Dr Michael King, OBE, New Zealander of the Year 2003, has died. He and his wife were killed last night near Maramarua, south of Auckland, when their car drifted across the centre line, hit a tree and burst into flames.

Two German tourists who witnessed the accident were unable to save the couple. Michael King and Maria Jungowska were travelling north for a well-earned break in the Bay of Islands, courtesy of Geoff Walker, his publisher and lifelong friend.

In the wake of the tragedy, Prime Minister Helen Clark spoke on National Radio to Linda Clark earlier this morning. (King was awarded the inaugural Prime Minister’s Award for Literary Achievement last year.) Clark said that King had made all New Zealanders more aware of who we are and how we got here. His death is all the more cruel given his recent battle with cancer: he had been given the all-clear just months ago.

King’s formidable body of work – he has written or edited 34 books – included biographies of Janet Frame (2000) and Frank Sargeson (1995), and groundbreaking works examining Maori and Pakeha society and culture within New Zealand. Most recently, The Penguin History of New Zealand has been a runaway success, with booksellers struggling to keep up with sales.

All of us at LeafSalon are deeply saddened by this news. We extend the utmost sympathy to his children and father. Having recently read the History, it seems incomprehensible that such an authoritative yet accessible, wise and humorous voice has been silenced.