King of the Australian Coast
The Voyages of Phillip Parker King in the Mermaid and Bathurst 1817-1822
Paperback Edition
An absorbing and masterly account of Australia's third great hydrographer, Phillip Parker King.
Awards
NSW Premier's Literary Awards, General History Prize 1998
Opinion
'Hordern is a beautifully measured writer who balances fine detail with broad analysis and gripping descriptions. This is a fine, admirable and significant contribution to Australian history.' (Sydney Morning Herald, 3-4 July 2004)
'Marsden Hordern paints images on the mind of the reader through his skilful use of the written word. . . Anyone interested in the marine exploration of Australia, surveying or cartography will enjoy reading this excellent book.'
(David Fraser, Department of Land Information, RMIT, Cartography, June 1998)
About this Title
Phillip Parker King has been described as the greatest of Australia's early marine surveyors. But while the achievements of Cook and Flinders are widely known, this is the first telling of King's story.
Unlike Cook and Flinders, King was Australian-born--the son of Philip Gidley King, governor of New South Wales. In a series of gruelling voyages between 1817 and 1822, King charted most of the north-west coast of Australia from the eastern tip of Arnhem Land all the way round to Cape Leeuwin and King George Sound. He surveyed Macquarie Harbour in Van Diemen's Land and the treacherous waters inside the Great Barrier Reef, filling gaps in the work of his famous predecessors.
Marsden Hordern, a splendid storyteller, creates for the reader a sense of following, engrossed, in King's wake. The hazards of reefs, shoals and tides are ever-present, as is delight in unfamiliar wildlife and curiosity about the Aboriginal people.
The question left hanging is whether King might be better known today had he been a less capable, good and faithful servant of the Crown, and more inclined to the excess and ineptitude of certain other early explorers.
Winner of the New South Wales Premier's Literary Award for General History.
Companion volume to Mariners are Warned!, another prize-winning maritime biography by the same author.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
Preface
Introduction
1 Officers and Gentlemen
2 The Voyage Out
3 The Little Mermain
4 Westward
5 Dangerous Work
6 Arnhem's Land
7 Van Diemen's Bay
8 Unlocking Hell's Gate
9 The Labrynith
10 The Thirsty Coast
11 Refitting and a False Start
12 Widening the Reef Road
13 Pump or Perish
14 Earl Bathurst's Namesake
15 Coral Convoy
16 Kimberley Coast
17 Port Louis
18 Meeting the Minang
19 Cygnet Bay
20 Farewell to Sydney
21 'Laus Deo'
Epilogue
Appendices
Notes
Bibliography
Conversion Scales
Index
About the Author
Marsden Hordern is a graduate of Sydney University and founder of a print gallery. His life-long association with the sea includes naval service in peace and war, and much ocean sailing. In early Sydney-Hobart yacht races, he used instruments that King would have understood perfectly.
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