Passing of HikeWest Patron Geoff Schafer

Geoff Schafer passed away peacefully in Melbourne on 18 August 2026 at the ripe old age of 92 amongst family/friends.

HikeWest was proud and honoured to have enjoyed Geoff’s association, support and keen interest in our organisation as Patron over the past decade.

Having spent most of his working life in Western Australia, Geoff maintained a lifelong connection with bushwalking and made an outstanding contribution to its development in our State. His appointment as HikeWest Patron recognised his pioneering contribution and enduring commitment to bushwalking in WA.

An earlier recognition was the naming by the Bibbulmun Track Foundation of the Schafer Campsite along the Bibbulmun Track. That stands as a lasting tribute to Geoff’s initiative and successful lobbying in 1972 for a long distance hiking trail which became the forerunner to WA’s now famous Bibbulmun Track. Geoff also played an important role in the founding of the Perth Bushwalkers Club and was, for a time, a member of the Western Walking Club, established in 1937.

Geoff Schafer lived a long, passionate and fulfilled life, and his substantial contribution to bushwalking in WA will be remembered with great respect and affection. HikeWest extends its deepest condolences to Geoff’s family and friends.