King was born in Emerald Hill[1] to English settlers of Tasmania.

[2] He married Mary Ann Hutchens and two years later obtained a scandalous divorce from her.

[4] King was chosen to adjudicate choir competitions in Gympie[5] and Bathurst[6] He composed a cantata selected for the 1888 International Centennial Exhibition in Melbourne.

[7][8] Organist at St Mark's Cathedral, Melbourne[9] King was choirmaster and organist at The Southport School in Surfer's Paradise for nine years, retiring in March 1933.

[10][11] Devout Protestant academically eloquent on the humanities[12] He was buried at Southport with second wife Elizabeth née Halford, with whom he had a daughter, Norah Yvonne Sylvia King (1902–1976).