Melaleuca is situated at Port Davey in the far southwest wilderness of Tasmania. There is no road access. Visitors usually opt for arrival by light plane, or, for the more adventurous, arrival is via a multi-day boat voyage or a laborious hike which takes several days carrying all provisions in a backpack. Charles Denison (Deny) King was, amongst other things, a tin miner and an environmentalist and is credited with the discovery of several tree/shrub species and known for his preservation effort of the Orange Bellied Parrot.

Deny built a home for his family at Melaleuca and spent 55 years living in his wilderness paradise. Today, two green corrugated iron huts are available as accommodation for bushwalkers, the first having been built by Deny and named after his father, Charles, who initially introduced Deny to Melaleuca in1936.