Charles Denison (Deny) King (12 September 190912 May 1991) was an Australian naturalist, ornithologist, environmentalist, painter and tin miner. He spent fifty-five years living in Melaleuca in

Port Davey Port Davey is an oceanic inlet located in the south west region of Tasmania, Australia. Port Davey was named in honour of Thomas Davey, a former Governor of Tasmania. Port Davey is contained within the Port Davey/Bathurst Harbour Marine Natu ...

, part of the remote

South West Wilderness The South West Wilderness of Tasmania, Australia is a remote and inaccessible region of South West Tasmania containing unspoilt scenery, rugged peaks, wild rivers, unique flora and fauna, and a long and rugged coastline. Parts of the wilderness ...

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

where he discovered the extinct shrub, '' Banksia kingii'', among other major exploits.

Biography

King was a tin miner by profession and followed his father, Charlie, to Melaleuca in 1936, where he built a house, which was accommodation for himself and workers as well as the airstrip which opened up tourism for the South West Wilderness. On 6 June 1940, Deny King enlisted in the

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (CA), wh ...

where he served through World War II being discharged on 15 October 1945. On 5 November 1949, Deny King married Margaret Ann Cadell at

St David's Cathedral, Hobart The Cathedral Church of St David in Hobart is the principal Anglican church in Tasmania, Australia. The dean (as of March 2009) is the Very Reverend Richard Humphrey. Consecrated in 1874, St David's is the seat of the Bishop of Tasmania. It i ...

. The couple had two daughters, Mary and Janet. He was instrumental in preserving the habitat of the

orange-bellied parrot The orange-bellied parrot (''Neophema chrysogaster'') is a small parrot endemic to southern Australia, and one of only three species of parrot that migrate. It was described by John Latham in 1790. A small parrot around long, it exhibits sex ...

and it was in Melaleuca that he discovered the extinct tree or shrub ''Banksia kingii''. King also discovered a species of

eyebright ''Euphrasia'', or eyebright, is a genus of about 450 species of herbaceous flowering plants in the family Orobanchaceae (formerly included in the Scrophulariaceae), with a cosmopolitan distribution. They are semi-parasitic on grasses and other ...

, ''Euphrasia kingii'' (nowadays known as ''Euphrasia gibbsiae'' subspecies ''kingii''), as well as a flowering evergreen in the

Protea ''Protea'' () is a genus of South African flowering plants, also called sugarbushes (Afrikaans: ''suikerbos''). Etymology The genus ''Protea'' was named in 1735 by Carl Linnaeus, possibly after the Greek god Proteus, who could change his form a ...

family ( Proteaceae): King's Lomatia (also known as King's holly, '' Lomatia tasmanica''). In 1971, the King family's life at Melaleuca was the subject of an episode of the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

television series "

A Big Country ''A Big Country'' (1968 - 1991) was an Australian television documentary series produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). History The series' purpose was to document life in rural Australia for the information of Australian city ...

". In 1975, King was appointed as a Member of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gov ...

for his community service. On 12 May 1991, Deny King died suddenly of a heart attack at the home of his daughter Mary King in Hobart. He was cremated and his ashes scattered at Melaleuca.

Biography

References

Further reading