The Royal Society of NSW records with great sadness the passing of one of its Fellows, Emeritus Professor Robin King FRSN FTSE, and his wife Penny in a tragic accident that occurred on Monday, 25 July 2022. 

On that day, Penny and Robin set out for a walk at the northern end of Moonee Beach on the Central Coast of NSW.  They were doing what they most loved:  walking in a beautiful place on a beautiful day.  We will never know exactly what happened, but both passed that day and their bodies were recovered on nearby beaches. They are survived by Robin’s sister and nephews in the UK, as well as their four children and eight grandchildren here in Australia.  Their family is at peace knowing that they are resting together.

Robin King, who joined the Society as a Fellow in 2019, was a leader in Australia’s engineering education sector, having held senior national positions with Engineers Australia, the Australian Council of Engineering Deans, as well as in several universities.  Prior to his retirement, he was the Pro Vice-Chancellor and Dean of the Division of Information Technology, Engineering, and the Environment at the University of South Australia, a position he held from 1997–2007.  Before joining UniSA, he was an Associate Professor in Electrical Engineering at the University of Sydney (1989–1996), a Senior Lecturer at UNSW (1985–1989), and a Lecturer at the University of Southampton (1976–1985) and the University of Technology in Lae, Papua New Guinea (1972–1976). 

In retirement, Robin was active in the work of the Australian Council of Engineering Deans, the Academy of Technology and Engineering, in which he was the Secretary of the NSW Branch, and the Royal Society of NSW, in which he served as Secretary of the RSNSW and Learned Academies Forum for many years.  Both Robin and Penny regularly attended our monthly meetings and other events run by the Society.  They will be sadly missed by their friends and colleagues in the Society and we extend to their family our sincere condolences.

Friends of Robin and Penny are invited to attend their funeral, to be held in the Camelia Chapel in the Macquarie Cemetery and Crematorium at North Ryde, at 2.30 pm on Thursday, 11 August 2022.  The service will be live-streamed at this link. For privacy reasons, the link requires a PIN code to gain access.  Accordingly, if you are a Society member who would like to attend the funeral online, please email the Society before midday on 11 August, requesting access to the PIN.

A memorial service commemorating the life and work of Robin King is planned, and information will be provided as it becomes available.