author
Philip Parker King
1793–1856
An early Australian-born naval explorer, he helped chart large stretches of Australia’s coast and later took part in the famous surveying voyage of HMS Adventure and HMS Beagle. His work blended seamanship, science, and exploration at a time when much of the southern world was still being mapped.
3 Audiobooks
Narrative of a Survey of the Intertropical and Western Coasts of Australia — Vol. 2 Performed between the years 1818 and 1822
by Philip Parker King
About the author
Born on Norfolk Island in December 1791, Phillip Parker King was the son of Philip Gidley King, a Royal Navy officer who later became Governor of New South Wales. Educated in England, he entered the Royal Navy as a boy and developed strong skills in navigation and surveying.
King is best remembered for four surveying voyages around the Australian coast between 1817 and 1822, when he was sent to complete and refine earlier exploration work. Those expeditions greatly improved British knowledge of Australia’s shoreline, especially in the north and west, and his published narrative became an important record of the journeys. He was also a Fellow of the Royal Society and worked closely with naturalists, including Allan Cunningham.
Later, he commanded HMS Adventure on a major surveying expedition to South America that also involved HMS Beagle. Over the course of his career he gained a reputation as a careful hydrographer and accomplished officer, and he was eventually promoted to rear admiral before his death in 1856.