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Deny King

Charles Denison (Deny) King AM (12 September 1909 – 12 May 1991) was an Australian naturalist, ornithologist, environmentalist, painter and tin miner. He spent fifty-five years living in MelaleucainPort Davey, part of the remote South West WildernessofTasmania where he discovered the extinct shrub, Banksia kingii, among other major exploits.^[1]

Biography[edit]

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 where he served through World War II being discharged on 15 October 1945.^[2]

On 5 November 1949, Deny King married Margaret Ann Cadell at St David's Cathedral, Hobart.^[3] The couple had two daughters, Mary and Janet.^[4]

He was instrumental in preserving the habitat of the orange-bellied parrot and it was in Melaleuca that he discovered the extinct tree or shrub Banksia kingii. King also discovered a species of eyebright, Euphrasia kingii (nowadays known as Euphrasia gibbsiae subspecies kingii), as well as a flowering evergreen in the Protea family (Proteaceae): King's Lomatia (also known as King's holly, Lomatia tasmanica).^[1]

In 1971, the King family's life at Melaleuca was the subject of an episode of the ABC television series "A Big Country".^[4]

In 1975, King was appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia for his community service.^[5][6]

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.^[7]

References[edit]

Further reading[edit]

• Mattingley, Christobel (2001). King of the wilderness. The Text Publishing Company.
• — (December 2001). "What an exciting find! Deny King's contributions to science". National Library of Australia News. XII (3): 7–10. Archived from the original on 19 January 2012.