Knox was born in Adelaide, the eldest son of John Knox, jun, ( – 27 October 1908) and his wife Eliza Annie Nairn Knox, née Morton ( – 7 December 1915) of "Kirkwall", William Street,
Norwood. He was a student of fellow Australian composer
Paolo Giorza He was a visiting teacher of piano at
Prince Alfred College . One who profited from his instruction was the (later) Lord Mayor
C. R. J. Glover. He succeeded
T. H. Jones as organist for the
Brougham Place Congregational Church, serving from 1902 to 1919, when he was followed by
Frederick Bevan, then George Griffiths in 1931. He began in 1912 the tradition of free Sunday morning organ recitals at the
Adelaide Town Hall.
Louis Yemm deputised for him in July and August 1912. Knox followed T. H. Jones as City Organist in 1923 and served until 1928. The appointment of his successor was attended by controversy:
John Dempster was appointed without any competitive evaluation, and eminent musicians
John Horner,
Frederic Finlay and
W. Lawrence Haggitt, who had all applied, signed a public letter airing their sense of injustice, clearly implying he was a poor choice. Knox refrained from comment. He died after a short illness and his remains were interred in the
West Terrace Cemetery. An obituary photograph of Knox was published wearing starched collar and magnificent whiskers. ==Family==