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
^ abMattingley, Christobel. "Deny King". The companion to Tasmanian history. Centre for Tasmanian Historical Studies, University of Tasmania. Archived from the original on 16 October 2013. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
