King's Treasure

By Ron Kandelars, 7 News.

The story of Kangaroo Island's development has been told through the eyes of an island legend who donated historic and unseen footage in the last week of his life. The late harbor master Ian King or Kingy to the locals loved this place even if others never quite got their heads around its unique geography. It's not a river and it's not American.

The American River to a very large degree is untouched. It was more popularly referred to as a river rather than an estuary. Ian was keen to tell his town's story, from sailing outpost to tourist playground. 

Ian King was the man here on the town wharf for decades. He was one of those really hardworking and straight talking Aussie blokes who shied away from the limelight, but he had his camera at all times

Ian King was imbued with the same pioneering spirit as the American sailors who made this their base in 1803. He was forever on or near the water, guiding giant tankers in his little runabout, moving around wharf supplies and mentoring kids who lived a life on the sea who would later skipper the same sailing ketches. after first paying their dues on the wharf.

In the last week of his life, he was determined to tell his story of how this place evolved. To tell the stories. That was the important thing. He wanted to tell the world about Kangaroo Island and how it developed.

Daniel Clarke's documentary brings that story to life back to the earliest days of tourism, where people wanted to come over to an isolated place where there were real fish biting.

King was there when the first privately run  ferries rolled off the slipway to support what's become the island's biggest industry, mass tourism.  That industry's grown exponentially, while others like the Salt Works with their steam driven engines are gone.

King passed away recently but his legacy and passion lives on.

Daniel Clark's documentary The King of the River will be shown at the Victor Cinema next weekend.

King of the River screens in Victor 

EMMA HEIDENREICH 

On July 26 at 2pm, Walkley Award-winning filmmaker Daniel Clarke’s ‘King of the River’, a documentary exploring the life of harbour master and maritime legend, Ian ‘Kingy’ King, will have it’s first mainland screening at Victa Cinema. The documentary has connections to towns like Victor Harbor and especially the coastal people along the trading routes across South Australia. It also captures the inevitable changes over time from working harbour to a holiday destination. 

In the documentary, Mr Clarke interviews Kingy during the final week of his life, during which he donated his large collection of stunning historic imagery, most of which had never been seen publicly. The King of the River documentary is a stunning visual journey into the unheralded maritime and merchant shipping history that shaped American River and Kangaroo Island. 

The film tells the story of the Ameri can River settlement as told by the passionate harbour master and the people who knew him best, including colleague and mentor Chris Frizell. 

Coincidentally, Ian King’s daughter, Vivien Osborn, now lives in Victor and will be in attendance at the screening, as will Mr Frizell, a retired merchant seaman and Ketch historian who sailed out of American River on vessels such as the Falie and Nelcebee. “I’m beyond excited and honoured to announce that King of the River will be shown at the Victa Cinema,“ Ms Osborn said. “Many thanks to Daniel Clarke for weaving his magic and bringing this to life. Dad would be grinning from ear to ear.“ 

The documentary first premiered in May at American River as part of the 2025 SA History Festival. Tickets $15 per person, run time is 1 hour 7 minutes. Book tickets online at www.victacinemas.com.au/ limited tickets will be available at the door.