The forecast was for the low to last through to Saturday, so with grey skies, patchy rain and wind blowing 15-20 knots we took a dinghy ride up the Melaleuca River to the airfield and walked around the boardwalk learning about the Ninene Aboriginal people who lived around Port Davey for more than 40,000 years. The Needwonnee walk was created by members of the Tasmanian Aboriginal community in partnership with the Parks and Wildlife Service.
Since the 1900’s Port Davey was home to three long term resident families, the Claytons the Kings and the Wilsons. The Kings and Wilsons had mining leases and the Claytons had a cray fishing boat. The history of Port Davey was very interesting. How these families became totally self-sufficient and survived in this secluded harsh environment is remarkable. Deny and Margaret King had two daughters who did remote learning until Grade 6 and then Margaret shifted with the girls to Hobart for them to complete secondary school. Margaret and the girls would travel back to Port Davey for school holidays. Deny remained at Port Davey until his death in 1991. The King family home still remains at Melaleuca and is visited regularly by family members.
At the Deny King Heritage Museum, which is also a bird hide, we finally caught sight of the endangered orange-bellied parrot. We were lucky enough to see 8 of them.
