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THE KINGS OF MELALEUCA
Melaleuca, in the
remote south-west of
Tasmania, is run by
the King family, father
and two daughters.
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DENNIS KING in his dinghy on the lonely
Melaleuca River, which runs into Port Davey.
His sister arid brother-in-law live three miles
up-river, but as cray fishers are often away.
The Kings are an in-
triguing trio of Australians.
They appear tough pioneer-
ing stock, whose sole con-
cern is hewing a living from
their property - a tin mine.
But scratch beneath the
surface of any one of them
- father. Dennis King, or
daughters. Janet and Mary
- and you'll find a trio of
artists, now holding their
first exhibition in Hobart.
Denny King, now widowed,
went to Melaleuca after
the war, has spent 20 years
there. His daughters have
spent the last 12 months
with him, mining the tin,
painting in their spare time.
Now the girls have gone to
Hobart to further their
education. Denny will
return to lonely Melaleuca
when they are settled.
The ABC team who
made the Kings' story into
an episode of "A Big
Country" travelled back to
Hobart - a 23-hour trip -
in the Kings' yacht, also
named Melaleuca, lt is
their only link with civilisa-
tion apart from chartered
planes.
The yacht also carried a
load of tin, mined and
bagged (worth round a
dollar a pound), and the
five family chooks, which
produced three fresh eggs
on the voyage.
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KINGDOM of the Kings of Melaleuca
(above), showing Port Davey in south-
western Tasmania. The Kings' yacht, also
named Melaleuca, is being filmed by an
ABC cameraman for "A Big Country.'
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ABOVE: Dennis King at work at the tin
mine, and, LEFT: Mary King in the kitchen
at Melaleuca. Mary and her younger
sister, Janet, are now in Hobart. Both will
go to art classes, and Janet to university.
. "The Kings of Melaleuca" is the first show in
the new ten-episode series of ABC-TV's "A Big
Country," at 8.30 p.m. on Thursday, April 29. in
Sydney, Hobart, and Adelaide and on May 6 in
Melbourne, Brisbane, and Perth.
$