King Penguins near Sandy Bay, Macquarie Island, Tasmania is a work by photographer and environmental activist Peter Dombrovskis in the Parliament House Art Collections.  

In 1984 Dombrovskis photographed some of the 750,000 royal penguin pairs that breed each year on the World Heritage listed Macquarie Island. Located 1500km south-east of Hobart, Tasmania, the island is home to two endemic species, the royal penguin and Macquarie Island shag or cormorant.¹  

Of his art practice, Dombrovskis said,

I took photographs for the simple pleasure of recording objects and places that were important to me, and because the discipline of photography raised my awareness of Tasmania’s beauty and made me appreciate more clearly the value of its wilderness.²  

In the 1980s, some of Dombrovskis’ photographs were instrumental in the conservation of various Tasmanian wild places, including the prevention of the damming of the Franklin River.³  

Peter Dombrovskis  
Peter Dombrovskis (1945-1996) was a renowned Australian wilderness photographer. Born in a refugee camp in Wiesbaden, Germany, Dombrovskis immigrated to Australia in 1950 and settled in Hobart. He never formally studied photography but was mentored by nature photographer and conservationist Olegas Truchanas (1923-1972). Dombrovskis is known for his photographs of the remote areas of Tasmania, with these photographs raising public and political awareness of the importance of protecting Tasmania’s remote and wild areas. In 2003, Dombrovskis was the first Australian to be inducted into the International Photography Hall of Fame. His work is held in several collections around Australia including the National Gallery of Australia, National Gallery of Victoria, Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery and the Museum of Australian Photography.  

References  
1. “Discover Macquarie Island”, Macquarie Island Conservation Foundation, accessed August 25, 2025. https://macquarieisland.org/discover-macquarie-island  
2. “Quotes”, Peter Dombrovskis, accessed August 25, 2025. https://peterdombrovskis.com
3. “About Peter”, Peter Dombrovskis, accessed August 26, 2025. https://peterdombrovskis.com