Barbara Jefferis

Barbara Jefferis AM (25 March 1917, Adelaide, South Australia – 3 January 2004, Sydney, New South Wales) was an Australian author.

Early life, and character formation

Barbara Jefferis was the daughter of Tarlton Jefferis and Lucy Barbara Ingoldsby (Smythe). Her father was one of Australia's leading analytical chemists, and was in England working as an adviser to the munitions industry during World War I when Barbara was born.

When Barbara was about 6 months old her mother died. Due to the war, her father remained in England and Barbara was taken into the care of her aged maternal grandfather, who was a widower. He died when Barbara was three years old, and she then lived with her paternal grandmother and was absorbed into that woman's extensive group of grandchildren. Jefferis later said, "Even as a child, I was determined to be a writer, although I hadn't a very clear idea what that meant. When I was very small I had a slightly younger cousin who always wanted to hear stories, and for some reason I used to write them ... I rather think it was because a story wasn't a story until it was written down."