King left Scotland in 1826 as a free settler with financial capital who arrived in Sydney early in 1827 and went into business as a merchant.
[2] In 1828 King received a grant of 2000 acres (8 km2) of land on the Williams River in the Hunter Region north of Sydney, which became his estate of 'Irrawang'.
In January 1832 he asked that he might be rewarded for his discovery by a grant of 50 acres (200,000 m2) of land near Sydney, part of the present site of the University.
This was refused, but the English authorities suggested that he should be allowed the sum of £100 off the price of any land he might purchase from the state.
King had no success though he was able to mention that the Society of Arts in London had awarded him its silver medal, and that he had a fresh claim on account of his having established a pottery in the colony.