Published 11 September 2026
We are thrilled to announce the outstanding winners of the 2026 History's Mysteries Young Writers Competition, which drew an impressive 80 entries from talented young writers across the Greater Bunbury region.
This year's entries showcased a wide range of perspectives and narratives connected to our theme, inspired by the 150th anniversary of the Catalpa escape. The theme challenged entrants to find historical and creative links between Bunbury and real historical events that happened in Fremantle. The writers blew us away with the diversity of creative ways they made these connections, with some using known historical events and others weaving clever fiction with the facts.
The stories showed impressive historical research, with writers drawing on real events before and after the Catalpa rescue, as well as taking a deep dive into the main story and bringing the escapees to life.
At the Awards Ceremony, held on Thursday, 10 September, our guest presenters, Deputy Mayor Cheryl Kozisek, Bunbury Museum Team Leader Archana Arun, and Bunbury Museum Education Officer Meleisha Exon, presented the following awards:
Years 5-6
| First Place | Levi Broere VR Prison |
| Second Place | Levi Graham A Narrow Escape |
| Third Place | Kiril Shcherbakov Sudden Flashback (Catalpa) |
| Highly Commended | Chloe Dhalluin Run to Freedom |
| Commended | Scarlett Downes An Irish Escape |
Years 7-8
| First Place | Connie Feng The Captain’s Secret |
| Second Place | Ella Nagel How I Accidentally Joined an Escape Plan |
| Third Place | Harry Carson Bunbury: A Haven in History |
| Highly Commended | Ben King The Great Bunbury Breach |
| Highly Commended | Zoe Starr The Unfortunate Adventures of Jack Morgan |
| Commended | Mignon Basson Saddle to Safety |
Years 9-12
| First Place | Lucielle Graham The Catalpa Legacy |
| Second Place | Hudson Graham Hope on the Horizon |
| Third Place | Emily Schmidt A Friend for Finn |
| Highly Commended | Omkar Variya The Tale of Tasmania |
| Highly Commended | Cohen Hope The Perfect Distraction |
| Commended | Gowri Renjith Tide of the Outcasts |
Congratulations to all the winners and participants of the 2026 History's Mysteries Young Writers Competition! The dedication to exploring history through storytelling is truly inspiring, and we look forward to seeing more of your creative endeavours in the future.
The Awards Ceremony was made even more special by captivating readings of each category's winning story performed by talented storytellers Barbara Rae and Jonathon Dyer. You can read the winning stories for yourself soon at the Museum alongside the artefacts that inspired the tales.
Thank you to our judges Shelly Findlater, Diana McGirr and Norm Flynn, for undertaking the extremely difficult task of selecting our category winners from the pool of young talent.
Sponsored by Southern Ports, all prizes were made possible through their generosity and continuing support of community initiatives.
