John Henshaw

My name is John Henshaw – naval history enthusiast, author, and illustrator.

From a young age, I was captivated by the sea. I was talked out of a Cadet Midshipman’s course at the Royal Australian Naval College - HMAS Creswell - by my parents at the tender age of thirteen; something I have always regretted. (I guess parents know best – I always thought so as one!) However, my interest in the sea, in general, sailing, and all things maritime never waned.

After an education at Wesley College Melbourne, University of Melbourne and the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (now RMIT University) I pursued a career in property development. I became a chief executive of an international developer then as a designer-builder-developer in my own right. Designing and building things satisfied my creative urges, plus drawing and watercolours.

But it was in retirement that my passion for drawing and the sea found expression in writing my first book on naval history which, typically of all my books, features extensive technical drawings of ships involved, many of which would never have been seen before.