Phillip Parker King
There is no record of King's early surveying experience but according to family tradition, Matthew Flinders, a friend of the family, interested him in surveying and introduced him to Captain Thomas Hurd (1757-1823), hydrographer to the Admiralty 1808-23, who gave him careful training. In 1817 the British government decided that 'circumstances consequent upon the restoration of Peace and rendered it most important to explore, with as little delay as possible, that part of the coast of New Holland and not surveyed or examined by the late Captain Flinders', and appointed Lieutenant King to do this. Before he departed King married Harriet, daughter of Christopher Lethbridge, of Launceston, Cornwall. He arrived at Port Jackson in September 1817 in the Dick with instructions from the Colonial Office to Governor Lachlan Macquarie that he was to be provided with the most suitable vessel and a carefully chosen crew.
In 1817 Phillip Parker King was given command of the Mermaid to explore the north-west coast of Australia. He surveyed the coast towards Arnhem Land. Three other voyages followed over the period 1818-22. He named Port Essington and charted more of the coastline. During his four voyages off the northern and north-western coasts, King named Port Essington and Buccaneer's Archipelago (after Dampier), proved the insularity of Melville Island and charted the coastline. He also surveyed the west coast from Rottenest Island to Cygnet Bay (in King Sound) and the entrance to Macquarie Harbour, Tasmania.
Mt Trafalgar and St Georges Basin
Careening Bay was named by Lieutenant Phillip Parker King after his ship, HMC Mermaid, was careened (chad its hull scraped clean) there in order to repair a leak, during his first voyage of discovery in 1820. The first Europeans known to gaze on the stunning coastal scenery of the Kimberley region were the travellers aboard the survey vessel HMC Mermaid, under the command of Lieutenant Phillip Parker King. While the ship was undergoing emergency hull repairs at Careening Bay, botanist, Allan Cunningham, and ship's surgeon, James Hunter, climbed a prominent hill, which they named Mount Knight. From this peak, their eyes were drawn to a glimmering inland tidal St Georges Basin, as well as a skyline dominated by the spectacular tilted mesa, Mt Trafalgar.
Perhaps because Lieutenant King had plenty of time on his hands while waiting for the Mermaid to be repaired, he had members of his crew inscribe a boab tree with the words HMC MERMAID 1820 , to record his visit. The tree is still alive, and is today an important tourist attraction.
King's fourth and final survey in northern Australia was in the Bathurst, 170 tons, which carried a complement of thirty-three, not counting a girl who had stowed away for love of the bos'n; in place of Bungaree King took another Aboriginal, Bundell. After Phillip finished his mapping, he and his family went back to England in 1823. King was now recognized as one of Britain's leading hydrographers and in February 1824 was made a fellow of the Royal Society. In London in 1826 he published his two-volume Narrative of a Survey of the Intertropical and Western Coasts of Australia. Performed Between the Years 1818-1822, partly illustrated by his own sketches. In May 1826 he sailed in command of H.M.S. Adventure, with H.M.S. Beagle in company, to chart the coasts of Peru, Chile and Patagonia. He returned to Sydney in 1832.
King's father, Philip Gidley King (1758 - 1808) was born in Launceston, Cornwall, and joined the Navy at the age of twelve. He saw active service in America and joined the Channel Fleet in 1780 where he served under the command of Captain Arthur Phillip who chose King as second lieutenant of HMS Sirius for the First Fleet.
King was sent to establish a settlement at Norfolk Island within two weeks of their arrival. The venture was a success and King was promoted to Lieutenant-Governor of Norfolk Island, although by that time - March 1790 - Governor Phillip had sent King on a brief but successful visit to London to discuss the problems of New South Wales. Upon his return, King suffered conflict with some of the New South Wales Corps and clashed with the acting governor, Major Francis Grose. Because of ill-health, he returned to London for a period of leave in 1796. Supported by Sir Joseph Banks and John Hunter, he was again appointed to succeed Hunter as Lieutenant-Governor of New South Wales. Highlights of his six years in office include improvements in agriculture, health, education and relations with the Aborigines. Exploration with a view to establishing further settlements was always high on his agenda. Because of further ill-health, King was replaced as governor by William Bligh in 1806, and he left for England in February 1807.