Melbourne woman Lucy Robertson linked with missing space camp millions

A Melbourne woman has mysteriously disappeared after hundreds of students paid millions of dollars for an overseas space camp that was cancelled at the last minute.

Lucy Robertson was the director of Edu School Tours which ran Space Camp trips to the United States at a cost of $10,000 for each student.

A Melbourne woman has mysteriously disappeared after hundreds of Victorian and Western Australian students paid millions of dollars for an overseas Space Camp that was cancelled at the last minute.

The woman, Lucy Robertson, was the director of Edu School Tours which ran Space Camp trips to the United States at a cost of $10,000 for each student.

Ms Robertson’s Facebook profile says she’s single and sports a tattoo reading: “There’s always a story”.

It’s a tale devastated parents, principals and students - who’ve raised the money by doing double shifts in fast food outlets and collecting cans - would dearly love to hear.

Two weeks ago, Ms Robertson - also known as Lucy Fenwick - went strangely quiet and pulled out of meetings with families and said she was in hospital. One parent described her “bizarre reluctance to give us the itinerary” despite students being due to leave on March 27.

Ms Robertson has refused to return calls from families and schools urgently trying to find out what’s happened to their money.

This seven bedroom house is the principal place of business for Edu School Tours.

Many have been unable to establish whether payments stretching back to May last year have even been used to buy flights or accommodation.

More than 100 students from at least two schools in Victoria have lost $10,000 each, with up to 150 students affected in Western Australia bringing the losses to $2.5m.

The 46 students at Camberwell High will have their losses covered by the state government’s insurance scheme, but this does not cover 66 students from Star of the Sea College in Brighton.

Students at Penrhos College, Perth Modern and Christ Church Grammar in WA are also fighting to recoup their money.

The trip allows children to build and launch a rocket, train to be an astronaut and fly jetcraft simulators.

The Herald Sun can reveal Ms Robertson’s company, Redspear Holdings, continued to receive payments from parents the day before schools were notified that the trips were cancelled due to the collapse of the company this week.

The company is understood to have struggled during Covid lockdowns, with Ms Robertson posting on a Kew East Community site about being “at least 12-18 months away from revenue and income”.

Redspear Holdings has been operating since 2017 out of a luxury five-bedroom house in semi-rural Eden Hills.

This seven bedroom house is the principal place of business for Edu School Tours

The home in Seventh Ave was sold for $1.4m last May, but due to a caveat on the property, didn’t settle until January 2024.

Mark Fenwick is listed as the sole shareholder of Redspear holdings. It‘s understood the company has not lodged a tax return for the 2022/23 tax year and has been dropped by national travel accreditation companies.

One parent from Star of the Sea College said the “silence from Edu School Tours is deafening”.

“We are in the dark with devastated kids but no formal notification. We are at a Catholic school so the actual insurance coverage is unclear”.

Star of the Sea College did not return calls from the Herald Sun but it is believed travel insurance will not cover the $660,000 lost by families.

The one-in-a-lifetime Space Camps included visits to the Kennedy Space Centre, Universal Studios, Alcatraz and the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, among other destinations.

One student summed up the feelings of many: “I’d give anything to know where Lucy is right now. I want to go to camp or get my money back”.

Originally published as Melbourne woman Lucy Robertson linked with missing space camp millions