Jonathan King (historian)

For other people named Jonathan King, see Jonathan King (disambiguation).

Jonathan King
BornJonathan Leslie Essington King
28 December 1942
Geelong, Victoria
OccupationHistorian and journalist
LanguageEnglish
NationalityAustralian
Years active1995-

Jonathan Leslie Essington King, OAM (born 28 December 1942)[1] is an Australian historian, author and journalist. He has written 30 books in a 40-year career,[2] mostly on Australian history, including a number of works on the Anzacs. King has also written thousands of articles for Australian newspapers and magazines, produced and presented numerous television documentary films, and acted as resident historian on many radio programs.[3]

In 1977, King proposed and organised the First Fleet Re-enactment Voyage to commemorate the Australian Bicentenary in 1988. As the Australian Bicentenary Authority and the Australian government declined to support the project, King set up the voyage as a private venture and obtained corporate sponsorship for the re-enactment, as well as state government grants and public donations.[4]

In October 2002, King attended a conference in Turkey called "Australia in Peace and War" at which historians discussed Gallipoli and the Anzac legend. As history correspondent for The Australian newspaper, King wrote an article for the paper titled "Charge of the rewrite brigade", which stated that the conference had concluded that Australians should reframe the Gallipoli Campaign as an "unmitigated disaster" and apologise to the Turkish government for invading their country. The claims in the article provoked controversy in Australia and New Zealand.[5] Jenny Macleod in her essay "Beckham, Waugh and the Memory of Gallipoli" in the book New Zealand's Great War asserts that King mis-attributed quotes, and mis-represented the "broader political edge" of the conference.[6]

In April 2018, Fairfax Media published a correction and apology for numerous factual errors published in King's article in Fairfax newspapers about John Monash and the Battle of Villers-Bretonneux.[7]

King is also an environmental campaigner, having held positions with the Australian Conservation Foundation and running several times for office as a Democrats and Greens candidate.[3]

King was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in the 2022 Queen's Birthday Honours for "service to community history".[8]

  1. ^ Australian Democrat Candidates – Federal Election 1990
  2. ^ "Author Jonathan King aims to remember fallen diggers", Lydia Sawtell, Melbourne Leader, 11 November 2011
  3. ^ a b Green, Antony. "Mackellar". 2013 Australian Federal Election. Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
  4. ^ "First Fleet Re-enactment Company records, 1978–1990". State Library New South Wales. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  5. ^ Johnston, Martin (19 January 2003). "Apology absurd for 'invasion'". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  6. ^ Crawford, John; McGibbon, Ian (2007). New Zealand's Great War: New Zealand, the Allies, and the First World War. Auckland: Exisle Publishing. ISBN 978-1927147344.
  7. ^ "Correction and apology". The Sydney Morning Herald. 27 April 2018. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  8. ^ "Dr Jonathan Leslie King". It's an Honour. Retrieved 12 June 2022.