Jeffrey Fereday was an Australian author, artist and playwright.
Born in Adelaide on 9 October 1959, Fereday began his career in writing with a newspaper cadetship at The Advertiser, Adelaide, gravitating towards motorcycle journalism. In 1982 he married Susan Fereday and moved to Melbourne where he became assistant editor at Australian Motorcycle News, writing road tests and feature articles. From 1985 to 1991 he wrote a monthly satirical column, ‘Random Lines’, for Two Wheels magazine.
In 1985 Fereday began studies in theatre at the Victorian College of the Arts, where he graduated with a Diploma of Arts in Dramatic Arts (Writing for Performance) in 1987. He wrote and produced several plays including A Slow Exit (He is Going to Die) (first performed at Grant Street Theatre, Melbourne, 1987) and A Moment's Hesitation As She Changes the Expression of Her Face (first performed at La Mama, Melbourne, 1988).
Disenchanted with contemporary theatre’s moribund state, Fereday turned to making art and writing essays, reviews and articles for Australian art journals including Agenda and World Art.
After a year of illness, Fereday died of cancer of the tongue on 24 May 1996, aged 36.
