The late John King was barely 16 when the WTC was formed in 1950.  Although too young to join, John was so keen you could not keep him away and he held many positions in the Club and was involved in building the club huts.  He was fully involved with Waikato Hut from the start - site selection in 1953, design team and building.

Annette's first trip with the club was in 1954 and she married John in 1957.  That was the start of her long involvement in WTC work.   Their three children - Russell, Graeme and Christine, are members of WTC and have, with their partners and families, all contributed to the Hut over the years.  From fixing chimneys at short notice in the middle of winter, sourcing materials, marketing, committee roles, repairs, maintenance, and endless working parties.  Their most recent project, along with the Waikato Hut Management Committee, has been the Bunkroom Upgrade giving us the well presented modern Waikato Mountain Lodge we have today.

To all members of the King family - THANK YOU!

Article by John Wilson, August 2014 - The King Family Lounge

In describing the King family's contribution to Waikato Hut that led to naming the lounge King Family Lounge last year, no mention was made of Russell's and Graeme's parents, John and Annette. This was probably because few current members had the pleasure of knowing them.

John was a foundation member and continued his active interest in the Club for thirty-three years. He served on the General Committee and many Sub-committees, always applying his full energy to the task; and he had prodigious energy.

In 1954, just as Waiorongomai Hut was completed, news came that to secure the hut site on Mt Ruapehu that the club had claimed, building had to start within two years. In addition to finance and publicity sub-committees, a design sub-committee was formed with John as a member. A design was settled on by the end of the year and John went on to the construction committee.

1954 was eventful also because John became Club Captain, and a young lass called Annette Brown joined the club. Within a month or so Annette went on a Queen's Birthday trip to Mangatepopo Hut and witnessed Ngauruhoe erupting in spectacular fashion. Annette also went onto the social sub-committee and the following year became social convenor on the general committee. A romance ensued and John and Annette became engaged in 1956, the year Waikato Hut opened, and married the following year.

John became a keen skier and he and Annette were strong supporters of Waikato Hut. John went on most club ski trips - there were six a year back then. They later took their family to Waikato Hut for ski weeks.

With Annette's backing John was President for two periods, from 1962 to 1964 and from 1967 to 1969. It was during the latter period that John, leading from the front, was the driving force behind the building of Waitengaue Hut. He attended nearly all of the working parties, both organised and private, and by the end claimed that he was fitter than he had ever been.

Annette distributed the bulletin for a great many years, all addresses being written by hand. Often a few young members would go out and help her collate, fold and assemble the bulletins, with the help of a few beers.

Although John retired from Club administration after Waitengaue, he remained a willing helper and once again added his unmistakeable mark to the additions to Waikato Hut in the early 1970's. It was John's ingenuity that saw a flying fox built from the Downhill Chairlift station to the back flat, a facility we really could not have done without.

The Kaimais particularly interested John and he explored the northern end extensively, often on private forays with Murray Gothorp. I was lucky enough to accompany them on some of these trips. It was they who discovered the site for Waitengaue Hut, they who cut the track from there through to the Waitawheta, the track to Ananui Falls and through to Bluff Stream. Building on some exploration I had a part in, they pioneered and formed the now long abandoned Toatoa Trail, a very direct route between Waiorongomai and Waitawheta Mill. The tracks were "disced", marked with the circular lids from preserving jars, which had been painted in John's workshop. He was a sign-writer and the club was never short of signs for any purpose - displays, floats in parades, our marathon, name boards for our huts and so on.

Search and Rescue always interested John and from the early 1960's he was the senior advisor to Hamilton Police. As a field controller John was unsurpassed. He applied himself absolutely to the job and his long experience as a tramper gave him an uncanny ability to work out where a lost person might have gone astray. I attended a couple of national SAR weekend seminars with John, and discovered that anyone looking for a lively Saturday evening gravitated to our room. They were not disappointed! When a Sunday session on police-volunteer relations brought a suggestion of having happy hours together, one our guests the previous evening piped up, "We had seven of those last night!"

John and Annette were very much "people" people, always showing interest and concern for people. Their services to the Club were recognised in 1971 by being made life members.

John was especially encouraging to younger members, sometimes in ways their parents might not have appreciated. Many of we young lads looked on him as a special mentor.

John passed away suddenly on 8th July 1983, aged 50 years. The first reaction was disbelief, to be replaced by shock as one accepted the reality. One remembers his energy, his sincerity, his honesty, his intelligence, his common sense, his obstinacy, his leadership, his qualities as a family man, his humour and tremendous sense of fun. He was a great person to be with and a great friend.