retired from his position as Superintendent of Convicts in 1875, and died inFremantle on 18 July 1879 ofpneumonia.[1][4] He was buried atKarrakatta Cemetery.[5]
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