Rose was born in Glasgow in 1845. He was educated at Ayr Grammar School and then Edinburgh University. He worked for a number of years as a journalist and war correspondent for the Scotsman, before returning to study law at Edinburgh University. He arrived in Queensland in 1884, and practiced for a time at the Queensland Bar. Rose was editor of the Brisbane Courier from 1888 to 1891, and during this time was a prominent Brisbane literary and arts figure. Rose returned to Britain in 1891, where he continued his journalism career. He died in Glasgow in 1919.