(1758 - 1808)

King was born in Launceston, Cornwall, in April 1758, the son of Philip King (a draper) and Utricia Gidley (daughter of an Exeter legal family). At age seven, King was sent to Naval School at Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight.

He joined the Navy in 1770 and saw service on various tours, including the American War of Independence, before serving under Captain Arthur Phillip who appointed him as second in command of his ship HMS Sirius in 1786, bound for New South Wales.

He became the commandant of Norfolk Island for two years, 1788-1790, and while delivering despatches to England he met and married Anna Joseph Coombe before returning to Norfolk Island to become lieutenant governor in 1796. In 1800 he succeeded Governor John Hunter as ruler of the New South Wales colony.

Although opposed by the military and Irish political prisoners who rebelled against him in 1804, King introduced several social and economic reforms and outlawed the illicit rum trade. He also increased government control and developed several industries such as wine, coal, beer, wool and clothing, as well as encouraging farming.

During his tenure he founded settlements at Hobart, Launceston, Port Phillip Bay and Newcastle. King's term as Governor ended in 1806 when he was replaced by William Bligh. The following year he returned to England and died in 1808.

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