(1758 - 1808)

Philip Gidley King was the son of a draper from Cornwall and sought to advance his position through a career in the navy, which he joined as a captain's servant in 1770. By 1880 he was serving on the Ariadne under Captain Arthur Phillip who, in 1788, chose King to act as second lieutenant on the Sirius which sailed as a part of Phillip's expedition to establish the penal colony in Australia. Two weeks after their arrival King was singled out to establish a second settlement at Norfolk Island, where he stayed for two years and was appointed as lieutenant-governor.

In 1790 King was asked return to England to explain the difficulties faced by the colonists and subsequent to this was appointed a Commander. A little later Arthur Phillip, the first Governor of New South Wales, started lobbying for King to become the new Governor; and in 1798 King sailed to Australia to replace Governor Hunter. King's administration fostered the development of the commercial sheep and whaling industries and helped emancipated convicts to establish their new lives in Australia.

The complicated internal politics of the convict colony made it difficult for King to keep his volatile personality in check. And this along with deals he made to favour himself exacerbated his already poor relationship with the New South Wales Corps. The British government did little to back him up in these matters and he resigned in 1804, although he was not relieved until 1806. By then King's health was so poor that he could not travel to England by ship and he had to wait until February 1907 when he was well enough to travel. The journey and his subsequent time in England appears to have done little to improve his health and he died in London on 3 September, 1808.

While on King was governor on Norfolk Island he fathered two sons by the convict Ann Inett. These were Norfolk (1789-1839) and Sydney (1790-1840), both of whom were looked after by King, and later joined the Royal Navy. Phillip Parker King, his only legitimate son, went on to carve out a well respected career in the both the Royal Navy and as a politician in New South Wales, where he settled.

Geoff Barker, Assistant Curator, Decemebr 2009

References
A. G. L. Shaw, 'King, Philip Gidley (1758 - 1808)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 2, Melbourne University Press, 1967, 55-61

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