How did Philip Gidley King meet Charles Darwin?

P G King [Philip Gidley King] at Valparaiso, 1835/by Johann Moritz Rugendas/ Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW

With the arrival of the Dutch sailing ship Oosterschelde in Sydney last week (12 November 2024) on Leg 24 of the DARWIN200 project 2023-2025 Global Voyage, re-tracing Charles Darwin’s famous journey on HMS Beagle, we are reminded of the friendship between Tamworth’s first Mayor, Philip Gidley King and Charles Darwin.

Philip Gidley King (P G King) was at sea for around 10 years, from age 8 to 18. He accompanied his father Captain Phillip Parker King RN who carried out hydrographic surveys in the Magellan Straits 1826 -1830 aboard the HMS Adventure, accompanied by HMS Beagle and subsequently the HMS Adelaide.

Midshipman P G King’s second major voyage was aboard the Beagle 1831 – 1836 under Captain Robert Fitzroy. King and Charles Darwin became firm friends during the voyage, sharing many adventures.

Stepping ashore from the Beagle on January 12, 1836, P G King, aged 18, made his way to his parent’s farm ‘Dunheved’ situated in what is now known as the Penrith and St Marys area of outer Sydney. He had not seen his mother for 10 years.

Meanwhile,  Charles Darwin made a trip out to Bathurst, visiting Captain Philip Parker King at ‘Dunheved’ on the return journey on 26 January. Darwin spent the ‘afternoon walking about the farm and talking over the Natural History of T. del Fuego.’

On 27 January Captain King and Darwin rode to Parramatta, to the ‘Vineyard’, Hannibal and Maria Macarthur’s home. Darwin wrote of a large party for lunch. When the Beagle sailed for Hobart on 30 January 1836, Captain King and others later accompanied it for a ‘little way out of the Harbour’.

P G King was of the opinion that his own father’s decision to allow him to join the ‘Beagle’ expedition at the age of 14 helped convince Darwin’s reluctant family to allow their son to accompany the expedition under Captain Fitzroy.

Surviving letters between King and Darwin show both men remembered the days together on the Beagle fondly.

From P G King’s Memoirs, Mitchell Library Sydney MSS 770 CY Reel 1411 page 136, as quoted in Phillip Parker King : 1791 – 1856, a most admirable Australian/ Brian Douglas Abbott.

“After being a few days at Sea I found a firm friend in the person of Mr Charles Darwin to whom my fancy was to relate my experiences in my former voyage. That he took a liking to me was proved by his getting Captain Fitzroy to allow me to live on Shore with him at ….Rio de Janiero where I helped him in his butterfly and beatle hunting.”

Darwin to King

Down | Farnborough, | Kent.

Feb. 21. 1854.

My dear King

I can hardly tell you how pleased I was, about a week ago, to receive your letter dated the 26^th. of October. I lead a rather solitary life, & in my walks very often think over old days in the Beagle, & no days rise pleasanter before me, than sitting with you on the Booms, running before the trade wind across the Atlantic…….

…Farewell my dear Philip King, I shall ever think of our old days of friendship with great pleasure; and I hope that your sons may turn out half as nice Boys as you were when you joined the Beagle, & then any parent might be satisfied.

Your affectionate friend | C. Darwin

Letter transcription above sourced from Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 1554A,” accessed on 18 November 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-1554A.xml

You can read more about the Darwin200 project on their website. The project has three objectives:

• Empower the planet’s top 200 young conservationists (known as Darwin Leaders) to empower elite environmental decision-makers to change the world of tomorrow.
• Inspire global audiences through ‘the world’s most exciting classroom’ activities to better appreciate nature and conservation efforts and;
• Solve real conservation problems through interactive citizen science research projects beamed live from the ship to engage audiences around the globe.