WEST KIMBERLEY PLACE REPORT - Department of Sustainability ...

Phillip Parker King
Just as Dampier has an important place in the process of accumulating knowledge
about the Australian continent as the first to make direct information about Australia
widely available to the European public, so too Phillip Parker King has a pivotal role
as the man who completed that process through his work in charting the majority of
the last unmapped areas of the Australian coast. He was able to complete the previous
early exploratory running surveys of the Australian coastline and record his findings
into accurate naval charts.
Tiley pays tribute to these achievements of King: 'they (King and other maritime
surveyors) laid the groundwork for the creation of major sea-lane security around
Australia's north, along the Barrier Reef and through Torres Strait… creating an
invaluable asset for Australia's commercial expansion' (Tiley 2006).
King careened his ship, HMS Mermaid, in 1820 at Careening Bay on the West
Kimberley coast. This was an activity of necessity and demonstrates the nature of his
survey work and the dangers that were faced by him and his crew in a small ship far
from settled districts without the support of modern communication technology or
other logistics support.
In summary, while the careening of the HMS Mermaid demonstrates the maintenance
aspects of King's survey voyages, careening by itself is not considered to be a shaping
or pivotal event in King's survey work along the Australian coast. Other aspects of
this history are discussed under criterion (b).
Inland exploration
A review of the inland exploration literature associated with George Grey, J. Lort
Stokes, Alexander McCrae and Alexander Forrest showed that their exploration
expeditions were restricted to the Kimberley region. The use of Aboriginal guides was
noted in the literature. Information gained from these expeditions led to a better
understanding of the Kimberley region and its potential for development. In
comparison with the more iconic expeditions of Carnegie (Coolgardie to Halls Creek
1896), Leichhardt (Brisbane to Darwin 1845), Stuart (Jugiong, New South Wales to
Lake Alexandrina SA 1830) these expeditions are not considered to be outstanding in
the national context.
Malcolm Allbrook (pers. comm. 6 November 2009) considers that the Kimberley
might have a special association with George Grey. Grey's sighting of Wanjina
figures in in the west Kimberley in particular was noted. Grey was the first European
to record and publish the Wanjina image. Matters associated with the Wanjina are
considered elsewhere in the place analysis.
The Kimberley coast is recognised for its association with early European
exploration of the continent. The William Dampier (Cygnet) (1688) landing
place, around Pender Bay, Karrakatta Bay, King Sound, the Buccaneer
Archipelago and nearby coast, has outstanding heritage value to the nation
under criterion (a) for its association with William Dampier and the influence of
his published observations. The environment observed by Dampier is
substantially unmodified since his 1688 landing and can be seen today.
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